Note: all times are Eastern.
Saturday, June 15
Kansas City at New England
Location: Foxboro Stadium. Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Television:
WABU-68 Boston; KC American Cablevision. Satellite: none.
Previous meeting: The Wiz scored twice in the last 11 minutes in a thrilling 2-1 home victory on June 1.
Injuries: Kansas City — D Uche Okafor (strained back) is probable, F Frank Klopas (strained hip-flexor) is questionable; New England — D Peter Woodring (strained achilles) is questionable, D John DeBrito (strained hamstring) is on injured reserve.
Preview: New England has been playing well of late, in particular at home, where it took Los Angeles to a shootout June 6 before falling 3-2…. Midfielder Geoff Aunger, who missed the Galaxy match because of a one-game suspension for accumulated yellow cards, will be back to direct the New England attack; however, the Revs will be without Alexi Lalas and Mike Burns due to U.S. National Team commitments … Tom Lips and Iain Fraser, who made a successful MLS debut last week after recuperatng from groin surgery, should replace Lalas and Burns…. Kansas City midfielder Mike Sorber is also out for U.S. Cup action… Striker Digital Takawira was expected to miss four games during Zimbabwe’s World Cup qualifying this month, but he returned for last week’s matches and scored the Wiz’s first goal against Columbus…. Digital will miss the New England game this weekend…. Coach Ron Newman replaced keeper Garth Lagerwey at halftime of the Columbus game, and the Wiz rallied for a shootout win with Pat Harrington in goal…. Defender Uche Okafor suffered a strained back on Saturday but should be ready to go on Saturday.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Kansas City — Harrington, Ekeme, Okafor, Bowers, Uderitz, Koetters, Gutierrez, Chung, Preki, Wright, Johnston.
New England — Heaney, Chronopoulos, I. Fraser, Weiszmann, Lips, Sawatzky, Mella,.Naveda, Welton, Keegan, Ukrop.
Prediction: Revs send the fans home happy, 2-1.
Colorado at Dallas
Location: Cotton Bowl. Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. Television:
none. Satellite: none.
Previous meeting: The Rapids have beaten Dallas twice: April 21 was a 3-1 win in Marcelo Balboa’s Colorado debut, and May 29 was a 2-0 victory. Both games were in Denver.
Injuries: Colorado — G Chris Woods (strained groin) is probable, D Troy Edwards (strained groin) is on injured reserve; Dallas — M Gerell Elliott (broken foot) is on injured reserve until June 25, D Tom Soehn (torn ACL) is out for the year.
Preview: The Rapids have had a frustrating start to the season —
they’ve outshot opponents in every game since the opener, yet they are in last place in the Western Conference with 12 points…. “Our luck has to turn around soon,” says coach Bob Houghton…. Forward Jean Harbor has been playing well, though — the former A-League star has notched four goals in his last four games, and Steve Trittschuh has been solid as well…. Colorado will be without Marcelo Balboa (away at the U.S. Cup), and forward Shaun Bartlett (with South Africa’s national team for World Cup qualifying), but English keeper Chris Woods should be recovered from his groin injury and set to start…. Dallas is led by Leonel Alvarez, whose presence is instrumental to its success…. The Burn is 6-1 with Alvarez in the lineup, and 1-4 without him…. Saturday’s 4-1 drubbing of San Jose was the first match in which the feisty Colombian midfielder did not receive a yellow card…. Hugo Sanchez, who had gone scoreless since his MLS debut against D.C. United, wowed the crowd when he beat Clash keeper Tom Liner with a gorgeous bicycle kick for Dallas’ first goal…. Uruguayan midfielder Washington Rodriguez returns for the Burn after a one-game red card suspension.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Colorado — Woods, Bates, Hamlett, Butterworth, Kmosko, Henderson, Trittschuh, Kinnear, Benedetti, Wegerle, Harbor.
Dallas — Dodd, Lozzano, Puskarich, Farrer, Haynes, Sonora, Alvarez, Santel, Kreis, Kerr, Sanchez.
Prediction: It’s too hot for Colorado in the Cotton Bowl — Dallas wins 3-1.
Sunday, June 16
San Jose at MetroStars
Location: Giants Stadium. Kickoff: 3:00 p.m. Television:
Univision. Satellite: Spacenet 3, Tr. 5.
Previous meeting: none
Injuries: San Jose — D John Doyle (strained calf) is probable, M Ramiro Corrales (sprained ankle) is questionable, M Henry Gutierrez (fractured cheekbone) and M Paul Holocher (torn ACL) are on injured reserve; MetroStars — D Andrew Restrepo (sprained ankle) and D Jeff Zaun (strained achilles) are questionable.
Preview: After winning two straight, the Clash dropped two games last week and will be without forward Eric Wynalda due to the U.S. Cup…. San Jose rallied to beat Mexican club Pumas 2-1 on Wednesday…. Guatemalan Jorge Rodas scored the gamewinner on a rocket-like free kick…. Clash midfielder Eddie Lewis played superbly in the Pumas match — the former UCLA star has been invited to train with the Olympic team…. The MetroStars will be without midfielder Tab Ramos for the second straight game due to the U.S. Cup — bad news for an offense that ranks tenth in MLS with an average of exactly one goal per game…. After the Giants Stadium field was littered with bottles and debris following the ejection of defender Nicola Caricola (who will miss the San Jose game due to a one-game suspension), Giants Stadium officials and the MetroStars have agreed to discontinue the sale of soda and water in bottles…. MetroStar forward Ruben Dario Hernandez, a prolific scorer in the Colombian First Division, has yet to score in MLS play.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
San Jose — Salzwedel, Martin, Dayak, Doyle, Draguicevich, Iroha, Emenalo, Lewis, Espinoza, Bravo, Baicher.
MetroStars — Meola, Joseph, Knowles, Harty, Gillen, Vermes, Kydes, Rodriguez, Hernandez, Savarese, Wood.
Prediction: Clash get a hard fought 2-1 win.
Tampa Bay at Los Angeles
Location: Rose Bowl. Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. Television:
SportsChannel Florida. Satellite: Satcom C1 Tr. 15.
Previous meeting: The Galaxy edged Tampa Bay 2-1 in Tampa on June 1. The Mutiny was without Carlos Valderrama, while Los Angeles was missing Cobi Jones and Eduardo Hurtado.
Injuries: Tampa Bay — M Carlos Valderrama (strained hamstring) is probable, D Tayt Ianni (sprained knee) is on 7-day injured reserve, M Peter Hattrup (torn ACL and MCL) is out for the year; Los Angeles — M Chris Armas (sprained ankle) and D Curt Onalfo (strained hamstring) are day-to-day, M Arash Noamouz (torn knee cartilage) and F Jose Vasquez (broken foot) are on injured reserve.
Preview: Could these two clubs be meeting October 20 at Foxboro Stadium for the MLS Championship?…. The Galaxy is 5-0 at the Rose Bowl and a crowd of more than 70,000 is expected for the doubleheader with USA-Mexico U.S. Cup ’96 match…. Galaxy keeper Jorge Campos will probably see action in both matches, while teammates Robin Fraser and Cobi Jones may also suit up for Los Angeles, depending on how much playing time they see against Mexico…. Tampa Bay forward Roy Lassiter will suitup for the Mutiny if he plays 45 minutes or less for the U.S…. Tampa midfielder Carlos Valderrama is expected to return after missing the last three Mutiny games, and keeper Mark Dougherty shook off back spasms to record a pair of victories last week…. Dougherty’s 1.30 goals against average is second only to Campos’ 1.01…. Galaxy developmental player Guillermo Jara has started two of L.A.’s last three games, scoring one goal and assisting on two others.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Tampa Bay — Dougherty, Pittman, Kooiman, Yallop, Vasquez, McKinley, Ralston, Valderrama, Hunjak, Lassiter, Galderisi.
Los Angeles — Campos, Calichman, Fraser, Motajo, Semioli, Vanney, Cienfuegos, Salcedo, Karapetyan, Hurtado, Jara.
Prediction: The Rose Bowl rocks as L.A. wins a thriller 3-2.