right to Guevara, who turned it home while all alone in front of goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.
• If there was some question about the first goal, there was none about the second. After a foul set up a free kick some 20 yards straight out from goal, Guevara curled the ball perfectly over the bar and off the inside of the left-hand post, the second goal in as many matches directly from a free kick for TFC.
• It was the first time in Toronto FC club history a player had scored twice in one match and it led to the first three-game winning streak in club history.
• In the second meeting this season, the teams played to a scoreless draw June 21 at BMO Field.
• Both teams came close down the stretch. Sasha Victorine beat TFC goalkeeper Brian Edwards with an angled shot from the left, but defender Marvell Wynne was perfectly placed to clear off the line. Then in stoppage time, Danny Dichio did find the back of the net when he volleyed home an Amado Guevara free kick, but the linesman's flag was up for offside.
• The Wizards ended the game with 10 men after Roger Espinoza was sent off with a straight red card, his second of his rookie season, deep into added time.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Jack Jewsbury, Jimmy Conrad, Aaron Hohlbein, Michael Harrington - Davy Arnaud, Sasha Victorine, Kerry Zavagnin (Kurt Morsink 65), Roger Espinoza - Claudio Lopez (Jonathan Leathers 88), Scott Sealy (Ryan Pore 77). Substitutes Not Used: Eric Kronberg, Carlos Marinelli, Chance Myers, Tyson Wahl
• Here's Carver's team (4-4-2): Brian Edwards - Marvell Wynne, Olivier Tebily, Marco Velez, Todd Dunivant (Jim Brennan 58) - Rohan Ricketts, Kevin Harmse (Maurice Edu 59), Carl Robinson, Laurent Robert - Jeff Cunningham (Amado Guevara 57), Danny Dichio. Substitutes Not Used: Julius James, Tyrone Marshall, Jarrod Smith, Greg Sutton
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Kansas City Wizards returned home and put an end to their four-game winless run, getting a pair of second-half goals in short order for a 2-0 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Arrowhead Stadium. The Wizards now have 29 points from 24 matches, sitting all alone in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Toronto FC and three behind fifth-place D.C. United, who are currently in the final playoff spot.
LAST MATCH
• The Wizards were back home after seeing their overall winless streak stretched to four games with their fourth consecutive road loss in Houston the week before, while the Galaxy were still looking to give Bruce Arena his first win since taking over the club, their last win coming on June 14, though with ties in two consecutive games.
• With the game moved to the home of the Kansas City Wizards because of the large crowd on hand, the Wizards finally broke through midway through the second half. In the 67th minute, Davy Arnaud was freed on the right and slammed a low cross into the goal area, where a little flick from Josh Wolff sent the ball inside the far post for his second goal since his return to MLS.
• Then two minutes later, Arnaud sealed the victory with a stunning long-range strike from all of 35 yards away, smashing the ball into the upper left corner of Josh Wicks' goal for his fifth goal on the season, his third in as many games.
• Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo made four changes to the team that lost 3-1 to the Houston Dynamo the previous Sunday. Jonathan Leathers and Tyson Wahl came into the back for the injured Aaron Hohlbein and Chance Myers. Herculez Gomez and Abe Thompson made their first starts for the Wizards, coming in for Kerry Zavagnin and Claudio Lopez.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Jonathan Leathers, Jimmy Conrad, Tyson Wahl, Michael Harrington - Herculez Gomez (Kevin Souter 79), Davy Arnaud, Jack Jewsbury, Roger Espinoza - Josh Wolff (Claudio Lopez 71), Abe Thompson. Substitutes Not Used: Aaron Hohlbein, Eric Kronberg, Carlos Marinelli, Kurt Morsink, Kerry Zavagnin
• "It was 11 guys committed to playing for each other and working extremely hard on the field," said Onalfo. "It was an extremely hard-fought game. Bruce has L.A. playing extremely well."
TEAM NEWS
• After coming on as substitutes the weekend before, having been with the team for literally just hours, Abe Thompson and Herculez Gomez were given their first starts for the Wizards. Later, Kevin Souter made his MLS debut, coming on as a substitute for Gomez.
• "With all the (lineup) changes we made, it took us a little time to adjust to each other. Once we did that I thought we were pretty darn good and put on a great show for the full house of fans," Onalfo said. "... It's always great to play in front of a big crowd like that, and the guys really responded well. The crowd was a big plus for us and made things difficult on Los Angeles."
• It was the third consecutive game with a goal for Arnaud, who also added an assist. Now tied for the team lead with Jimmy Conrad with five goals, it is the longest goal-scoring streak of his career.
• "Davy just goes for the throat; that's his mentality. He's going to give you everything he has," said Onalfo. "It was an unbelievable goal; that has to be goal of the week." Said Arnaud: "I think that's probably one of the best goals I've ever scored. I don't remember ever hitting one better than that. It's one of those where you just try to hit it hard, get it on target and make the 'keeper make a save."
• The game also turned a corner in another way in that the Wizards did not allow a late goal that would have caused a tense ending to the contest, holding on for their first shutout in seven games and just their second since the start of July.
• "I was extremely pleased with how we managed the rest of the game. We possessed it better towards the end, and we showed some good composure in the fact that we shut out what everybody talks about as the best attack in Major League Soccer," Onalfo said.
• While the Wizards weren't completely helped out with all the results from the night, they are still within touching distance of D.C. United - who currently sit in eighth place in the MLS overall table and the final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
• "[It's] a huge boost of confidence as we go into our last six games of the season, four of which are at home," said Onalfo. " ... We're taking it one game at a time. We have a calm confidence about us; we have a belief. I never doubted this group for a second. What that does is give us a little confidence."
TORONTO FC
Toronto FC put an end to their two-game losing skid but still saw their winless streak extended, seeing the Columbus Crew respond to an early goal with a first-half equalizer before the teams settled for a 1-1 draw in the final Trillium Cup meeting of the season at BMO Field. TFC now has 27 points from 24 matches, sitting alone in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Kansas City Wizards.
LAST MATCH
• Toronto FC was looking to snap a four-game winless run and win for the first time at home in league play since June 14, a span of five matches, while the Crew came riding a four-game winning streak.
• With their full complement of internationals back in the lineup, two combined to give TFC the lead after just six minutes. From a freekick well out from goal on the right, Amado Guevara played the ball along the ground toward the top of the restraining arc. Carl Robinson came on to strike a curling, dipping first-time shot that Crew 'keeper William Hesmer just couldn't keep out, the ball ticking off the underside of the bar into the goal.
• Then the Crew won a penalty kick. But with Guillermo Barros Schelotto injured and unavailable, with four goals from the spot on the season, the opportunity fell to Alejandro Moreno. His effort, though, was stopped by Greg Sutton.
• But the Crew pulled level in the 40th minute. Pat Noonan went on a long dribbling run toward goal, cracking a low drive from just outside the area in the lower left corner of Greg Sutton's goal for his first goal since returning to MLS this season.
• With his full complement of international players back, TFC coach John Carver made nine changes to the team that lost 3-1 to Chivas USA the Saturday before. The only players to remain in the starting lineup were Chad Barrett and Rohan Ricketts; Hunter Freeman made his TFC debut after being acquired from the New York Red Bulls.
• Here's Carver's team (4-3-1-2): Greg Sutton - Marvell Wynne, Julius James, Tyrone Marshall, Jim Brennan - Hunter Freeman, Carl Robinson (Jarrod Smith 86), Rohan Ricketts - Amado Guevara (Tyler Rosenlund 87) - Chad Barrett (Danny Dichio 62), Carlos Ruiz. Substitutes Not Used: Brian Edwards, Abdus Ibrahim, Johann Smith, Joey Melo
TEAM NEWS
• It was the third consecutive game where Toronto FC took the lead in the first half. They managed to hang on for at least one point against Columbus, after seeing Chivas USA storm back for victories the two weeks previous.
• "I think it's a concentration problem," said Robinson. "We get a goal up and think 'Oh, we've done enough' and then we just seem to sit back and start dropping deeper. But it's something we have to address because it's happened in three straight games now. We put ourselves in a good position, we start well and then we shoot ourselves in the foot and go back to square one. All the hard work and effort we put in at the start of the game goes out the window."
• While the Reds were still six points out of the final playoff spot as the weekend ended, Carver felt the performance against the Crew showed his team is closer than that. TFC out-shot Columbus 10-9, with each team putting five attempts on target.
• "The stats are very, very close," said Carver. "I think what that's told me that when I can get everybody together. ... I think we put down a benchmark on what we can achieve. [Columbus] have got a great chance to go and maybe win this competition, but we've now played them three times and they've only beat us once."
• While Carver was pleased to have all of his internationals back in the fold, their heavy workload meant the team was hanging on at the end. Robinson had flown back from Russia, through Cardiff, then drove to London for the flight to Toronto, arriving the night before the match. He and Guevara, of the TFC legionaires, went off for substitutes.
• "The last 15-20 minutes I was dead on my feet," Robinson said. "The ball went off me once or twice and I said to [Carver] I've got nothing in my legs. There's no point in me staying on and risking not tracking a runner or making a bad pass due to tiredness."
• The only other change in the TFC lineup was the introduction of Hunter Freeman, obtained just the day before the game from the New York Red Bulls. Freeman is in his fourth MLS season, playing the first two seasons for Colorado before moving to New York.
• "I thought it was a great debut for him, considering again he only flew in here [Friday] so he didn't know anybody in the team. But, when you're a good player, a good footballer - now let's not forget this he's also a right back, he can play left back, he can play anywhere and he actually went into the midfield for me at the end," Carver said. "I thought he had a great debut, and he's fit in very well with the lads."
