Kevin Hartman made his 100th start in all competitions for the Wizards. He's the 19th Wizard to hit that mark.
The 33 goals scored by the Wizards in league play, ties for the lowest goal output in team history. The 1999 and the 2001 Wizards both scored 33 league goals.
Claudio Lopez's goal was his 13th in league play for the Wizards, moving him into a tie for 12th place all time with Matt McKeon, Jose Burciaga, and Sasha Victorine.
It was Lopez's 15th in all competitions, tying him with Burciaga and Victorine for 16th on that list.
The red card given to Fred was the 10th red card shown to a Wizards opponent this season.
In the 75th minute, Jack Jewsbury moved past Matt McKeon and into 8th place on the list for most league minutes played for the Wizards.
Jewsbury made his 125th league start last night, that ties him with Tony Meola for 9th place on that list.
Josh Wolff made his 119th appearance in league play for the Wizards, tying him with Diego Gutierrez and Uche Okafor for 12th place on that list.
Showing posts with label 2009 season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009 season. Show all posts
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
2009 Wishes Mid-Year Review
The year is over half over already, and that means time to look at my Wishes for 2009 and how they've done so far.
1. Ground breaking on the stadium - The mall is down now and we actually have some renderings, but we still have not seen an official ground breaking for the building of the stadium. Hopefully we see ground breaking soon, or 2011 is going to be a bigger stretch than it already is.
2. 10-15 goal scorer for the Wizards - The Wizards may actually pull this one off this year. Josh Wolff is the current team leader with 6 goals a little over half way through the season. Of course the majority of the Wizards goals have come from 3 players (Wolff 6, Davy Arnaud 5, Claudio Lopez 4). That's 15 of the Wizards 19 goals this season. Hopefully Wolff is able to hit the 10 goal mark, but hopefully the rest of the team picks up the scoring a little bit.
3. US qualifies for World Cup 2010 - The US is certainly in a good position to qualify. Currently in second place half way through the Hexagional with 10 points, the US definitely has an inside track to qualifying. Sixteen points will likely be enough for the US to be off to South Africa for the World Cup. That means in the US's remaining 5 games (@ Mexico, vs El Salvador, @ TnT, @ Honduras, vs Costa Rica) the US needs 2 wins to probably qualify for the World Cup. Not an easy task, but certainly doable, especially if the US play as they did in the last few games of the Confederations Cup.
4. US does well at the Confederations Cup - If you'd have told me at the beginning of the year that the US would finish second at the tournament, I would have been estatic. And while I am very happy with the performance in the second half of the tournament, seeing how the US finished second is disappointing. Sure it was Brazil in the final, but up 2-0 you would hope the US could hold on. Still, though, a big win over Spain in the semifinals, and a nice win over Egypt are two good things to take from the competition heading back into World Cup qualifying.
5. Some Silverware - The Wizards are out of SuperLiga and the US Open Cup, meaning their only chances for silverware is winning the Supporter's Shield or MLS Cup. Right now the Wizards don't look likely to win either of those, but hopefully the Wizards turn it around.
6. Lopez has a 2009 season like the end of the 2008 season - Maybe not exactly as I'd wanted. His stats have been decent enough, scoring 5 goals in all competitions and tied for the team lead in assists with 4. Still his actual play hasn't been the greatest. With the way the season is going, though, Lopez is on his way to 10 goals and 8 assits, which honestly wouldn't be a horrible season from the Argentine.
7. A blowout home win - Hasn't happened yet. We were close against New England at home earlier this season, when I honestly didn't feel like New England ever really threatened, especially after they went down a man. But I still want a blow out. I want to see at least a 3 goal win at home this season.
1. Ground breaking on the stadium - The mall is down now and we actually have some renderings, but we still have not seen an official ground breaking for the building of the stadium. Hopefully we see ground breaking soon, or 2011 is going to be a bigger stretch than it already is.
2. 10-15 goal scorer for the Wizards - The Wizards may actually pull this one off this year. Josh Wolff is the current team leader with 6 goals a little over half way through the season. Of course the majority of the Wizards goals have come from 3 players (Wolff 6, Davy Arnaud 5, Claudio Lopez 4). That's 15 of the Wizards 19 goals this season. Hopefully Wolff is able to hit the 10 goal mark, but hopefully the rest of the team picks up the scoring a little bit.
3. US qualifies for World Cup 2010 - The US is certainly in a good position to qualify. Currently in second place half way through the Hexagional with 10 points, the US definitely has an inside track to qualifying. Sixteen points will likely be enough for the US to be off to South Africa for the World Cup. That means in the US's remaining 5 games (@ Mexico, vs El Salvador, @ TnT, @ Honduras, vs Costa Rica) the US needs 2 wins to probably qualify for the World Cup. Not an easy task, but certainly doable, especially if the US play as they did in the last few games of the Confederations Cup.
4. US does well at the Confederations Cup - If you'd have told me at the beginning of the year that the US would finish second at the tournament, I would have been estatic. And while I am very happy with the performance in the second half of the tournament, seeing how the US finished second is disappointing. Sure it was Brazil in the final, but up 2-0 you would hope the US could hold on. Still, though, a big win over Spain in the semifinals, and a nice win over Egypt are two good things to take from the competition heading back into World Cup qualifying.
5. Some Silverware - The Wizards are out of SuperLiga and the US Open Cup, meaning their only chances for silverware is winning the Supporter's Shield or MLS Cup. Right now the Wizards don't look likely to win either of those, but hopefully the Wizards turn it around.
6. Lopez has a 2009 season like the end of the 2008 season - Maybe not exactly as I'd wanted. His stats have been decent enough, scoring 5 goals in all competitions and tied for the team lead in assists with 4. Still his actual play hasn't been the greatest. With the way the season is going, though, Lopez is on his way to 10 goals and 8 assits, which honestly wouldn't be a horrible season from the Argentine.
7. A blowout home win - Hasn't happened yet. We were close against New England at home earlier this season, when I honestly didn't feel like New England ever really threatened, especially after they went down a man. But I still want a blow out. I want to see at least a 3 goal win at home this season.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Season Preview
So the first MLS game of the season has kicked off over on ESPN2, and with MLS back on my TV, the fact that the MLS season starts for the Wizards on Saturday has officially hit me and needless to say I am pumped. And with the season only 2 "sleeps" left I figured it was time to get in a quick season preview for the Wizards.
The Wizards bring in a roster that will look very similar to the roster the team had at the end of last season. Only 5 players were lost from the team last year, and the team has brought in 4 players to replace them. The first addition was forward Adam Cristman who was brought over from New England. Kansas City added two players to the roster from this year's SuperDraft, as Matt Besler and Graham Zusi have both made Kansas City's roster. Finally, the team signed Argentine midfielder, Santiago Hirsig who was last with San Lorenzo. Overall, I see this as a net gain for the Wizards considering the players loss.
Many teams in the Eastern conference look like they have done well to improve their teams. Toronto FC is one of those teams bringing in multiple new players again, including Dwayne DeRosario. Columbus has only really lost Brad Evans from their championship squad so they'll be strong again. It certainly won't be easy for Kansas City to push for one of the top spots in the East, but bringing back the strong nucleus from last year's team will certainly help. There are a few questions though heading into the season.
1. Who is going to score goals?
The Wizards only scored 37 goals last season, with Davy Arnaud leading the way with 7 goals. If KC wants to get further this season, they need to get more goal production, specifically from the forwards. Wizards forwards only scored 12 goals last season, with Claudio Lopez leading the way with 6. A full season with Josh Wolff playing with Lopez will likely help lead to both getting more goals this season. If each of them can score in the 7-10 goal range this season, the Wizards will be in decent shape.
2. Can the youth continue to improve?
Last season saw the Wizards bring along some very impressive young players in Michael Harrington, Jonathan Leathers, Roger Espinoza, and Kevin Souter to name a few. The beginning of this "bleeding of the youth" didn't drastically hurt the Wizards, in fact, the young players started to blossom as the season went on. All those players are back again this year and are joined by Zusi and Besler who will add more talented youth to the roster. These players are the future of the team, and them getting more time on the field will be important for not just this season, but 2010 and beyond.
3. Can the team stay healthy?
So far this answer is no, already KC starts the season with 3 players on the injured list in Cristman, Chance Myers, and Eric Kronberg. For KC to succeed this season they need to avoid injuries, especially to the spin of the team, if someone like Jimmy Conrad, Kevin Hartman, Davy Arnaud, etc. go down hurt, this team could really struggle this season.
Overall, while I'm looking forward to this season, I think KC can and will struggle at times. They have more depth with their young players than some of the "experts" know or admit. That depth will be tested this season with KC playing in 3 competitions. Can KC win the title this year? Sure if they get on a run, especially late they can take the cup. I just have some trouble seeing that happening though. I think KC is still maybe a season from really being able to compete with the talent that they have. KC will likely make the playoffs around the same spot they made it last year and the year before, maybe win the first round but lose in the conference finals.
The Wizards bring in a roster that will look very similar to the roster the team had at the end of last season. Only 5 players were lost from the team last year, and the team has brought in 4 players to replace them. The first addition was forward Adam Cristman who was brought over from New England. Kansas City added two players to the roster from this year's SuperDraft, as Matt Besler and Graham Zusi have both made Kansas City's roster. Finally, the team signed Argentine midfielder, Santiago Hirsig who was last with San Lorenzo. Overall, I see this as a net gain for the Wizards considering the players loss.
Many teams in the Eastern conference look like they have done well to improve their teams. Toronto FC is one of those teams bringing in multiple new players again, including Dwayne DeRosario. Columbus has only really lost Brad Evans from their championship squad so they'll be strong again. It certainly won't be easy for Kansas City to push for one of the top spots in the East, but bringing back the strong nucleus from last year's team will certainly help. There are a few questions though heading into the season.
1. Who is going to score goals?
The Wizards only scored 37 goals last season, with Davy Arnaud leading the way with 7 goals. If KC wants to get further this season, they need to get more goal production, specifically from the forwards. Wizards forwards only scored 12 goals last season, with Claudio Lopez leading the way with 6. A full season with Josh Wolff playing with Lopez will likely help lead to both getting more goals this season. If each of them can score in the 7-10 goal range this season, the Wizards will be in decent shape.
2. Can the youth continue to improve?
Last season saw the Wizards bring along some very impressive young players in Michael Harrington, Jonathan Leathers, Roger Espinoza, and Kevin Souter to name a few. The beginning of this "bleeding of the youth" didn't drastically hurt the Wizards, in fact, the young players started to blossom as the season went on. All those players are back again this year and are joined by Zusi and Besler who will add more talented youth to the roster. These players are the future of the team, and them getting more time on the field will be important for not just this season, but 2010 and beyond.
3. Can the team stay healthy?
So far this answer is no, already KC starts the season with 3 players on the injured list in Cristman, Chance Myers, and Eric Kronberg. For KC to succeed this season they need to avoid injuries, especially to the spin of the team, if someone like Jimmy Conrad, Kevin Hartman, Davy Arnaud, etc. go down hurt, this team could really struggle this season.
Overall, while I'm looking forward to this season, I think KC can and will struggle at times. They have more depth with their young players than some of the "experts" know or admit. That depth will be tested this season with KC playing in 3 competitions. Can KC win the title this year? Sure if they get on a run, especially late they can take the cup. I just have some trouble seeing that happening though. I think KC is still maybe a season from really being able to compete with the talent that they have. KC will likely make the playoffs around the same spot they made it last year and the year before, maybe win the first round but lose in the conference finals.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wishes for 2009
So tomorrow is New Years Eve and that means it's almost 2009. Time to take a look at some wishes for the year of 2009.
1. Ground breaking on the stadium - I wanted this to happen last year and obviously it didn't happen. So now it's time to push this back to next year. With all the hurdles cleared for the stadium it's much more likely that the ground breaking will happen this year.
2. 10-15 goal scorer for the Wizards - With last years top scorer scoring only 7 goals, I want a guy that will score 10-15 goals next year. It can be a new player, Claudio Lopez, or even Jimmy Conrad, I don't care I just want a guy that can put the ball in the next consistently.
3. US qualifies for World Cup 2010 - The Hex starts this February, so the US will begin the final phase. I'd hope by the midway point of qualifying that the team was well on it's way to qualifying for South Africa. A bonus would be a qualifier in KC, which is really unlikely, but I can hope.
4. US does well at the Confederations Cup - As Gold Cup champs from last year, the US gets to play in South Africa this summer in the Confederations Cup against Italy, Brazil, and Egypt, probably the hardest group the US could have gotten, but hopefully the US does well.
5. Some Silverware - I'll keep asking for it until we get it. The Wizards have 4 chances in the 2009 season with both the MLS regular season, the playoffs, US Open Cup, and SuperLiga. Hopefully the US can bring home some silverware from at least one of those.
6. Lopez has a 2009 season like the end of the 2008 season - Lopez ended the 2008 season very well, but the majority of his season was underwhelming for a designated player. Hopefully in the 2009 season he can play more like he did at the end of the season and less like the rest of it.
7. A blowout home win - The Wizards haven't won a game by more than 3 goals since the home opener of the 2007 season against Toronto (that's 1 time in Onalfo's 2 years with the Wizards). In 2009 I'd like to see a nice big home win for the Wizards, a game where we just completely blow out the team, we catch them on a bad day or things just come together for us. It'd be great to have a game where the fans aren't stressing at the end about a late equalizer or something.
1. Ground breaking on the stadium - I wanted this to happen last year and obviously it didn't happen. So now it's time to push this back to next year. With all the hurdles cleared for the stadium it's much more likely that the ground breaking will happen this year.
2. 10-15 goal scorer for the Wizards - With last years top scorer scoring only 7 goals, I want a guy that will score 10-15 goals next year. It can be a new player, Claudio Lopez, or even Jimmy Conrad, I don't care I just want a guy that can put the ball in the next consistently.
3. US qualifies for World Cup 2010 - The Hex starts this February, so the US will begin the final phase. I'd hope by the midway point of qualifying that the team was well on it's way to qualifying for South Africa. A bonus would be a qualifier in KC, which is really unlikely, but I can hope.
4. US does well at the Confederations Cup - As Gold Cup champs from last year, the US gets to play in South Africa this summer in the Confederations Cup against Italy, Brazil, and Egypt, probably the hardest group the US could have gotten, but hopefully the US does well.
5. Some Silverware - I'll keep asking for it until we get it. The Wizards have 4 chances in the 2009 season with both the MLS regular season, the playoffs, US Open Cup, and SuperLiga. Hopefully the US can bring home some silverware from at least one of those.
6. Lopez has a 2009 season like the end of the 2008 season - Lopez ended the 2008 season very well, but the majority of his season was underwhelming for a designated player. Hopefully in the 2009 season he can play more like he did at the end of the season and less like the rest of it.
7. A blowout home win - The Wizards haven't won a game by more than 3 goals since the home opener of the 2007 season against Toronto (that's 1 time in Onalfo's 2 years with the Wizards). In 2009 I'd like to see a nice big home win for the Wizards, a game where we just completely blow out the team, we catch them on a bad day or things just come together for us. It'd be great to have a game where the fans aren't stressing at the end about a late equalizer or something.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Wizards Opening 2009 Season at Home
The Wizards will open the 2009 season the same way that they opened the 2008 season, at home. This time, the Wizards opponent will be Toronto FC. Today the league announced the home opener for all 15 teams. With that announcement, the Wizards have their opponents for the first two weeks of the regular season.
After opening at Community America Ballpark March 21st at 7:30, the Wizards will go on the road for their second game of the season, as they'll play in Colorado on Saturday March 28th against the Rapids with that kickoff set for 8:30. The schedule on Hillcrest Road for all teams only lists the home openers, so don't assume that because the Wizards aren't listed that they are off the weekend of April 4-5. They could still be off, or they could be playing at home again, or on the road against a team that's already had their home opener.
After opening at Community America Ballpark March 21st at 7:30, the Wizards will go on the road for their second game of the season, as they'll play in Colorado on Saturday March 28th against the Rapids with that kickoff set for 8:30. The schedule on Hillcrest Road for all teams only lists the home openers, so don't assume that because the Wizards aren't listed that they are off the weekend of April 4-5. They could still be off, or they could be playing at home again, or on the road against a team that's already had their home opener.
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