United give up goal, points to K.C.
Taylor provided the final touch after a defensive error gifted the Wizards the early opportunity, and they moved into first place in the Western Conference for the moment while dropping United to second place in the Eastern Conference with the loss.
The Wizards gave the large crowd of 26,223 at Arrowhead - the largest of the season and the second largest all-time - something to cheer about with the first real opportunity of the game.
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D.C.'s best chance came through midfielder Joshua Gros in the 25th minute as he beat two defenders to K.C. 'keeper Tony Meola's right and fired a low shot forcing Meola to the ground. United's combination play continued to find a variety of options but the final ball found Meola or KC's backline.
The Wizards found energy to counterattack through striker Arnaud, and he threatened on two occasions. First he rounded United defender Mike Petke but shot wide left of the far post, then rounded United's Bryan Namoff on the other side and laid the ball off for midfielder Chris Klein, but Klein's shot from the top of the box was gobbled up by D.C. 'keeper Troy Perkins.
Despite the heat, neither team made any changes at the half, and the play still raced from end-to-end. United nearly struck when midfielder Earnie Stewart hit a volley off a poor K.C. clearance that Meola cleanly grasped at the near post in the 52nd minute.
The Wizards defense found little time to rest as they cleared midfield on few occasions. When they did find man advantages in the United end, the usually opportune Wizard attack went wanting as shots by Taylor and Klein were blocked and sent weakly over the line respectively. Still, they came close in the 79th minute when Klein played a pass into the path of Alex Zotinca, but his powerful drive was too close to Perkins.
United head coach Peter Nowak tried what he could, taking off Freddy Adu (given the start when Dema Kovalenko fell ill) in favor of back Brandon Prideaux while pushing midfielder Ben Olsen forward in the 70th minute, and then later using Ezra Hendrickson as a targetman, but all to no avail.
Kansas City take to the road to face Western Conference rivals the Dallas Burn next Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, HDNet), while D.C. United will return home to RFK Stadium to host the Western Conference leaders, the Los Angeles Galaxy at 7:30 p.m. ET (FSW/FSE).
MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards)
D.C. United (5-6-5) vs. Kansas City Wizards (8-4-4)
July 10, 2004 -- Arrowhead Stadium
Scoring Summary:
KC -- Matt Taylor 3 (Davy Arnaud 3) 17
D.C. United -- Troy Perkins, Bryan Namoff (Kevin Ara 89), Brian Carroll, Ryan Nelsen, Mike Petke, Earnie Stewart, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen (Ezra Hendrickson 85), Joshua Gros, Freddy Adu (Brandon Prideaux 71), Alecko Eskandarian.
Substitutes Not Used: Dema Kovalenko, Nick Rimando.
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (3 tied with 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (4 tied with 1); FOULS: 13 (Mike Petke 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Jaime Moreno 1); CORNER KICKS: 6 (3 tied with 2); SAVES: 4 (Troy Perkins 4)
Kansas City Wizards -- Tony Meola, Jose Burciaga Jr., Jimmy Conrad, Shavar Thomas, Nick Garcia, Francisco Gomez (Alex Zotinca 58), Diego Gutierrez, Jack Jewsbury (Taylor Graham 83), Chris Klein, Davy Arnaud, Matt Taylor (Justin Detter 67).
Substitutes Not Used: Will Hesmer, Bo Oshoniyi, Vuk Rasovic, Khari Stephenson, Diego Walsh.
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Chris Klein 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Chris Klein 2); FOULS: 11 (Jack Jewsbury 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3 (Chris Klein 3); SAVES: 4 (Tony Meola 4)
Misconduct Summary:
DC -- Mike Petke (caution; Reckless Foul) 70
KC -- Jack Jewsbury (caution; Reckless Foul) 72
Referee: Marcel Yonan
Referee's Assistants: -Nathan Clement; George Gansner
4th Official: Mark Geiger
Attendance: 26,223
Time of Game: 1:49
Weather: Cloudy-and-89-degrees
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
