Saturday, April 14 — Columbus at Tampa Bay — 7:00 p.m. (WSYX) Season series: First Meeting. All-time regular season series: Mutiny leads 13-7-0 (Tampa Bay leads 40-29 in aggregate goals). Leading scorers: Columbus: F Dante Washington (1g, 0a = 2pts); Tampa Bay: M Steve Ralston (1g, 1a = 3pts) Did you know? In two meetings at Raymond James Stadium last season, T.B. outscored the Crew by a margin of 8-2. Key players out: Columbus: F Brian McBride (knee sprain-R), D Duncan Oughton (ankle sprain-L); Tampa Bay: D Chad McCarty (broken ankle-L), D Steve Trittschuh (broken fibula-R), D Chris Houser (illness) Notes: After shooting down Dallas 4-2 at the Cotton Bowl, the Mutiny host Columbus in their home opener at Raymond James Stadium … The Crew head to Florida looking to emerge successful from a run that will see them play four games in 11 days (two legs of the Giants Cup and two MLS matches) … The Crew must be wary of a balanced Mutiny attack that saw seven different players notch points in Tampa’s opener … Injuries have decimated the Mutiny backline which now must rely on newcomer Craig Demmin and veteran Joe Addo to corral Crew speedsters Jeff Cunningham, Brian West, Dante Washington and Edson Buddle … For Columbus, locking down Carlos Valderrama in the midfield must be the top priority. KEY MATCHUP: Columbus D Tenywa Bonseu vs. Mutiny F Mamadou Diallo: Although marking Diallo will be a shared assignment amongst the Crew’s four-man backline, Columbus acquired Bonseu specifically to help neutralize quick, powerful forwards … In MLS, they don’t come any bigger or faster than the “Big Mama”. SCHEDULED REFEREES: Referee: Tim Weyland; Assistant Referees: Scott Weyland (SAR), George Vergara (JAR) Saturday, April 7 — Miami at New England — 7:30 p.m. (WLVI-56) Season series: First Meeting. All-time regular season series: Miami leads 6-4-2 (Revolution leads 17-16 in aggregate goals). Leading scorers: Miami: F Alex Pineda Chacon (2g, 0a = 4pts); New England: M Leonel Alvarez (1g, 0a = 2pts) Did you know? Since entering MLS in 1998, Miami is only 1-4-1 at Foxboro Stadium Key players out: Miami: none; New England: M Yari Allnut (foot surgery-R), D Rusty Pierce (hamstring strain-L) Notes: New England hosts the Fusion, as the Revs look to rebound from a disappointing last-second loss the MetroStars this past Saturday … Miami enters with a glut of attacking players and a renewed sense of confidence after their season opening win against Colorado … The Fusion are also expecting to field an even stronger team in week two as ace D Carlos Llamosa will debut against New England after sitting out a red card suspension in the Fusion’s opener … Generating more offense will be a priority for the Revs, who could only produce six shots in the loss to the MetroStars … KEY MATCHUP: Miami D Carlos Llamosa vs. New England F Wolde Harris: Unable to find the net in week one against the MetroStars, Harris encounters perhaps the league’s best man-marker in week two. New England must also hope for more aggressive offensive performances from winger William Sunsing and midfielder Andy Williams. SCHEDULED REFEREES: Referee: Brian Hall; Referee’s Assistants: Chip Reed (SAR), Richard Eddy (JAR) Saturday, April 7 — Los Angeles at Kansas City — 7:30 p.m. (KCAL) Season series: First Meeting. All-time regular season series: Los Angeles leads 10-8-2 (Galaxy lead 31-31 in aggregate goals). Leading scorers: Los Angeles: F Sasha Victorine, D Adam Frye (1g, 0a = 2 pts); Kansas City: M Matt McKeon (1g, 1a = 3pts) Did you know? Galaxy Head Coach Sigi Schmid was an assistant on the 1994 U.S. World Cup team that featured Tony Meola (K.C.), Alexi Lalas (L.A.), Paul Caligiuri (L.A.), Cobi Jones (L.A.) and Mike Burns (K.C.). Key players out: Los Angeles: F Brian Mullan (knee surgery-L); Kansas City: D Peter Vermes (abdominal strain-R), D Nick Garcia (red card suspension) Notes: Los Angeles returns to Arrowhead Stadium, where the Wizards ended the Galaxy’s hopes of a return trip to MLS Cup with an improbable victories in both regulation and the series tiebreaker during last year’s MLS Cup Playoff Semifinals … Both teams opened this past weekend with surprising 3-2 loses, as the 10-men Wizards fell to D.C. United, while the Galaxy lost to the visiting San Jose Earthquakes … The red-card suspension of Nick Garcia coupled with the injury status of Peter Vermes leaves Kansas City’s vaunted defense looking thin, while the Galaxy arrive in the Midwest relatively injury free … A pregame ring ceremony with Commissioner Don Garber will offer Kansas City one last chance to relish their MLS Cup 2000 title, but another loss would darken the mood further for the defending champs. KEY MATCHUP: Los Angeles M Mauricio Cienfuegos vs. Kansas City M Kerry Zavagnin: After a dismal first half against San Jose, Cienfuegos and his superb playmaking skills ignited the Galaxy attack. As Kansas City’s designated midfield stopper, Zavagnin will need a big game to relieve the pressure from the Wizards’ depleted backline. SCHEDULED REFEREES: Referee: Alex Prus; Referee’s Assistants: Thomas Supple (SAR), Jose Andrade (JAR) Saturday, April 14 — Dallas Burn at San Jose Earthquakes — 10:00 p.m. (KSTR-Ch. 49) Season series: First meeting. All-time regular season series: Dallas leads 10-8-0 (Series even 25-25 on aggregate goals). Leading scorers: Dallas: M Jorge Rodriguez (2g, 0a = 4pts); San Jose: Four players tied with two points (Scott Bower, Ronald Cerritos, Troy Dayak and Dwayne DeRosario) Did you know? Earthquakes forward Ronald Cerritos has scored five goals and recorded eight assists in his 10 career matches against Dallas. Players out: Dallas: F Miguel Saavedra (ankle sprain-R); San Jose: D Jimmy Conrad (fractured foot-R), M Harut Karapetyan (ankle surgery-L). Notes: Two first-year head coaches, Mike Jeffries (DAL) and Frank Yallop (S.J.) enter this match with their teams coming off different results in the opening weekend … The Burn fell at home 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Mutiny, a match which saw them lose their offensive leader Jason Kreis to a right knee injury … The results of an MRI conducted Monday afternoon are expected to indicate the severity of the hyper-extension which occurred on the same knee which he had arthroscopic surgery performed in February … Kreis is currently tabbed as ‘questionable’ for Saturday’s match … The Earthquakes open at home riding an impressive 3-2 road victory over reigning F.C. Champions Cup winners Los Angeles Galaxy with an attractive offensive display … Troy Dayak, Ronald Cerritos and Dwayne DeRosario put the ‘Quakes ahead 3-0 going into halftime at the Rose Bowl … American soccer phenom Landon Donovan may be ready to make his first start of the season after coming in off the bench last Saturday … The ‘Quakes sport a solid 6-3-0 record against the Burn at Spartan Stadium including a 5-0 rout in April of 2000, a match which saw Cerritos score two goals. KEY MATCHUP: Dallas D Eric Dade vs. San Jose F Dwayne DeRosario: The Dallas Burn defense was exposed in the first weekend of the season against Tampa Bay and will be looking to set matters straight. Led by Eric Dade and Lubos Kubik, it goes up against another impressive attacking force. DeRosario proved difficult to contain in his MLS debut combining deceptive speed and refined ball skills. SCHEDULED REFEREES: Referee: Ricardo Valenzuela; Referee’s Assistants: Tom Bobadilla, Jon Wilson Saturday, April 14 — D.C. United at Chicago Fire — 9:00 p.m. (ESPN2) Season series: First meeting. All-time regular season series: D.C. United leads 2-4-0 (D.C. United leads 17-11 on aggregate goals). Leading scorers: D.C. United: F Raul Diaz Arce (1g, 1a = 3pts); Chicago Fire: F John Wolyniec (1g, 0a = 2 pts) Did you know? The Fire were 13-2-1 at Soldier Field last season. Players out: D.C. United: F Jaime Moreno (knee surgery-R), M Ben Olsen (ankle fracture-R); Chicago: D Andrew Lewis (red card suspension), D Diego Gutierrez (red card suspension), M Sergi Daniv (ankle scope-L). Notes: D.C. United will face the other MLS Cup 2000 finalist after overcoming MLS Cup champion Kansas City Wizards in their home opener despite the absence of four starters … The Black-and-Red came back twice from a goal down, eventually taking a 3-2 decision on an 88th minute game-winner from No. 3 overall SuperDraft pick Mark Lisi … The Fire missed Hristo Stoitchkov and Peter Nowak in the match against Columbus due to injury and they are again listed as doubtful … John Wolyniec was substituted for Stoitchkov up top, teaming up with Josh Wolff … Chicago almost clinched the match but spectacular Crew goalkeeping kept potential Dema Kovalenko and Chris Armas game-winners out of the net … Last season, the Fire overcame player absences (injury, suspension and national team duty) and still made it through to MLS Cup 2000, a feat they must again perform early this season … Last year the Fire had a player ejected in each of its first four games in 2000. KEY MATCHUP: D.C. United M Marco Etcheverry vs. Chicago Fire M Chris Armas: This is a battle that has been waged since MLS Cup ’96. Armas is known for his ability to shut down the opponent’s playmaker while Etcheverry’s experience and guile have made him a force to be reckoned as he now enters his sixth season in the league. The Bolivian’s preference of drifting to one side of the field may pull Armas from the middle of the field, creating space for United’s attack. SCHEDULED REFEREES: Referee: Gerry Corrie; Referee’s Assistants: Jorge Reyes, Francisco Sanchez Saturday, April 14 — MetroStars at Colorado Rapids — 9:00 p.m. (MSG – NY) Season series: First meeting. All-time regular season series: Series tied 6-6-0 (MetroStars lead 23-17 on aggregate goals). Leading scorers: MetroStars: M Clint Mathis, F Adolfo Valencia (1g, 0a = 2pts); Colorado: F John Spencer (1g, 0a = 2 pts) Did you know? The MetroStars scored eight goals in two games against the Rapids in 2000 with seven different players finding the net, including Tab Ramos who has five goals and five assists in seven career games against Colorado. Players out: MetroStars: M Martin Klinger (2nd degree hamstring strain-L), D Mark Semioli (2nd degree hamstring strain-R), M Billy Walsh (stress fracture/foot-R); Colorado: M Wes Hart (achilles strain-L), D Robin Fraser (abdominal strain). Notes: The MetroStars, one of the preseason favorites to reach MLS Cup 2001 in October, began the season with a 2-1 home victory over the New England Revolution … It was the usual suspects coming through for the Metros with Clint Mathis and Adolfo Valencia clinching victory last Saturday in front of more than 30,000 at Giants Stadium …The Rapids let a 1-0 lead slip away as Colorado’s central defense was exposed by MLS Player of the Week Alex Pineda Chacon in the first week showing how critical Robin Fraser’s addition will be once he returns from injury … D Marcelo Balboa also sat out most of the match as he recovers from abdominal hernia surgery … For Colorado, former Scottish & English Premier League veteran John Spencer extended his positive performances during Spring Training with a goal which gave the Rapids a temporary lead. KEY MATCHUP: MetroStars M Mark Chung vs. Colorado M Imad Baba: Two of the best wingers in MLS will have to balance their propensity to push forward and attack with defending the counterpart. Both figured in goals for their teams in the first weekend, and the player that can assert himself at Mile High Stadium should figure to be a factor in the match. SCHEDULED REFEREES: Referee: Kevin Stott; Referee’s Assistants: Roger Itaya, Steven Davidson