Columbus Crew vs. Kansas City Wizards: Match Preview

By: James | July 15th, 2008

I’ve been looking at the statistics available from MLS. It’s hard to guess how adding Josh Wolff will change the look of Kansas City. The Crew has beaten them twice this year, but by some measures Kansas City’s defense is stronger than Columbus. For example, KC goals against average is 1.2, while Columbus allows 1.38/game. Kevin Hartman’s save percentage for shots on goal is 74.4% vs. 72% for William Hesmer. And, Hartman holds the first AND second spot for shutout streaks: 293 minutes in June and 286 minutes in April. Hesmer’s longest was 217 minutes in April. The Crew has had a measure of success on offense, but they shouldn’t take Kansas City’s defense for granted. Even if they did take them to the woodshed in KC last month.

On offense, Kansas City has the longest scoreless streak 409 minutes in May and June versus the Crew’s 371 minute drought in the same time period. Those are the 2 longest this year. And that seems to be the bigger part of the problem for the Wizards: they can’t get on the board. Their goal per game average is .93. On the road it slips to .63. If you look through the offensive statistics you’ll find several different Crew players over and over in the top ranks for generating offense: shots, goals, assists, corner kicks, streaks… But Kansas City only has Claudio Lopez and Jack Jewsbury showing up here and there. That’s why they’re bringing Josh Wolff back after he spent 2 years in the Bundesliga second division.

Despite the team’s troubles, Lopez is formidable, and could really make a turn for the Wizards if he and Wolff can make a connection. There’s a good chance of that happening eventually. Wolff’s international and cap experience makes him a good partner for Lopez, but I doubt they connect by Thursday.

KC’s big hope: the Crew defense gives up another early one, and then they have trouble closing the deal on offense. I’ve said enough about defensive issues in Columbus. Some of it’s bad luck, but not all of it. If the Crew can hold possession in the first 15 minutes and not give Kansas City a chance to score it would go a long way toward a win. Getting a goal in the first half should basically put KC to bed. They’ve never won when they conceded the first goal, and they’ve never won when down at the half.