Wednesday, July 23, 2008

DCU v. Dynamo - Finally

They managed to get the match underway again, and while D.C. United tried to take advantage of the swamp the Dynamo defense found itself in, Brian Ching scored on a header in the 79th minute, putting the Dynamo up by two goals, and that's how the scoreline stayed into the early hour of Thursday morning.

Honestly, my biggest concern during the last minutes of the match was that nobody would get injured cause of the conditions.

They're going to try to restart the match at 11:40 D.C. time. We'll see what happens.

Refs are back out to inspect the pitch.

Sounds like there is more lightning in the area. Remember, most of the last Metro runs are midnight if not a little earlier, so even if they get started again, many fans will be leaving by midnight.

Around 10:10 D.C. time, the parties agreed to wait 30 minutes, but it's still raining in D.C.

Lights working, lightning passed, but still raining. We'll see what the refs say.

Word coming from someone at the stadium is that there was an announcement that they have until 1:00 a.m. D.C. time to finish the match.

Here's a look at what the pitch looks like thanks to the folks at http://behindthebadge.com/









Sounds like the lightning has passed, but they are still having trouble with the lights. I think it's time to call this match.

Well, know we get an episode of Married with Children.

Radar shows the entire District of Columbia covered in strong storms.

Joy of Joys . . . now a bulk of the lights have gone out due to a power surge, and the Ref has sent everyone off the pitch in the 54th minute.

Sounds like the rain is very, very heavy, but no lightning at the moment. Still no video from channel 55.

The second half has started, with rain coming done. Unfortunately, it seems that while the game is ongoing, Channel 55 has lost the video feed due to the weather.

Halftime --- Dynamo lead 1-0

Patrick Ianni comes in in the 42nd minute to replace an injured Eddie Robinson . . . again (left hamstring strain).

After two postponements, the DCU v. Dynamo match is finally under way at RFK in Washington, D.C. They were scheduled to play last month, but the field was soaked with too much rain. The match was rescheduled for last night, but power outages in SE D.C. delayed the game till tonight.

But there is bad weather in the area, a Tornado and Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Prince William County, Virginia, while D.C. is under a Thunderstorm Watch till late in the evening. So keep your fingers crossed the storms will avoid RFK.

Brian Mullan has already put the Dynamo on the scoreboard with a goal in the 20th minute.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Dynamo Win Group A - Advance to SuperLiga Semi-Finals

For the second year in a row, the Houston Dynamo have advanced to the Semi-Finals of SuperLiga. This year, Houston won its group with 2 wins and 1 loss. The first win came against Atlante last Saturday, 4-0, then lost to Chivas on Tuesday, 1-0, and then defeated DC United, 3-1, on Saturday night. Saturday's victory over United ensured that Houston would move on to the Semi-Finals, but it was thanks to Atlante for beating Chivas, 2-0, despite the pro-Chivas atmosphere in Santa Clara, that pushed Houston into the spot of winner of Group A.

The outcomes of Sunday night's matches in Group B will determine who the Dynamo face in the Semi-Final, a match that should be in Houston.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/5897459.html

http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=783833

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/19/AR2008071902167.html

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/20/sports/SOC-Dynamo-DC-United.php

http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=784363

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/20/sports/SOC-Chivas-Atlante.php

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Pictures from Free Kick Masters

I've finally developed and uploaded pictures from the Free Kick Masters event held in Houston on July 5, 2008:

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c145/bzygo/Free%20Kick%20Masters/

Friday, July 18, 2008

Dynamo Round-Up

As most readers know, last Saturday the Dynamo beat Atlante 4-0 and then lost 1-0 to Chivas on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Dynamo square off against D.C. United for the third and final group stage match of SuperLiga 2008.

Franco Carracio started for the Dynamo on Tuesday night, but, despite a good performance, he will not be with the Dynamo on Saturday because he has been released and placed on waivers.

Brian Ching should be available for Saturday night's match.

Former Dynamo forward Nate Jaqua will be returning to the squad after spending this past Spring playing for SC Rheindorf Altach of Austria's Bundesliga. Some Dynamo fans had been hoping that Joseph Ngwenya would be returning from Austria too, but he's on trial with Bayern Munich. Expect to see Jaqua suited up at RFK on Tuesday the 22nd.

Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad and midfielder/forward Dwayne De Rosario will be representing the Dynamo in the MLS All Star game in Toronto next week.

Dynamo's Stuart Holden and Patrick Ianni have been selected to represent the United States in the Olympics next month.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Chivas Comes Town

On Saturday night, the Houston Dynamo soundly defeated Atlante, 4 - 0, in their opening match of the group stage of SuperLiga 2008. Three of the Dynamo's goals came within a nine minute span during the middle of the first halft.

Tonight, Tuesday July 15, the Dynamo host Chivas de Guadalajara, in what could be one of the toughest matches of the tournament for the Dynamo. The Houston club will be hampered by the fact that Dwayne De Rosario is suspended due to a red card in the Atlante match, and Brian Ching, Richard Mulrooney, and Eddie Robinson are all sidelined with injuries.

We'll see if the victory over Atlante will give the rest of the Dynamo squad the confidence to step up and beat Chivas.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

New Episodes

Of World Soccer Wrap and World Soccer Wrap: Serie A, are now available for download at iTunes or at:

http://rss.mac.com/rayharatian/iWeb/Site/Podcast/rss.xml

This week's flagship show includes an interview with Kasey Keller and an exclusive with Jozy Altidore.

This week's Serie A show features an interview with Inter Milan's Francesco Toldo.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Battery beat Dynamo on Penalty Kicks

The match ended in a 1 - 1 draw, with Charleston Battery beating the Houston Dynamo 4-3 on penalty kicks.

Charleston v. Houston update

1-1 as the 2nd half draws to a close.

Stephen Wondo gets the goal in the 89th.

Charleston v. Dynamo - 2nd Half

The second half of tonight's U.S. Open Cup Round 3 matchup between the Houston Dynamo and Charleston Battery. The Battery who knocked the Dynamo out of last year's cup, currently hold a 1 - nil lead as the second half is barely underway.

Dynamo started:

Tony Caig (g)
Erick Ustruck
Geoff Cameron
Stephen Wondolowski
Mike Chabala
Nick Hatzke
John Michael Hayden
Corey Ashe
Chris Wondolowski (cap.)
Kyle Brown
Franco Caraccio

You can watch the match at:

http://www.usllive.com/

Monday, June 30, 2008

Free Kick Masters Update

Who'll be in Houston on Saturday:

FREEKICKERS Country/Current Team

CONFIRMED
Alessandro Del Piero Italy, Juventus
Anderson Luis de Souza “Deco” Portugal, FC Barcelona
Brad Davis USA, Dynamo
David Bentley England, Blackburn
Dmitri Loskov Russia, Saturn Ramenskoye
Dwayne de Rosario Canada, Dynamo
Eddie Lewis USA, Derby
Fernando Torres Spain, Liverpool
Harry Kewell Australia, Liverpool
Jared Borgetti Mexico, FC Monterrey
Jozy Altidore USA, Villareal CF
Juninho Pernambucano Brazil, Olympique Lyonnais
Lionel Messi Argentina, FC Barcelona
Luís Fabiano Brazil, Sevilla
Lukas Podolski Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Martín Palermo Argentina, Boca Juniors
Rafael Márquez Mexico, FC Barcelona
Robert Pires France, Villareal CF
Ronaldinho Gaucho Brazil, FC Barcelona
Segundo Castillo Ecuador, Red Star Belgrade
Shen Si China, Shanghai Shenhua
Subait Khater United Arab Emirates, Al-Ain
Sulley Ali Muntari Ghana, Portsmouth
Sun Ji* China, Shanghai Shenhua
Sun Xiang * China, Shanghai Shenhua

INVITED, AWAITING CONFIRMATION

Anatoliy Tymoschuk Ukraine, Zenit Saint Petersburg
Cesc Fabregas Spain, Arsenal
Didier Yves Tebily (Drogba) Cote d’Ivoire, Chelsea
Diego Forlán Uruguay, Athletico Madrid
Emmanuel Adebayor Nigeria, Arsenal
Freddy Adu Ghana, SL Benefica
Jay Jay Okacha Nigeria, Qatar SC
Javier Portillo Spain, Osasuna
Juan Roman Riquelme Argentina, Boca JuniorsLee Chun Soo South Korea, Feyenoord

Lomana LuaLua Democratic Republic of the Congo, Olympiacos
Marcelo Vieira da Silva Junior Brazil, FC Real Madrid
Robinho (Robson de Souza) Brazil, FC Real Madrid
Sebastian Veron Argentina, Chelsea
Shunsuke Nakamura Japan, Celtic
Thierry Henry France, FC Barcelona
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Sweden, FC Internazionale Milano

GOALKEEPERS Country/Current Team

CONFIRMED

Brad Friedel USA, Blackburn Rovers
David James England, Portsmouth
Francesco Toldo Italy, FC Internazionale Milano
Kasey Keller United States, Fulham
Vojislav Dragovic Yugoslavia, Sarajevo

INVITED, AWAITING

CONFIRMATION

Faryd Aly Mondragon Colombia, FC Koln