Photo by Andrew Katsampes/ISIphotos.com
By THOMAS FLOYD
The New England Revolution's trip to Empire Field to face the Vancouver Whitecaps and their fervent supporters just got a little tougher.
The Revolution, making its first trip to Vancouver tonight for a midweek league fixture, will be without goalkeeper Matt Reis due to a right adductor strain. Reis had been plagued by the injury last week before ultimately playing in Saturday's 1-1 tie with Portland, but he did not travel with the team to Vancouver.
Backup Bobby Shuttleworth, who made six starts last year, will get the nod in goal. Defender Franco Coria and midfielders Ousmane Dabo and Marko Perovic will also be out for New England.
Here is some more news from around the Eastern Conference:
CHICAGO FIRE
Turns out Pari Pantazopoulos, the open tryout winner who emerged from a group of 210 participants from 19 different countries to sign with the Fire, has been in the club's plans since the preseason, but a delay in paperwork kept his signing from becoming official until this week.
Though naturally an attacking midfielder, Pantazopoulos is being groomed as a reserve left back by coach Carlos de los Cobos. "It's good to try and play other positions," Pantazopoulos told MLSsoccer.com. "Any coach needs a player that can play as a utility -- that can only help your resume."
COLUMBUS CREW
Midfielder Kevin Burns, who has started the Crew's past two matches in central midfield, seems poised to enjoy a breakout season in Columbus -- if he stay healthy. After joining the Crew out of Connecticut in 2008, Burns has seen an array of injuries limit him to just eight regular-season starts coming into this season.
But after a fractured rib kept him out of Columbus' opener at D.C. United, Burns has begun to establish himself as a fixture in the Crew's starting XI. "He's a good passer and very good technically," coach Robert Warzycha told MLSsoccer.com. "Week in and week out, we need his best performance."
D.C. UNITED
United's beleaguered defensive corps should get a boost Saturday against Los Angeles with the return of center back Perry Kitchen from U.S. Under-20 national team duty. The U.S. can clinch passage to this summer's U-20 World Cup with a win in the CONCACAF quarterfinals against Guatemala tonight, and U.S. coach Thomas Rongen, United's TV analyst, is prepared to release Kitchen before the semifinals and final.
D.C. deployed a makeshift back line during a 4-1 loss at Colorado on Sunday, as the absences of Kitchen and Dejan Jakovic (red card) saw coach Ben Olsen go with the ineffective pairing of Daniel Woolard and Rodrigo Brasesco in the middle.
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Houston is preparing to be without Brian Ching for 2-to-4 weeks after the veteran striker suffered cartilage damage to his rib cage during the Dynamo's 1-1 draw at New York on Saturday. Ching also missed Houston's season opener against Philadelphia with a hamstring strain.
In natural resilient fashion, Ching refused to rule out playing against Vancouver on Sunday despite the injury's timeframe, telling the Houston Chronicle, "I want to play. ... I'll know by Friday or Saturday, because I'll be pushing it a little bit more in practice and hopefully respond well."
NEW YORK RED BULLS
After establishing himself in MLS as a top-notch central midfielder, Joel Lindpere moved to the left flank late last year upon New York's acquisition of Rafael Marquez. With the preseason signing of Teemu Taino and the recent trade for Dwayne De Rosario, it looks like he'll be on the wing for the forseeable future.
One thing the Estonia international has noticed about the move -- it requires a higher work rate. "I think it is more work, more tiring work," Linpere told MLSsoccer.com. "I have to change all the time where I am on the field. It is a lot of running, in and out, tracking back."
PHILADELPHIA UNION
Heading into tonight's U.S. Open Cup qualifier at D.C. United, the Union coaching staff has not said whether the club will field a team consisting mostly of regulars or reserves. Philadelphia was eliminated in its first Open Cup qualifier last year while playing many reserves against New York.
As assistant coach John Hackworth noted to MLSsoccer.com, however, that having the club's first reserve game scheduled for Sunday means the coaches don't have to worry as much about getting playing time for the more inexperienced players against United.
SPORTING KANSAS CITY
Captain Davy Arnaud and coach Peter Vermes both pointed to Vancouver's turf at Empire Field as reason for a series of cramps suffered by Kansas City players as Sporting surrendered a 3-0 lead and settled for a 3-3 draw with the Whitecaps on Saturday.
Arnaud, who described playing on the surface to MLSsoccer.com as "like running in sand," exited the game, as did centerback Julio Cesar. Vermes said Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury, C.J. Sapong and Milos Stojcev all struggled with the surface as well.
TORONTO FC
Director of Player Development Paul Mariner evaluated Toronto as "inching along" during an interview this week with The Toronto Star and showed little concern over the void left by departed playmaker and captain Dwayne De Rosario, saying, "Somebody is going to step up, they always do."
Amid the team's massive recent turnover, Mariner said, "What we need now is some stability and some cohesion, and we need players to get to know each other."
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Do you think New England can get a result at Vancouver despite its injury woes? How big a loss will Ching be for Houston? Do you think the return of Kitchen will stabilize United's defense?
Share your thoughts below.
