The Kansas City Wizards fought to two draws in a preseason matchup with fellow MLS side Chivas USA on Wednesday. The meeting between the teams was split into two 60-minute games with 30-minute halves. The teams tied the first game 1-1 before going scoreless in the second game.
"Chivas was a really good opponent for us; they're a quality team," said Wizards Manager Peter Vermes. "We showed some glimpses of some good attacking play, and were solid defensively as well. All in all, it was a productive day."
The Wizards opened the first game with a lineup that made use of the club's many off-season imports. Of the 12 players that took part in the first session, seven were not on the Wizards' roster at this point last year. Chivas didn't have any trouble dealing with the unfamiliarity, as the Los Angeles side took first blood after a back-and-forth opening stanza. Mariano Trujillo scored the opener, after some good work on the right between Michael Lahoud and Ante Jazic in the 26th minute.
The Wizards would equalize in the 45th minute through Josh Wolff. English midfielder Ryan Smith played a big part, stepping up to intercept the ball in midfield before feeding Kei Kamara, who in turn set up Wolff for his finish. The Wizards dominated the run of play thereafter, with Smith, Davy Arnaud and Wolff all coming close to increasing the Wizards' advantage. It was not to be, however, as the first game finished with a 1-1 scoreline.
Manager Peter Vermes elected to go with a much more familiar line-up to start the second game, with all but two players appearing on the Wizards' roster last season. Michael Kraus nearly got the Wizards on the board early, but saw his effort saved by Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. The Wizards continued to create chances, with Michael Harrington and Santiago Hirsig playing many dangerous crosses into the box. Unfortunately, the Wizards could not capitalize on their opportunities and the second match finished in a 0-0 tie.
The Wizards will continue their preseason preparations this Friday with the first of two games against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Notes:
• Colombian defender Pablo Escobar made his debut with the Wizards, logging 30 minutes in the first game before being replaced by trialist Shahriar Dastan.
• The Wizards are now 2-1-2 in preseason play, with both ties coming today.
• Newly signed goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen was not with the team for the game. He is expected to arrive in Arizona next week to begin training with the squad.
• Forwards Kei Kamara and Josh Wolff are now tied for the preseason scoring lead, with three goals apiece through five games. Alexei Casian, Mauro Fuzetti and Zoltan are all tied for third with one goal each.
Lineups:
Game 1:
KCW: Louis Crayton; Chance Myers, Pablo Escobar (Shahriar Dastan 31'), Jimmy Conrad, Roger Espinoza; Birahim Diop, Stéphane Auvray, Davy Arnaud, Ryan Smith; Josh Wolff, Kei Kamara
CHV: Jon Conway; Carey Talley, Carlos Borja, Emilio Viades, Ante Jazic; Mariano Trujillo, Blair Gavin, Michael Lahoud, Jorge Flores; Justin Braun, Maykel Galindo
Game 2:
KCW: Boris Pardo; Jonathan Leathers, Aaron Hohlbein, Matt Besler,
Michael Harrington; Santiago Hirsig (Mauro Fuzetti 31'), Graham Zusi,
Korede Aiyegbusi (Lance Watson 31'), Alexei Casian; Michael Kraus,
Zoltan
CHV: Dan Kennedy; Kevin Tangney, Claudio Suarez, Yamith Cuesta, Miguel Sanchez; Chris Ross, Ben Zemanski, Mario Padilla (Jesus Ochoa 45'), Cesar Zamora; Chukwudi Chijindu, Artur Aghasyan
Scoring:
Game 1:
26' - Trujillo (Lahoud, Jazic)
45' - Wolff (Kamara, Smith)
Game 2:
(No scoring)
