Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney previews this weekend's MLS playoff action:
* Home teams listed first.
* Series decided on total goals.
* If tied on aggregate after second leg, 30 minutes of golden goal overtime will follow, then penalty kicks if necessary. (Away goals are NOT used as a tiebreaker).
Klein likely to attack more for Kansas City vs. Colorado
Saturday, Nov. 8, 8:00 pm ET/7:00 pm CT/6:00 pm MT/5:00 pm PT
KANSAS CITY vs. COLORADO
Tied on aggregate: 1-1.
TV: HDNet, Fox Sports World, Fox Sports En Espanol.
MLS Shootout Package
Key Players Out: Kansas City — Josh Wolff (fractured rib); Colorado — Seth Trembly (L torn ACL); Jeff Stewart (R torn ACL); Billy Sleeth (L foot fracture).
Referee: Ricardo Valenzuela.
In Game 1 Tuesday night the Rapids surrendered an early goal before rallying to tie the game and play some sharp soccer in the second half. Pablo Mastroeni and Kyle Beckerman held sway in midfield, and the attacking trio of John Spencer, Mark Chung and Chris Henderson looked more dangerous than their Wizard counterparts. Zizi Roberts threatened the goal a couple of times after coming on as a sub.
At Arrowhead Stadium, where the teams play Game 2 Saturday, the Wizards scored six goals against the Rapids in a 4-2 win and 2-2 tie during the regular season.
Expect Chris Klein to attack more often than he did Tuesday at Invesco Field and open up more of the field for Preki, but Kansas City struggled to contain the multi-dimensional Rapids attack Tuesday and will likely be tested again.
D.C. United faces uphill battle against Chicago
Sunday, Nov. 9, 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT
CHICAGO vs. DC UNITED
Chicago leads on aggregate, 2-0.
TV: ESPN2.
Key Players Out: Chicago — Henry Ring (shoulder surgery); DC United — Milton Reyes (L knee surgery); Nick Rimando (L knee surgery).
Referee: Brian Hall.
This might be more than the mere formality some think it will be, since D.C. United did win the season series 2-1-1. It has nothing to lose as well as the game-breakers to crack the Fire defense, but containing Damani Ralph and Ante Razov and DaMarcus Beasley and maybe Andy Williams is a lot to ask of a team needing a two-goal win just to force golden-goal overtime.
This game will be fierce from the get-go and that means a lot of fouls and free kicks and fingers in faces. Set plays, from which United is especially potent, will be plentiful. Chicago is the best team in the league and while that doesn't guarantee anything, it has too much talent and steel to stumble at this stage. Probably.
Revs' momentum bodes badly for MetroStars
Sunday, Nov. 9, 4:00 pm ET/1:00 pm PT
NEW ENGLAND vs. METROSTARS
New England leads on aggregate, 2-0.
TV: MSG (New York), CN8 (Boston), Fox Sports En Espanol.
MLS Shootout Package
Key Players Out: New England — Chris Brown (broken foot); Taylor Twellman (foot stress fracture); MetroStars — none.
Referee: Ali Saheli.
Whatever unity and spirit Coach Bob Bradley had instilled in the Metros this season has dissipated. The furor over Clint Mathis' inconsistent form has overshadowed other glaring problems, such as flaccid flank play and only sporadic cohesiveness in midfield.
The Alphonse & Gaston act Ricardo Clark and Eddie Pope unveiled to allow Pat Noonan to score the Revs' second goal typified what Metro soccer has become since winning 2-0 in San Jose a month ago. Since then the M's haven't won nor figured out how to stop Noonan.
As they were at this stage of the season last year, the Revs are on a roll. The Metros seldom stretched New England's creaky defense last week and even if they do so this time around, Adin Brown is likely to bail out his zealous, sometimes reckless teammates.
Still, a team that won three games in overtime shouldn't go down easily. Halving a two-goal deficit by scoring early can tighten quite a few nerves and perhaps set up John Wolyniec or Mike Magee for another dramatic rescue. Andrej Justowiak has scored some big goals for club and country. Can he do it here?
Pressure's on Quakes' Donovan in LA clash
Sunday, Nov. 9, 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT
SAN JOSE vs. LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles leads on aggregate, 2-0.
TV: KWHY (Los Angeles).
MLS Shootout Package
Key Players Out: San Jose — none; Los Angeles — none.
Referee: Alex Prus.
Quakes coach Frank Yallop has done little wrong since taking over a shipwrecked franchise three years ago, yet he violated a coaching tenet by ridiculing the playoff format and thus planted in his players a seed of unease.
Even so, they were even with the Galaxy for nearly an hour in the first leg before being floored by a scrappy goal and a Carlos Ruiz masterpiece three minutes apart.
Coach Sigi Schmid tinkered with his underachieving lineup all season long and in its last three games LA has beaten the Quakes 3-0, tied them 1-1, and beaten them, 2-0.
Earlier in the season, Landon Donovan said he'd been motivated by not being named as an MVP candidate by a broadcaster. Let it be said that Preki and John Spencer were influential, dynamic presences in their meeting Tuesday; by contrast, Donovan had little impact in the Quakes 2-0 defeat last weekend and badly misfired on a good setup in the first half.
LA has been beaten by two goals three times this season and that's all San Jose needs to force overtime. That's hardly the ''mountain'' some Quakes have referred to as their task in game two.
The Quakes may be shorthanded. Dwayne DeRosario and Ramiro Corrales suffered injuries in the first game and are listed as doubtful. Yet Yallop has proclaimed his team's spirit as unquenchable and Donovan as the best player in the league. Sunday night's second leg is their chance to prove him right.