Major League Soccer: Week 3 Previews 2007-04-19 10:26:41 | By: Jeff Bull 
Just two weeks into the season, poor results have alarm bells sounding among a few
teams that have failed so far to make expectation (think DC United and the Los
Angeles Galaxy). Happy surprises for a few others - think Red Bull New York and
the Kansas City Wizards - have observers wondering if they might have
underestimated the off-season maneuvers of these clubs. For the rest, positive
flashes here and defensive blunders there have the jury still mulling their
verdict. The reality, though, is that 2007 remains a young season ripe with
possibility for all - well, most (Toronto...ahem) - clubs in the league. The
three teams with a bye week ahead of them - Toronto FC, DC United, and the Los
Angeles Galaxy - likely greeted it with a sigh of relief; all have stumbled. For
the rest of the league, it’s about continuing with what’s working and tweaking
what isn’t.
Before moving on to the games for Week 3, it’s worth acknowledging Wednesday night’s game between Real Salt Lake (RSL) and the Kansas City Wizards in a play-in for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a tournament “open” to all teams registered with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). Due to an 8-team limit placed on MLS teams, only six teams from the league qualified outright; the remaining six were required to qualify. RSL took advantage of their home field and a late, late goal from midfielder Andy Williams to beat Kansas City 2-1. They’ll face the Colorado Rapids in the next play-in round. The rest of this week’s games are regular league encounters; time to turn to those. Columbus Crew (0-0-2, 2 pts.) v. New England Revolution (1-1-0, 3 pts.) April 19, 2007; 4:00 p.m. PST (ESPN2) Players to Watch: Columbus - Ned Grabavoy, Jason Garey, Eddie Gaven; Revolution - Andy Dorman, Taylor Twellman, Shalrie Joseph Having played 180 minutes without a goal to liven the proceedings either for or against them, the Crew seems stuck in a half-productive neutral. They’re defending strong, which is good, and playing well enough in general, but their ongoing inability to score recalls their biggest weakness from a dire 2006 season. New England, on the other hand, positively savaged expansion Toronto FC in Week 2; their offense - led by Twellman at forward - looked razor-sharp, scoring four goals while looking good for a couple more. Apart from a fluky goal conceded in Week 1, the Revolution’s defense is nearly as perfect as Columbus’. Expect a tight contest tonight without a lot in the way of goals. Red Bull New York (1-0-1, 4 pts.) v. Houston Dynamo (1-0-1, 4 pts.) April 21, 2007; 4:30 p.m. PST (Fox Soccer Channel) Players to Watch: Red Bull - Clint Mathis, Dane Richards, Hunter Freeman; Dynamo - Brad Davis, Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark In a downpour so bitterly cold it produced hypothermia in two players, Red Bull turned in one of the surprise performances of Week 2, beating FC Dallas 3-0. Much of the credit for the win accrued to long-time black sheep Mathis, but strike-partner Josmer Altidore snuck in a pretty opening goal. But Red Bull faces a taller test by far in Houston, a team noted for tough defense on one end and timely, deadly finishing on the other. The return of midfielder Clark only makes them a stronger side. But Red Bull has a wonderful opportunity to make a statement about where they are relative to the rest of MLS. Chicago Fire (1-0-1, 4 pts.) v. Kansas City Wizards (1-0-0, 3 pts.) April 21, 2007; 5:30 p.m. PST Players to Watch: Fire - Chris Rolfe, Justin Mapp, Jim Curtin; KC - Eddie Johnson, Kevin Hartman, Jack Jewsbury The Wizards stunned the league in Week 2 by piling goals on a reeling DC United with Eddie Johnson leading the rout. Yesterday’s loss to Real Salt Lake probably took some luster off that win, but the Wizards remain one of the best top-to-bottom teams on paper. Chicago, for their part, turned in a creaking performance against a 10-man Colorado Rapids side last weekend; their inability to take control of a game with a man advantage raises real questions about their offensive prowess. Still, the equalizing goal against the Rapids, a delicate lob over their defense followed by a sound finish by forward Chad Barrett, shows the Fire can be lethal on demand. With so many observers (ESPN, for one) still rating the Fire fairly highly, anything but a win against the Wizards - a team they outright own at home to the tune of a 11-1-1 all-time record - will shape perceptions of where both teams stand. Chivas USA (1-1-0, 3 pts.) v. Real Salt Lake (0-0-2, 2 pts.) April 21, 2007; 8:30 p.m. PST Players to Watch: Chivas - Francisco Mendoza, Amado Guevara, whomever they play at forward (tricky thing); RSL - Jeff Cunningham, Eddie Pope, Medhi Ballouchy Chivas lost a heart-breaker in Week 2: they dominated the opening half against defending champs Houston, but could never make the breakthrough. Word is, they fell apart after Houston took the lead. Real Salt Lake, on the other hand, played the opposite game, stumbling through the first half of their encounter with the Crew and relying on defender Eddie Pope to clear one chance of the line. Because the progress of one will always somehow be the measure of the other, these two 2005 co-expansionists carry on a kind of sibling rivalry. This ought to be one of the better games of the weekend. FC Dallas (1-1-1, 4 pts.) v. Colorado Rapids (1-0-1, 4 pts.) April 22, 2007; 12 noon PST Players to Watch: FCD - Carlos Ruiz, Ramon Nunez, Shaka Hislop; Rapids - Jovan Kirovski, Herculez Gomez...and whoever partners with him at forward. The past two Western Conference semifinals add heat to this contest: the Rapids have eliminated Dallas, in spite of the latter having higher seeding in both cases. Colorado, however, is a different prospect this year with its vastly improved defense and a goal-scorer who looks strong out of the gate in Herculez Gomez. Their great liability comes with the absence of Gomez’ front-running partner, forward Roberto Brown, who received a red card in Week 2 for a, frankly, stupid challenge. FC Dallas, on the other hand, has serious question marks over their backline with players going down to knees, hernias, etc. As such, the play of ‘keeper Shaka Hislop will play a big role in Dallas’ chances of making their home-opener a happy one.
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