The Kansas City Wizards know opportunity when they see it. They know it is their responsibility to seize it. And they know certain actions will be needed to move their season forward in a "huge" match Saturday against D.C. United at RFK Stadium, a team which shares their plight this season.
Knotted in fourth place in MLS's Eastern Conference with Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls at 22 points on the season, the Wizards and United have arrived in the same place via a similar route -- the maddening consistency of inconsistency. Kansas City is on a six-game unbeaten streak, directly on the heels of a six-game winless streak. D.C. has been on a bigger rollercoaster: a four-game losing streak, a four-game winning streak (six in all competitions), and now a four-game losing streak through three SuperLiga matches and a 2-0 home league loss to the Houston Dynamo last Wednesday.
"You have to go there starting with your shape and making sure your shape is good defensively. From there, you get out into the attack," said midfielder Sasha Victorine. "You can't sit back and absorb all their stuff because you'll get hammered. You have to make sure you're picking your attacks and going at them and trying to keep possession."
"You have to be the aggressor. If that means getting an early goal, that's great. But if not, at least you approach the game in the right way where you're going out and playing positive," said fellow midfielder Davy Arnaud.
The ideas reveal the high-importance to gaining the early advantage in the contest and a high respect for the Black-and-Red and attackers such as Jaime Moreno, Fred and Luciano Emilio.
"D.C. can get you at a lot of different areas. They're a very good attacking team. ... As far as I'm concerned, Emilio is one of the best forwards in the league. You give him time and space, he punishes you. Going into this game, we need to limit his shots on goal -- end of story. We need to be stingy with our defense," said Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo.
Defense is what the Wizards have come to do well consistently this season, witnessed by goalkeeper Kevin Hartman's seven shutouts. But the 12-year veteran knows what he and his team need to do to stay on their toes.
"If I talk to my teammates and communicate more, it really helps me stay in tune with the game and helps me direct my teammates into spots that I really need them to be," said Hartman.
"They have some creative minds on the field, and we need to make sure that we're always aware, whether it's off a throw-in, a quick free kick, or just through the run of play, we have to make sure that we're prepared. If we're able to possess the ball, that will allow us to capitalize on some of our strengths and some of their weaknesses."
It all comes back to possessing the ball. The Wizards took possession of their only other contest against D.C. United on March 29 in a 2-0 home win, the Wizards' first of the season.
"I think they have a good atmosphere, [but] the tough part about playing in D.C. is if you let them get a rhythm in the game, they make it very difficult for you because you are chasing the ball a lot. And mistakes happen because of that. The key is making sure they don't have that possession that they can then create," said Victorine.
While United is reeling -- spurring head coach Tom Soehn to say his team was going to work their "kiesters off" and "make some changes" during their 10-day layoff heading into Saturday -- the Wizards have found themselves with their surge and are oh-so-close to becoming the team they feel they can be.
"We've put together what we feel like is more of who we are. We've realized what makes us good and what makes us successful, and we're trying to stick to that," said Arnaud. "One big game, maybe a win on the road, hopefully in D.C., can be that game that gets us going up towards the top of the table where we want to be."
One action remains to transform the Wizards and their season after falling to last place in the East.
"We feel like we're playing better. We feel like we're creating more chances, and defensively we feel solid," Victorine said. "At the end of the day it comes down to: Can we finish our opportunities? If we do that, we're going to be a great team."
Finishing might have to be done without the services of forward Josh Wolff. The recent addition left the training field early on Thursday.
"He's a smart guy; he knows his body. He had a little bit of an issue with his hamstring," said Onalfo. "We're just going to have to play it day-to-day to see if he's available for the game on Saturday."
The Wizards know what must be done and what is at stake. Gaining three points over an conference rival and possibly standing alone in third place at the end of the weekend is within reach.
"We've really put ourselves back in a position where we can catch people. These games where Eastern Conference opponents lose points as we gain points are a huge opportunity for us," said Hartman. "If we can win this game, then we've gotten more than a point a game on the road at this point in the season, which is huge."
Bob Rusert is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
