Thu Jul 10 22:14:20 2008

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Conrad, Arnaud lead Wizards past Red Bulls

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Kansas City, KS (Sports Network) - The Kansas City Wizards won just their second game in their last 10 Major League Soccer fixtures on Thursday night, hanging on to top the New York Red Bulls, 2-1, at CommunityAmerica BallPark.

With the win, Kansas City also climbed out of the Eastern Conference basement. It is now tied with the Red Bulls with 20 points, but has a game in hand.

The Wizards got things going early in the game when team captain Jimmy Conrad, who was just voted to his fifth consecutive MLS All-Star team earlier in the day, headed home a Claudio Lopez corner kick for his team-leading fourth goal of the season in the 11th minute.

New York, which was stagnant in the first half offensively, had its best chance to equalize minutes before the break when rookie midfielder Luke Sassano tossed a throw-in from the right side to defender Carlos Mendes in the Wizards penalty area. After Mendes headed toward goal, Angel kicked his boot at the ball, deflecting it slightly. Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was up to the task as he made the save to ensure his team would lead at the break.

The Wizards went to work quickly after the break, doubling their lead in the 47th minute when Kurt Morsink played a ball from his defensive third through the Red Bulls' defense to forward Davy Arnaud, who poked the shot past Jon Conway for his first goal of the season.

New York looked like a beaten club until the speedy Dane Richards entered the match in the 68th minute.

A couple minutes after the second-year winger came on, the Red Bulls pulled a goal back when he made a perfect cross from the right side to Angel in the box. The Colombian veteran made no mistake in his first game back after missing extended time with back and hamstring injuries, snapping a header past Hartman with 19 minutes to play.

Richards created another chance with a little over six minutes remaining when he earned a corner kick with his speed after tracking down a ball on the right side and firing on goal.

On the ensuing kick, which was taken by Dave van den Bergh, forward John Wolyneic knocked the ball off the far post.

A Van den Bergh blast toward the far post saved by Hartman in stoppage time as the Wizards withstood a late Red Bulls' charge to hang on for the victory.

New York (5-6-5), which in winless in three, will aim to get back in the win column when it hosts the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 19 in its next league fixture while Kansas City (4-5-5) plays at Columbus two days earlier.