KC Wizards Weekly Update

Waiting, Watching, Wishing

Kansas City Wizards players Jimmy Conrad, Kerry Zavagnin, Eddie Johnson, andJosh Wolff will be awaiting some of the biggest news of their soccer careersthis Tuesday as they wait to hear if they have been selected to the 2006United States World Cup Team. U.S. Head Coach Bruce Arena will announce his23-man roster for this summer's World Cup in Germany live on ESPN betweenthe hours of 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. CT on Sportscenter. All four Wizardsplayers have contributed significantly to the U.S.'s qualifying process overthe course of the past two years. If selected to the team they will stillbe available for Kansas City's match this Saturday vs. the Chicago Fire inArrowhead Stadium. Should any of Kansas City's players make the World Cuproster, the Wizards will be hosting a Send Off Party next Monday, May 8th atthe 810 Zone in Leawood, Kansas. Fans are encouraged to attend and wishtheir Wizards well in this summer's World Cup between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. CT.Also, don't forgot should the Wizards score a goal in the first 8 minutesand 10 seconds this weekend vs. the Fire, fans can present their ticketstubs from the game to the 810 Zone at the party and receive a freespecially selected appetizer.

Three On The Road

The Kansas City Wizards regained first place in the Eastern Conference thispast weekend when they topped the Columbus Crew for the second time thisseason, downing the yellow & black 1-0. Josh Wolff netted the game-winneroff of a perfectly-timed Sasha Victorine pass for his first goal of theseason. The Wizards are 4-1-0 (12 pts.), one point ahead of FC Dallas andEastern Conference rival D.C. United for the best record in MLS after thefirst month of play, however, it is still a long season with over 25scheduled games remaining. Bo Oshoniyi capped off the month of April, hisbest ever start to a season, with his second shutout in three games,lowering his goals against average on the year to 0.80 with just four goalsallowed in five games.

Returning To Arrowhead

For the second straight week the Wizards will be featured on HD Net givingfans the next best option to watching the match in person at Arrowhead,watching it in high definition. This weekend's match-up against the ChicagoFire is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. CT in Arrowhead Stadium. Chicagois coming off of a come-from-behind win this past weekend on the roadagainst the defending Eastern Conference Champion New England Revolution.Down 1-0 early after Taylor Twellman's first goal of the year, the Fireresponded with two goals in a three-minute span midway through the secondhalf for their first win of the season. With five points on the year at1-1-2, Chicago sits in third place in the East, one-point ahead of NewEngland, New York, and Columbus which are all tied for fourth. As one mightthink with one win, one loss, and two ties, the Fire have an even six goalsfor and six goals against after the first month of play. Forward ChrisRolfe leads the way for Chicago with three goals on the season, tying himfor second in the league behind Houston's Brian Ching who has six.Goalkeeper Zach Thornton has played all 360 minutes between the pipes forthe Fire, posting 15 saves with a GAA of 1.50. Saturday's game will be theWizards' only home match in a span of five games.

Wizards On The Air

Wizards fans can catch their team on airwaves this week, starting with 2005MLS Defender of the Year Jimmy Conrad on The DA Show Tuesday morning, May2nd at 8:30 a.m. on 610 AM. Kansas City General Manager Curt Johnson willbe on Crunch Time with Frank Boal, Dave Stewart and George Brett on WHB 810AM Thursday, May 4th at 9:20 a.m.

Who's Next?

Not only are the Wizards winning games at an excellent clip to start theyear, they are setting records in the process. Thanks to Wolff'sgame-winner this past weekend, Kansas City set a new Major League Soccerrecord with its eighth goal of the season coming from its eighth differentgoal-scorer. Remarkably, Wolff set the record against the team that heldthe previous mark, the Columbus Crew, which began 2001 with seven differentplayers scoring its first seven goals. The Wizards' full-barrage attack canextend the remarkable string against the Fire this weekend in Arrowhead, aplace where they have scored four goals in two games this year. Of the 14players who have started a match this season, seven are eligible to run therecord to nine. Kerry Zavagnin, Matt Groenwald, Nick Garcia, Shavar Thomasand goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi are the only players with four or more starts whohave yet to score a goal in 2006. Scott Sealy and Jermaine Hue are the onlyother players to have started a match this season who are also still able toextend the record.

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