D.C. United at Columbus
Location: Ohio Stadium. Kickoff (ET): 7:30 p.m. Television:
Home Team Sports. Satellite: Spacenet 3, Tr. 23 (may also be at SBS 6, Tr. 17).
Series History: April 13 at Ohio Stadium — Columbus waltzes over D.C. in its home opener, 4-0; May 15 at RFK Stadium — Steve Rammel scores the first MLS hat trick in D.C.’s 5-2 win; July 28 at RFK Stadium — Rammel and Jesse Marsch score in United’s 2-0 victory..
Injuries: D.C. United — D Mario Gori (sprained arch), D Eddie Pope (sprained foot), M John Maessner (sprained ankle), M Richie Williams (thigh contusion), and F Raul Diaz Arce (lacerated face) are probable, D David Vaudreuil (strained groin), D Jeff Agoos (bruised foot), and M John Harkes (strained calf) are questionable, D Jesse Marsch (broken ankle) and D Mike Huwiler (aggravated groin) are out; Columbus — G Bo Oshoniyi (strained shoulder) and M Billy Thompson (strained hamstring) are probable, D Ricardo Iribarren (bruised knee) is questionable, G Pat Harrington (severely sprained ankle), D Shane Battelle (ruptured PCL), and M Brian Bliss (strained Achilles, pulled groin) are out.
Of Note: Brad Friedel makes his MLS debut this evening…. Olympian Rob Smith (the former South Carolina star) will start on defense in place of Mike Clark, who received a red card against the Galaxy on Sunday…. New Columbus coach Tom Fitzgerald is experimenting with Doctor Khumalo at forward and former Indiana teammates Todd Yeagley and Brian Maisonneuve in midfield…. D.C. will be without Marco Etcheverry, who picked up his fifth yellow card against Tampa Bay on Wednesday…. Defender David Vaudreuil is almost healthy and may start in place of Clint Peay for United…. Jaime Moreno, D.C.’s new Bolivian international, needed just four minutes to score his first MLS goal on Wednesday.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
D.C. United — Causey, Peay, Pope, Agoos, Gori, Williams, Harkes, Maessner, Sanneh, Diaz Arce, Moreno.
Columbus — Friedel, Smith, Iribarren, Caligiuri, Michallik, Thompson, Warzycha, Yeagley, Maisonneuve, McBride, Khumalo.
Prediction: Crew back on track after Friedel blanks D.C. 2-0.
Tampa Bay at Dallas
Location: Cotton Bowl. Kickoff (ET): 8:30 p.m. Television:
ESPN. Satellite: Galaxy 5, Tr. 14.
Series History: April 28 at Tampa Stadium — free kick goals from Jason Kreis and Washington Rodriguez powered Dallas to a 2-1 win; May 23 at the Cotton Bowl — Tampa edged the Burn 1-0 on Roy Lassiter’s goal off a pass from Carlos Valderrama.
Injuries: Tampa Bay — M Evans Wise (sprained ankle) is probable, M Peter Hattrup (torn ACL and MCL) is out; Dallas — D Tom Soehn (torn ACL) is out.
Of Note: Dallas will have forward Dante Washington in uniform tonight…. Washington was acquired from Columbus along with a first-round draft pick in exchange for the rights to an allocated player (Brad Friedel) after Dallas sold Washington Rodriguez back to Liverpool FC of Uruguay…. Tampa can clinch a playoff berth with a victory and a Columbus loss or shootout win…. Tampa Bay has scored on 37.5 percent of its shots on goal —
tops in MLS.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Tampa Bay — Dougherty, Pittman, Kooiman, Yallop, Vasquez, Ralston, McKinley, Frye, Valderrama, Galderisi, Lassiter.
Dallas — Dodd, Farrer, Santel, Ibsen, Lozzano, Sonora, Alvarez, Kreis, Haynes, Elliott, Sanchez.
Prediction: “El Pibe” leads Tampa to a thrilling 3-2 win.