Columbus at Tampa Bay
Location: Tampa Stadium. Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (ET). Television:
none. Satellite: none.
Previous meeting: The Crew got their first shootout victory of the year in a 4-3 thriller at Tampa Stadium June 22. Tampa Bay won 2-1 in Columbus on April 20.
Injuries: Columbus — G Bo Oshoniyi (strained shoulder), D Brian Bliss (strained groin, bruised knee), M Shane Battelle (strained foot tendon) and F Brian McBride (separated shoulder) are probable; Tampa Bay — D Steve Pittman (knee surgery) is questionable, M Goran Hunjak (sprained MCL) is out, M Peter Hattrup (torn ACL and MCL) is on injured reserve.
Preview: Columbus returns to Florida less than two weeks after their dramatic shootout win…. While the Crew lead MLS with 31 goals scored, they also top the league with 37 goals allowed — a stat that should have Mutiny forward Roy Lassiter licking his chops…. Coach Timo Liekoski’s club suffered a 4-0 loss to the MetroStars on Sunday, but Columbus was unfortunate not to score…. They squandered several excellent chances, most notably Doctor Khumalo’s saved penalty kick…. Brian McBride has yet to fully recover from his shoulder separation, but he will be in the lineup again tonight…. Columbus signed former national team striker Dante Washington to beef up its offense…. Argentine defender Ricardo Iribarren has arrived in the U.S., but will probably not make his MLS debut until Sunday, when Columbus meets Colorado in Denver…. To make room for these two players, the Crew waived Brandon Ward and Mark Watson.
Tampa Bay fans will be glad to know that defender Steve Pittman, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last week, is expected to play this evening…. Without Pittman, the Mutiny defense was exploited numerous times in a 4-0 pasting at Spartan Stadium in San Jose last weekend…. While Pittman is back, Carlos Valderrama will miss tonight’s match to join the Colombian national team for World Cup qualifying…. Giuseppe Galderisi slides into midfield, while Diego Viera will start alongside Lassiter up front…. Cle Kooiman will be an important figure in tonight’s game, as he will likely mark Brian McBride…. Kooiman’s defense prevented the Crew star from having much impact in Tampa’s April win at Columbus…. Tampa Bay waived defender Tayt Ianni, who was subsequently claimed by the San Jose Clash…. Defender Adam Frye was loaned to the Tampa Bay Cyclones of the USISL, while Cyclone Mike Williams was brought up to the Mutiny.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Columbus — Winner, Clark, Bliss, Caligiuri, Michallik, Thompson, Warzycha, Khumalo, Paz, McBride, Marino.
Tampa Bay — Dougherty, Pittman, Kooiman, Yallop, Ralston, McKinley, Vasquez, Wise, Galderisi, Lassiter, Viera.
Prediction: Offensive fireworks from the Crew in a 3-2 win.
D.C. United at Dallas
Location: Cotton Bowl. Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (ET). Television:
Prime Sports Southwest; Home Team Sports. Satellite: Satcom C1, Tr. 10; Spacenet 3, Tr. 23.
Previous meeting: Hugo Sanchez scored the gamewinner in his Dallas debut, as the Burn defeated D.C. 3-2 June 18 at the Cotton Bowl. D.C. won the first meeting between the clubs 3-1 on May 1 in Washington.
Injuries: D.C. United — G Jeff Causey (slightly separated shoulder), D Jeff Agoos (strained groin), M Tony Sanneh (sprained ankle) and F Steve Rammel (bruised shin) are probable, D Mario Gori (strained groin) is questionable, D Mike Huwiler (strained groin) is on injured reserve; Dallas — F Hugo Sanchez (bruised lower back) is probable, D Tom Soehn (torn ACL) is on injured reserve.
Preview: D.C. will miss the presence of Marco Etcheverry, who already has a goal and two assists against Dallas…. The crafty midfielder is with the Bolivian national team preparing for Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Venezuela…. Look for John Harkes to move into center midfield, while Tony Sanneh, who has been hampered by a sprained ankle, should start tonight…. Mark Simpson has played well in goal for D.C., but the defense has struggled with Eddie Pope and Clint Peay away with the Olympic team…. United signed defender David Vaudreuil, who had been on loan from Hampton Roads of the USISL, and waived forward Ben Crawley…. Recent call-up (and current UVa head coach) George Gelnovatch wasn’t so lucky — his loan ended after he had played in one and a half games.
Dallas will be without Leonel Alvarez again tonight, but not because of a suspension…. The Colombian midfielder is with his national team for Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Uruguay…. Dallas is 8-2 with Alvarez in the lineup, 1-5 without him…. Lawrence Lozzano will move into midfield, and Zak Ibsen, recently acquired from New England in exchange for John Kerr, will get his first start in defense for the Burn…. Washington Rodriguez missed Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Kansas City because of a strained groin, but should see some time as a sub tonight…. Midfielder Gerell Elliott, out for a good part of the season with a broken foot, is back and will be on the bench this evening.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
D.C. United — Simpson, Vaudreuil, Imler, Agoos, Gori, Williams, Sanneh, Medved, Harkes, Diaz Arce, Rammel.
Dallas — Dodd, Ibsen, Puskarich, Farrer, Lozzano, Santel, Ashton, Kreis, Sonora, Sanchez, Haynes.
Prediction: Jason Kreis and Hugo Sanchez lead Dallas to a 2-1 win.
MetroStars at Colorado
Location: Mile High Stadium. Kickoff: 9:00 p.m. (ET). Television: MSG network. Satellite: Satcom C4, Tr. 6.
Previous meeting: Giovanni Savarese thrilled the home fans with a hat trick, while Rapids coach Bob Houghton was ejected in the Metros 3-0 victory May 16.
Injuries: MetroStars — D Rhett Harty (strained lower back) and D Ted Gillen (strained hamstring) are questionable, D Matt Knowles (strained quadricep) is doubtful; Colorado — D Marcelo Balboa (strained hamstring) is probable, F Jean Harbor (broken right arm) is probable, F Richard Sharpe (stress fracture in right tibia) is out, D Troy Edwards (hernia) is on injured reserve.
Preview: The Rapids are riding high after knocking off previously unbeaten Los Angeles…. Roy Wegerle had a superb game, scoring once and assisting Shaun Bartlett on the gamewinner…. Forward Jean Harbor was back in the lineup despite a broken arm, although he played only a half before being substituted…. Marcelo Balboa, nursing a sore left hamstring, missed the match, but is expected to play tonight…. The injury bug continues to hit Colorado — in addition to Balboa and Harbor, defender Troy Edwards is still on injured reserve, and now forward Richard Sharpe is likely to miss two to three weeks with a stress fracture in his right tibia…. Goalie Chris Woods, himself only recently recovered from a strained groin, played brilliantly in the win over the Galaxy.
The MetroStars turnaround under new coach Carlos Queiroz has been a remarkable one…. The team is 4-3 since his arrival, including last Sunday’s 4-0 win at Columbus…. The team will have a slightly different look this evening, as Roberto Donadoni is still on vacation in Italy, Giovanni Savarese is away with Venezuela’s national team, and Ruben Dario Hernandez has returned to Colombia after a dismal MLS performance…. Peter Vermes will move up front, and Chris Unger and Chris Brauchle will start in midfield…. In addition, Queiroz has raided the USISL for several midfielders: Ian Hennessy and Stan Lembryk are on loan from the NY/NJ Stallions, Mirsad Huseinovic is on loan from the Albany Alleycats, and Amid Namazi from the Delaware Wizards…. All four will be on the bench as possible subs this evening…. Two big constants for the MetroStars are the steady Tony Meola in goal, and the sparkling play of Tab Ramos in midfield, and both will need to be present for a win in Denver.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
MetroStars — Meola, Harty, Caricola, Gillen, Unger, Brauchle, Lagos, Ramos, Da Silva, Vermes, Johnson.
Colorado — Woods, Kmosko, Hamlett, Butterworth, Henderson, Balboa, Trittschuh, Benedetti, Kinnear, Wegerle, Bartlett.
Prediction: Rapids win, 3-1.
New England at Los Angeles
Location: Rose Bowl. Kickoff: 10:00 (ET). Television:
ESPN2. Satellite: Galaxy 5, Tr. 14.
Previous meeting: Mark Semioli scored the tying goal in the final minutes, and the Galaxy prevailed 3-2 in a shootout on June 6.at Foxboro Stadium.
Injuries: New England — D Peter Woodring (strained Achilles) is probable, D Mike Burns (strained knee) is out; Los Angeles — M Chris Armas (sprained ankle) is probable, M Arash Noamouz (torn knee cartilage) is on injured reserve.
Preview: Revolution coach Frank Stapleton faces a difficult challenge in a Los Angeles team still smarting from its first loss last Sunday in Colorado…. More bad news for the Revs: All-Star midfielder/defender Mike Burns will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and is out indefinitely…. Kevin Wylie and Francis Okaroh (who had been with the Cape Cod Crusaders of the USISL) are officially on the 20 man roster…. Chilean midfielder Victor Mella, Rob Ukrop, Bojan Vuckovic, and Richard Weiszmann have been waived…. Haitian striker Patrick Tardieu and Colombian striker Hugo Arrieta are rumored to be headed for New England, but for now, Welton and Paul Keegan will start at forward.
Galaxy coach Lothar Osiander shouldn’t have any difficulty motivating his players for tonight’s nationally televised match, as Los Angeles tasted defeat for the first time in Denver last weekend…. Jose Vasquez is back after sitting out two months with a broken foot (he played a half in Sunday’s loss)…. Vasquez and Harut Karapetyan will have to produce up front, as Eduardo Hurtado (the team’s top scorer) is with the Ecuadoran national team for its qualifier against Chile…. Midfielder Arash Noamouz is expected to return next week, so Greg Vanney will start again in midfield for the Galaxy.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
New England — St. Andre, Fraser, Okaroh, Wylie, Lalas, Woodring, Aunger, Naveda, Keegan, Kerr, Welton.
Los Angeles — Campos, Calichman, Fraser, Motajo, Semioli, Vanney, Salcedo, Cienfuegos, Jones, Karapetyan, Vasquez.
Prediction: No losing streak — Galaxy win 3-1.