#TBT Highest Scoring Game in KC History

On May 2nd, 1996, the then KC Wiz played at the time, the highest scoring MLS game in the league's short history. Against the Columbus Crew at Arrowhead Stadium, KC came from behind to top the Crew 6-4.

Played in front of 8,848, KC jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a rocket of a shot by Mark Chung after a patented cut back by Preki drew three defenders to him in the fifth minute. Columbus was ale to find the equalizer in the 20th minute when Brian McBride headed home a corner from Billy Thompson, deflecting off of defender Tommy Reasoner who tried to keep the ball out with his knee. The score would stay at 1-1 headed into the half time break.

The second half started with a bang as KC jumped back out in front in just the 47th minute. Preki received the ball out wide and tried to curl a shot into the net. He succeeded in beating goalkeeper, Bo Oshoniyi, but didn't beat the cross bar. The rebound though fell to Mo Johnston who knocked the rebound home for a goal in his debut for KC. This time the lead lasted only a minute as a long throw in from McBride found Todd Yeagley in the box, he was able to bring the ball down and bury it. Columbus would take the lead for the first time a little after the hour mark as Mike Clark beat Reasoner to a cross by Thompson and headed the ball into the net to make it 3-2.

Only a minute after making it 3-2, Columbus made it 4-2 as McBride crossed the ball into the box looking for Adrian Paz, but Reasoner in an attempt to cleared the ball, fired the ball into his own net. The two goal lead would only last a couple minutes though as KC won a penalty kick as Digtal Takawira tried to dribble around a Crew defender on the ground who hit the ball with his hand. Preki stepped up to take the penalty, pulling a Panenka, softly chipping the ball past Oshoniyi and into the net to make it 4-3. Only a couple minutes after the penalty kick, KC was level with Johnston again the scorer. After a partial clearance out wide, Takawira headed the ball back into the middle where Johnston knocked it home to make it 4-4. KC wasn't done and in the 77th minute, Mike Sorber got in on the act firing a shot from long range that beat Oshoniyi and put KC in front 5-4. With Columbus chasing the game late, KC found a sixth to seal the game on the counter in the 88th minute. Takawira led the counter dribbling against two Crew defenders. At the top of the box, Takawira took a bit of a big touch and Preki pounced on the ball, one timing it into the corner right in front of Takawira.

The game would stand as the highest scoring game in league history for just two years before being surpassed by the LA Galaxy's 7-4 win over the Colorado Rapids in 1998. The game is still the highest scoring in KC history and tied for the record for most goals score in a game.

Five Former KC Players Up for Hall of Fame - Former SKC Wizards Update

US Soccer has released ballots for this year's hall of fame induction. On the two ballots (players and veterans) there are a combined five former Kansas City players that are eligible for selection. On the players ballot there are two players, former player and assistant coach, Chris Henderson, and former another former midfielder, Chris Klein is also available in his first year of eligibility. On the veterans ballot there are three players, Mike Burns, Frank Klopas, and Mike Sorber. All five of the players are all currently, or have recently been in coaching or MLS front office position since their retirement as a player.

In other news, former defender Yann Songo'o has a new club, at least temporarily. Songo'o has left Blackburn, going on loan to SPL side, Ross County for the rest of the season. Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Jamar Beasley
Jose Burciaga
Julio Cesar
Edson Elcock
Brian Fekete
Aaron Hohlbein
Mike Jones
Scott Sealy
Khari Stephenson
Ivan Trujillo
Michael Thomas
Shavar Thomas
Diego Walsh
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Bobby Convey - New York - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - DC - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Offseason
Rauwshan McKenzie - Portland - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.

USL
Cyprian Hedrick - Phoenix - Offseason.
Neal Kitson - Phoenix - Offseason.
Nelson Pizarro - Los Angeles - Offseason.
Mike Reidy - Rochester - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason.

PDL
Scott Angevine - Des Moines - Offseason

Other
Birahim Diop - New England Force

Indoor
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Played in Baltimore's 14-2 win over St. Louis. Scored a goal in Baltimore's 9-8 loss to Syracuse.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - FC Haka - Finland - Offseason.
Vicente Arze - Sporting Charleroi - Did not dress in Charleroi's 2-0 win over Oh Leuven.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-1 draw with Veracruz. Did not dress in Chivas' 1-0 Copa Mexico win over Universidad Guadalajara.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - Lost 1-0 to Veracruz II.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 1-1 draw with Rangdajied. Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 2-0 loss to East Bengal.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - No game until 1/24
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Did not play in either of W Connection's games.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Next game 1/24
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in Wigan's 3-0 loss to Doncaster.
Herculez Gomez - Tijuana - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Tijuana's 2-1 loss to Pachuca.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Suspended
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Started and played 80 minutes in Boavista's 1-1 draw with Vasco da Gama. Did not dress in Boavista's 1-0 win over Madureira.
Will John - AZAL - Azerbaijan - No game until 2/1
Kei Kamara - Middlesbrough - England - Came off the bench and played 2 minutes in Middlesbrough's 1-0 win over Charlton.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia - Belarus - Offseason.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Offseason.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - No game until 2/2
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - No game til March.
Michal Mravec - Zilina - Slovakia - No games until February.
Akeem Priestly - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - Fylkir - Iceland - Offseason.
Yann Songo'o - Ross County (Blackburn) - Scotland (England) - Started and played 90 minutes in Ross County's 3-0 win over Dundee United.
Milos Stojcev - Atyrau - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - No game until 1/25.

Five Former KC Players Up for Hall of Fame

US Soccer came out with their list of players eligible for election to the US Soccer Hall of Fame.  On the main list and the veteran ballot, there is a total of five former Wizards on the ballot.  On the main ballot there are two players.  Chris Henderson and Roy Lassiter.  Henderson, who is currently the technical director in Seattle spent the 1999 and 2000 season with Kansas City before being traded to Miami.  He returned to Kansas City as an assistant coach in 2007 before moving into his role in Seattle.  Lassiter spent the 2001 and part of the 2002 season in Kansas City before being traded away.  He'd been brought in to help replace Miklos Molnar's goals but was unable to.

On the veterans ballot there are three more former KC players.  Mike Burns ended his playing career in Kansas City, playing the 2001 and 2002 seasons with Kansas City.  He's currently the director of soccer for the New England Revolution.  Mike Sorber was the then KC Wiz's first allocated player back in 1996.  He only spent the one season in KC before being traded to New York.  After his playing days he's spent time as an assist with the US national team and Montreal Impact.  The final KC player up for election is the team's current coach and technical director, Peter Vermes.  Vermes spent the 2000 through 2002 season in Kansas City before retiring. 

Vermes, Zavagnin, and Six Other Former Wizards Up for Hall of Fame

Today, US Soccer came out with their list of candidates available for selection to the US Soccer Hall of Fame. On that list are two current coaches of Sporting KC. Head coach and technical director, Peter Vermes is on the list again, as is assistant coach, Kerry Zavagnin, in his first year of eligibility. Vermes is in the final year on the "player ballot", should he not be elected to the Hall of Fame this year, he will move to the veteran ballot next year.

Vermes and Zavagnin are joined by five other former Wizards players on the players ballot, and one other is available on the veterans ballot. Two other former Wizards are like Zavagnin and in their first year of eligibility. Joining Zavagnin is Jose Burciaga Jr. and Tony Meola in their first year of eligibility. The other 3 former Wizards players available are Mike Burns, Chris Henderson, and Roy Lassiter. Burns, like Vermes is in his final year of being eligible for election on the player's ballot. Should he not be elected, he'll join Vermes and Mike Sorber on the veterans ballot. Sorber joined the veterans ballot a few years ago.

Of the former Wizards players up for election, I think Meola is probably the leading candidate to get elected on this ballot. Meola was the starter for the US in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and has 100 caps for the US national team.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates. Nick Cardenas is still getting looks from the Sporting KC coaching staff and I'd expect him to be invited to preseason this coming year. Two other former Wizards have taken coaching jobs under Jesse Marsch with the Montreal Impact. Preston Burpo has been named the team's goalkeeper coach, while Mike Sorber has joined as an assistant coach. Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Nikos Kounenakis
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
JT Murray
Anthony Noriega
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ryan Smith
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson

MLS
Stephane Auvray - New York - Did not dress in New York's 1-1 draw with Toronto. Dressed but did not play in New York's 2-0 win over LA.
Adam Cristman - LA - Came off the bench and played 17 minutes in LA's 2-1 win over RSL. Came off the bench and played 19 minutes in LA's 2-0 loss to New York.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play play in RSL's 2-1 loss to LA.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 2-1 win over New England. Did not dress in Seattle's 2-0 win over Chicago in the US Open Cup.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 1-0 loss to Colorado.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 2-1 win over RSL. Started and played 45 minutes in LA's 2-0 loss to New York.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-1 win over DC.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 1-0 win over Vancouver.
Mike Jones - New York - Did not dress in New York's 1-1 draw with Toronto. Did not dress in New York's 2-0 win over LA.
Chris Konopka - MLS Pool keeper - Did not have a game this week.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Did not dress in Vancouver's 1-0 loss to Portland.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in RSL's 2-1 loss to LA.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Dressed but did not play in DC's 3-2 loss to Philadelphia. Dressed but did not play in DC's 2-1 loss to Columbus.
Ryan Pore - Portland - On loan to Montreal.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 1-1 draw with KC.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 72 minutes in San Jose's 1-1 draw with KC.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-1 win over New England. Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 2-0 win over Chicago in the US Open Cup.
Josh Wolff - DC - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 3-2 loss to Philadelphia. Came off the bench and played 15 minutes in DC's 2-1 loss to Columbus.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not play in Minnesota's 1-0 win over Tampa.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 5-0 win over Edmonton.
Amir Lowery - Montreal - Season is over.
Ryan Pore - Montreal - Season is over.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a hattrick in Fort Lauderdale's 5-0 win over Edmonton.

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Out of season.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Out of season.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Out of season.
Yomby William - Richmond - Out of season.
John Wilson - Charleston - Out of season.

PDL
Byron Carmichael - Ocean City - Out of season.
Sergei Raad - FC Jax Destroyers - Out of season.

NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Out of season.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Comets - Out of season.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Out of season.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Out of season.
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Sockers - Out of Season
Boris Pardo - Comets - Out of season.
Paul Wright - San Diego Sockers - Out of season.

International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - Came off the bench and played 32 minutes in Diosgyor's 5-0 loss to Debrecen.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - Season starts again 10/22
Eloy Colombano - Ferro Carril Sud - Argentina - Beat Grupo Universidad 1-0
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not play in Cali's 1-0 win over Quindio.
Herculez Gomez - Tecos - Mexico - Did not dress in Tecos' 2-0 win over Morelia.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Honved - Hungary - Did not play in either of Honved's games.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Beat Montego Bay United 2-0.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Beat Radnik Sesvete 4-0.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Lost 1-0 to Iskra-Stal.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not have a game this week.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in Krasnodar's 2-1 loss to Dinamo Moscow.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Paderborn's 1-0 win over MSV Duisburg.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Lost 1-0 to Army United.

Former Wizards Up for Hall of Fame

The US National Soccer Hall of Fame has come out with their 24 finalists for this years induction into the Hall of Fame. Six former Wizards are on the list this year, as Mike Burns, Chris Henderson, Roy Lassister, Preki, Mike Sorber, and Peter Vermes are all up for induction. Sorber, the Wizards first allocation back in 1996 is in his final year of eligibility before being moved to the veterans ballot along with Thomas Dooley, John Doyle, and Dominic Kinnear. The Wizards 2000 leader in points, Chris Henderson, is in his first year of eligibility with John O'Brien and Eduardo Hurtado.

For me, Preki is the only surefire Hall of Famer in the list of former Wizards that are up for election with Sorber and Vermes being the next two most likely. The other 3 I think have very minimal chances. Voters can select up to 10 names of players on their ballot, if I had a vote, here'd be my ballot: Preki, Thomas Dooley, Earnie Stewart, Shannon MacMillan, and Joe-Max Moore.

Current and Former Wizards Honored

One current Wizard and two former Wizards will be honored later this week for their contributions before coming to the Wizards. Jack Jewsbury, Mike Sorber, and Matt McKeon have all been named to St. Louis University's Half-Century Team as the Billikens celebrate 50 years of soccer at the university this year. The 50th anniversary team will be introduced this Saturday while Jewsbury and the Wizards are in LA to take on Chivas USA. While Jewsbury is still playing, both Sorber and McKeon have retired from playing. Sorber is now an assistant for the US Men's National team and will likely be down in Miami training with the US national team as they prepare for the World Cup qualifier against Honduras. As for McKeon, last I knew, he was back in St. Louis coaching for Scott Gallagher SC. Congratulations to Jewsbury, Sorber and McKeon on this honor.

Former Wizards Up for Hall of Fame

This year's list of players up for induction into the US Soccer Hall of Fame is out. And like last year, there is a good number of former Wizards that are up for induction into the US Soccer Hall of Fame. Included in the list is former Wizards great Preki, along with the team's current Technical Director, Peter Vermes. The rest of the former Wizards didn't have that big of a career here in Kansas City. They include; Mike Burns, Frank Klopas, Roy Lassiter, and Mike Sorber. Of the 6 up for induction, the one most likely to get into the Hall of Fame in my opinion is Preki, for his contribution to not only the Wizards, but for the US Men's National team, including scoring the winning goal against Brazil in the US' only win over the soccer superpower.

Wizards Fantasy Draft Round 15 & 16

The final two rounds of the Wizards fantasy draft are now complete. In the next few days I'll have lineups and a write up from each of the draft participants talking about their team and lineup. Once that's posted, I will have the poll posted for voting.

Here are the previous rounds.
1 & 2
3 & 4
5 & 6
7 & 8
9 & 10
11 & 12
13 & 14

15(1). Team Shook - Eloy Colombano - Eloy was signed in August of 07 and he added bench depth and speed to Kansas City. He plays wide midfield and striker and will provide depth for Team Shook. Eloy came off the bench 9 times to provide a spark late in games. He did start one game for the Wizards. In his 10 appearances he gathered 1 goal and 1 assist.

15(2). Team DTB - Paul Wright - The fastest man in MLS, Wright was selected in the 3rd round of the original supplemental draft back in 1996. Wright spent just over 3 seasons with the Wizards appearing in 83 games for the Wizards and scoring 11 goals for the boys in blue over that time period.

15(3). Bravado FC - Mike Sorber - "While our assistants thought that it could serve the team better to snatch up the two best remaining goalkeepers for trade bait with the other two teams in the draft, we remember that in the end, this is a friendly enterprise," said GM John Roushkolb. "While each team has their own priorities for choosing players, it's not necessarily fair to punish those who don't see goalkeeping as the necessity that it is. At least, not any more than we already have."

While he played just one season with the Wizards, (Wiz at the time) he still ranks in the top 30 point scorers for Kansas City, tallying four goals and six assists in 24 appearances. He was traded to the MetroStars for the forgettable Damian Silvera, but his heart was obviously still in Kansas City as he mustered just six goals in his next 100 MLS matches.

16(1). Bravado FC - Gary Glasgow - In his three years in Kansas City, he saw little time in the first team after struggling with injuries in the 2001 season. The Trinidadian international made an impact in the 2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, picking up a goal and two assists in four appearances in the competition, with his helpers coming in both the home and away legs of the Wizards' tie with W Connection FC of Trinidad and Tobago.

16(2). Team DTB - Chris Snitko - Drafted by the Wizards in the first round of the 96 MLS College Draft, Snitko didn't join the team until 97 (because he was allowed to play with the US Olympic team in 96). He played mostly as a backup behind Mike Ammann until the 1999 season, when he became the defacto starter after Tony Meola went down with injury. Snitko played only 26 games for the Wizards before being traded to Chicago. He was also recently seen practicing with the team during preseason.

16(3). Team Shook - Garth Lagerwey - Lagerwey was an original member of the 96 Wiz, and by midseason had supplanted Pat Harrington as the first choice keeper. Lagerwey would start 22 reular season games and all 5 playoff games for the team. Lagerwey was then supplanted by Team Shook teammate Mike Ammann and moved on to Dallas and Miami to finish his career before moving upstairs as the GM of Real Salt Lake.

Preki Misses Hall of Fame

Preki was the closest of numerous former Wizards players up for election to the US Soccer Hall of Fame this year. Candidates need to be named on at least 75% of the 128 ballots to be elected to the Hall. Preki was named on 87 of them (68%). He was the highest finishing player along with Joy Fawcett. Other former Wizards, included current technical director, Peter Vermes (28%). Brian Bliss and Mike Burns (13%). Frank Klopas and Mike Sorber (11%). Roy Lassiter (8.5%). Mark Chung at only 2.3% is dropped from the eligibility for appearing on less then 5% of the ballots.

Former Wizards coach, Bob Gansler was almost elected on the "Builders" ballot, falling 3 votes shy of the 50% required by for "builders." Anson Dorrance was the only member elected person from the builders group. Hugo Perez was elected by the veterans committee.

All Competitions Goals

After going through the Wizards top scorers in MLS play, I decided to go through the Wizards goal scorers in all competitions. I'm not going to be posting pictures this time around as each of the players pictures are in the MLS top scorers posts. The numbers in parenthesis are the players goals in the different MLS competitions.

1. Preki - 22 (18 league, 4 playoff)

2. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 15 (13 league, 1 playoff, 1 Open Cup)

3. Mark Chung - 9 (8 league, 1 playoff)

4. Mo Johnston - 7 (6 league, 1 playoff)

5. Mike Sorber - 4 (4 league)

6. Alan Prampin - 3 (3 league)

7T. Frank Klopas - 2 (2 league)

7T. Scott Uderitz - 2 (2 league)

7T. Uche Okafor - 2 (2 league)

10T. Matt McKeon - 1 (1 playoff)

10T. Sean Bowers - 1 (1 Open Cup)

10T. Yari Allnut - 1 (1 league)

Wizards Top 20 goal scorers

I'm taking a page from something the Climbing the Ladder blog has done recently. He's posted the top 25 league goal scorers over the course of MLS's now 11 year existence. Any Wizards fan can probably tell you who the Wizards all time leading scorer is, he's our hero, recently named coach of Chivas USA, Preki. After that though, do people really know who the other top scorers are in the teams history? Sure you can guess at players that are up there, Mo Johnston, Digital Takawira, Josh Wolff, etc, but I was curious as to who the top scorers were as the seasons progressed. The majority of the pictures of the players come from the MLS Photo collection put together by the Climbing the Ladder blog.

So without further ado, here are the Wizards Top scorers for their inaugural season in 1996

1. Preki - 18 - A strong first season by Preki put him into the top spot in the first season and has yet to relinquish years later.












2. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 13 - Crawl Digital Crawl, the largest output from the popular Zimbabwean during his time with the team.

















3. Mark Chung - 8 - Wizards first round pick in the 96 draft.



















4. Mo Johnston - 6 - The current Toronto FC coach came into the league just in time to score 2 goals in what at the time was the highest scoring game in league history (KC 6-Columbus 4, May 2, 1996)



















5. Mike Sorber - 4 - The Wizards first allocation.















6. Alan Prampin - 3 - Wizards 10th round pick, had 2 appearances for the US National team in 1993.












7T. Frank Klopas - 2 - Another of the Wizards original allocations, played 2 seasons with the Wizards before moving to his home town team in Chicago.















7T. Scott Uderitz - 2 - Had been playing indoor soccer before moving to the Wizards.










7T. Uche Okafor - 2 - Nigerian international anchored the Wizards defense until 1999.













10. Yari Allnut - 1 - Played a total of 45 minutes for the Wizards, scoring 1 goal.










So there is the Wizards 96 season, the Wizards only had 10 goal scorers that season. I'll get the 97 season up later and continue this.