Saturday, June 22
Columbus at Tampa Bay
Location: Tampa Stadium. Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (EDT). Television: WB-53 Columbus. Satellite: Telstar 402R, Tr. 20.
Previous meeting: Tampa edged the Crew 2-1 in Columbus on April 20.
Injuries: Columbus — M Brian Bliss (strained shoulder) and G Bo Oshoniyi (strained shoulder) are probable, D Mark Watson (sprained knee) and M Shane Battelle (strained foot tendon) are questionable, F Brian McBride (separated shoulder) is doubtful; Tampa Bay — F Giuseppe Galderisi (bruised ribs) is probable, D Tayt Ianni (sprained knee) and M Peter Hattrup (torn ACL and MCL) are on injured reserve.
Preview: The Crew have lost six in a row, prompting one Columbus headline to ask “Hey Timo! What’s wrong with your team-o?” The losing streak is now at six games after Wednesday night’s 3-2 shootout loss to Colorado. The Crew (1-5 on the road) already face a daunting task in containing speedy Tampa forward Roy Lassiter on just two days of rest, but it will be all the tougher to win without top gun Brian McBride, who suffered a separated shoulder in a collision with Rapids defender Denis Hamlett. McBride could miss as much as two weeks while recovering. Tampa, meanwhile, is looking to rebound from a tough shootout loss to the L.A. Galaxy last Sunday before an MLS record 92,216 fans. Lassiter has scored five goals in five games for Tampa.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Columbus — Oshoniyi, Clark, Watson, Caligiuri, Thompson, Carrera, Bliss, Khumalo, Warzycha, Marino, Paz.
Tampa Bay — Dougherty, Pittman, Kooiman, Yallop, Vasquez, Ralston, Valderrama, Hunjak, Wise, Galderisi, Lassiter.
Prediction: Crew losing streak at seven after a 3-1 defeat.
Sunday, June 23
Dallas at New England
Location: Foxboro Stadium. Kickoff: 3:00 (EDT). Television:
Univision. Satellite: Spacenet 3, Tr. 5.
Previous meeting: none
Injuries: Dallas — M Gerell Elliott (broken foot) and D Tom Soehn (torn ACL) are on injured reserve; New England — D Ted Chronopoulos (sprained ankle) is probable, D Peter Woodring (strained Achilles) is questionable, D John DeBrito (strained hamstring) is on injured reserve.
Preview: The first meeting between these two clubs will feature two of the league’s top defenses — Dallas (17 goals allowed) is tied for third in MLS, while New England (16 goals allowed) is second only to the Galaxy. New England will get a boost from the return of Alexi Lalas and Mike Burns. With Iain Fraser healthy and Ted Chronopoulos playing well, this doesn’t bode well for Dallas’ offense, which has been shut out in four of the last six games. A bright spot for the Burn has been the excellent play of Jason Kreis, who is sixth in MLS in scoring. Flashy forward Hugo Sanchez has played well at times, but must contribute more to the Dallas offense for a victory.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Dallas — Dodd, Puskarich, Lozzano, Farrer, Santel, Sonora, Alvarez, Kreis, W. Rodriguez, Haynes, Sanchez.
New England — Heaney, Chronopoulos, Fraser, Lalas, Burns, Weiszmann, Aunger, Naveda, Sawatzky, Keegan, Welton.
Prediction: Revs are tough at home — they win 2-1.
D.C. United at San Jose
Location: Spartan Stadium. Kickoff: 7:00 (EDT). Television:
Home Team Sports. Satellite: Spacenet 3, Tr. 23; SBS 6, Tr. 17 (raw feed).
Previous meetings: The Clash edged D.C. 1-0 in the MLS opener April 6, but fell 3-1 to United in RFK Stadium on June 5.
Injuries: D.C. United — GK Jeff Causey (sublexated shoulder) is probable, M Jesse Marsch (bruised calf) is doubtful, D Mike Huwiler (pulled groin) is on injured reserve; San Jose — M Ramiro Corrales (sprained ankle) and M Henry Gutierrez (fractured cheekbone) are probable, F Eric Wynalda (strained shoulder) is questionable, M Paul Holocher (torn ACL) is on injured reserve.
Preview: San Jose looks for its second straight win against a Washington team operating on just two days of rest after a 5-1 shellacking Thursday in Kansas City. United’s porous defense (Eddie Pope and Clint Peay are with the Olympic team) must right itself or Clash fans may get several opportunities to hug Paul Bravo (who likes to run into the stands and celebrate with the crowd after scoring). UVa coach George Gelnovatch played the entire game against Kansas City, and he’ll start again in San Jose. Eric Wynalda aggravated his injured shoulder against Mexico in the U.S. Cup, so his playing time may be limited. Defender Oscar Draguicevich and midfielder Eddie Lewis (who both cleared balls off the goal line against the MetroStars last week) have been playing well for the Clash, as has keeper Dave Salzwedel.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
D.C. United — Causey, Vaudreuil, Gelnovatch, Agoos, Gori, Kelderman, Sanneh, Harkes, Etcheverry, Rammel, Diaz Arce.
San Jose — Salzwedel, Martin, Dayak, Doyle, Draguicevich, Emenalo, Lewis, Iroha, Espinoza, Bravo, Baicher.
Prediction: Clash improve to 5-2 at home after a 3-2 win.
Other MLS News
The MetroStars announced the release of three players: midfielders Nidal Baba and Edmundo Rodriguez, and defender Andrew Restrepo. They will be placed on waivers, and their spots on the 20-man roster will be taken by Rob Johnson, 22, a forward who starred at Rutgers and with the USISL’s North Jersey Imperials, Chris Unger, 28, a former Princeton midfielder, and Carlos Rodrigues, 30, who played in the Portuguese Second Division before playing in the USISL with the New Jersey Dragons.