Kansas City, Houston
play to scoreless draw
By Robert Whitman
April 12, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The Wizards held off the defending champion Houston Dynamo on Saturday and vice-versa in a scoreless draw at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
The snow showers that pelted parts of the Kansas City area earlier Saturday chilled both teams attacks and the temperature was in the lower 40s. Neither goalkeeper was called upon to make a world-class save. But both teams had decent chances to score.
The draw lifted the Wizards into first place in the Eastern Conference and behind Chicago on goal difference in the race for the Supporters' Shield. New England, which led Kansas City on head-to-head tiebreaker going into Saturday's games, lost to Colorado.
Wizards forward Scott Sealy was near the penalty spot when he headed a free kick over the bar in the 89th minute, the final good scoring chance of the game for either team.
Kurt Morsink delivered the free kick from about 35 yards away near the right touchline.
The Wizards' attack was also hampered by 10 offside calls against them. Sealy was called offside five times, Claudio Lopez flagged four times and substitute Ivan Trujillo once in his 11 minutes on the field.
The Wizards had an opportunity to go ahead in the fifth minute, but the well-organized Houston defense deflected Wizards midfielder Roger Espinoza's cross away. Carlos Marinelli threaded a perfect ball through to Espinoza on the left wing.
But Marinelli had to leave the game in the 26th minute with a hamstring strain. Kerry Zavagnin replaced Marinelli and the move limited Wizards coach Curt Onalfo's options to insert more attacking players later in the game.
Onalfo did bring Trujillo and Davy Arnaud (in the 65th minute) on in the second half. But he was prevented from bringing on Eloy Columbano because of early change for Marinelli.
Houston's defense and the offside flags slowed the Wizards down. But Jack Jewsbury had a clear shot from the top of the area in the 55th minute after Lopez switched the ball out of the crowd on the left. Jewsbury shot high.
Houston had a really good chance in the 76th minute, but Dwayne De Rosario shot high with his left foot from about 10 yards away. Brian Ching flicked a pass into De Rosario's path right through the middle of the Wizards defense, but Jimmy Conrad and Tyson Wahl did a good job in forcing De Rosario to shoot a little quicker than he might have wished.
Two minutes later, the Wizards nearly had a disastrous defense breakdown. Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman hit an unusual goal kick - low and right at Ching in the center circle. Ching dribbled in and shot from the top of the area, but the shot was deflected. Right back Chance Myers, the top pick in the MLS SuperDraft, tried to head the ball back to Hartman, but Brad Davis intercepted it and shot high and wide from inside the six-yard box.
Kansas City 0, Houston 0
April 12, 2008
at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.
| 1 | 2 | F | ||
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | - | 0 |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | - | 0 |
Kansas City - Kevin Hartman, Michael Harrington, Jimmy Conrad, Tyson Wahl, Chance Myers, Jack Jewsbury (Davy Arnaud 65), Carlos Marinelli (Kerry Zavagnin 26), Roger Espinoza (Ivan Trujillo 79), Kurt Morsink, Claudio Lopez, Scott Sealy.
Houston - Tony Caig, Wade Barrett, Bobby Boswell, Eddie Robinson, Richard Mulrooney, Brad Davis (Geoff Cameron 72), Ricardo Clark, Dwayne De Rosario, Brian Mullen, Franco Caraccio (Stuart Holden 71), Brian Ching.
Scoring
None
| KC | HOU | |
| Total shots | 8 | 10 |
| Shots on goal | 4 | 5 |
| Saves | 5 | 4 |
| Fouls | 8 | 18 |
| Offside | 10 | 5 |
| Corner kicks | 5 | 8 |
Cautions
Hou - Clark 15
KC - Morsink 24
KC - Zavagnin 67
Hou - Boswell 71
Hou - De Rosario 77
Ejections
None
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Referee's assistants: Rob Fereday, Eric Boria
Fourth official: Michael Kennedy
Attendance: 9,627