New England at MetroStars
Location: Giants Stadium. Kickoff (ET): 7:30 p.m. Television:
MSG network; WABU-68 Boston. Satellite: Satcom C4, Tr. 6.
Series history: April 20 at Giants Stadium — Nicola Caricola’s last minute own-goal gave New England a 1-0 win; May 19 at Foxboro Stadium — Revs blanked NY/NJ again 2-0; Aug. 3 at Foxboro Stadium — New England won 2-1 in a shootout marred by Jim St. Andre’s professional foul against Roberto Donadoni.
Injuries: New England — D Iain Fraser (sore groin) is probable, M Welton (strained quad) is questionable, F John Kerr (strained groin) and D Mike Burns (recovering from knee surgery) are out; MetroStars — D Nicola Caricola (fractured ribs) is questionable, M Manny Lagos (torn ACL) is out.
Of Note: This is the final regular-season meeting between the two clubs…. It will be the first MLS game played on artificial turf…. New England will be without Francis Okaroh, who was ejected from Sunday’s 6-1 loss at San Jose…. Keeper Jim St. Andre, who allowed all six goals, will be benched in favor of Aiden Heaney tonight…. The MetroStars new Colombian striker, Antony De Avila, should start tonight…. Defender Jeff Zaun picked up his fifth yellow card against Colorado on Sunday and will be suspended for tonight’s match.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
New England — Heaney, Lips, Fraser, Wylie, Lalas, Woodring, Aunger, Welton, Naveda, Keegan, Moore.
MetroStars — Meola, Knowles, Harty, Caricola, Donadoni, Unger, Ramos, Joseph, Vermes, Wood, De Avila.
Prediction: Metros finally down their rivals from the north, 3-1.
Columbus at Dallas
Location: Cotton Bowl. Kickoff (ET): 8:30 p.m. Television:
none. Satellite: none.
Series history: May 5 at the Cotton Bowl — a spirited crowd of 35, 000 celebrated Cinco de Mayo and Dallas’ 1-0 shootout win; July 31 at Ohio Stadium — In Timo Liekoski’s final game as head coach, the Crew fell to Dallas 2-1.
Injuries: Columbus — G Bo Oshoniyi (strained shoulder) and D Ricardo Iribarren (bruised knee) are probable, G Pat Harrington (severely sprained ankle) is doubtful, D Shane Battelle (ruptured PCL), D Brian Bliss (strained Achilles, pulled groin), and M Billy Thompson (torn ACL) are out; Dallas — M Diego Sonora (strained groin) is questionable, D Tom Soehn (torn ACL) is out.
Of Note: This will be the final meeting of the year for the two teams…. Columbus got a big boost from the acquisition of Brad Friedel, who played well in his debut on Saturday…. Uruguayan Adrian Paz played brilliantly as a substitute for the injured Billy Thompson, who left the game with a torn ACL and is out for the season…. Paz eventually scored the gamewinner in Columbus 3-2 win…. Dallas is the league’s hottest club, riding a five-game winning streak into tonight’s match…. The Burn will be without a pair of all-stars, though, as defender Mark Santel and midfielder Leonel Alvarez will serve one-game suspensions for accumulated yellow cards.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Columbus — Friedel, Clark, Iribarren, Caligiuri, Michallik, Yeagley, Warzycha, Maisonneuve, Paz, McBride, Khumalo.
Dallas — Dodd, Farrer, Puskarich, Ibsen, Lozzano, Sonora, Flores, Kreis, Haynes, Sanchez, Elliott.
Prediction: Dallas has struggled without Alvarez — the Crew pulls a 3-2 upset.
Thursday, August 15
San Jose at Kansas City
Location: Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff (ET): 9:30 p.m. Television: ESPN2. Satellite: Galaxy 5, Tr. 14.
Series history: April 21 at Spartan Stadium — Ten-man K.C. scored a late equalizer and then prevailed 8-7 in the shootout for a 3-2 win; May 29 at Spartan Stadium — Eric Wynalda scored both goals in San Jose’s 2-1 win.
Injuries: San Jose — D Troy Dayak (hip flexor), and M Jeff Baicher (bruised quad) are probable, M Paul Holocher (torn ACL) is out; Kansas City —
D Uche Okafor (strained patella tendon) and F Digital Takawira (strained hamstring) are probable.
Of Note: The Clash snapped a three-game losing skid with Sunday’s 6-1 thrashing of New England…. Defenders Troy Dayak and John Doyle combined for three goals and an assist…. Michael Emenalo returns to the lineup after a yellow-card suspension…. Look for Tom Liner to start in goal again for the Clash…. The Wiz are 9-3 at home, where the team averages 2.54 goals per game…. Preki, in particular, feels at home in Arrowhead Stadium — he’s tallied a goal or an assist in 11 straight home games.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
San Jose — Liner, Martin, Dayak, Doyle, Draguicevich, Emenalo, Baicher, Rodas, Bravo, Espinoza, Wynalda.
Kansas City — Lagerwey, Uderitz, Okafor, Bowers, Gutierrez, Klopas, Sorber, Preki, Chung, Takawira, Johnston.
Prediction: Wiz continue to win at home, 3-1.