Wizards Advance, Face Galaxy Next
Chris Henderson, Miklos Molnar and Francisco Gomez scored goals as the Kansas City Wizards eliminated the Colorado Rapids from the Major League Soccer playoffs with a 3-2 victory on a rainy Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Wizards won the opening-round series, 2-0-1, holding the Rapids to two goals in the three games.
The Wizards, who finished in last place with an 8-24 record last year, advance to the semifinals, where they will play the Galaxy in a series that begins Friday in Kansas City (5 p.m. PDT).
Game 2 will be Oct. 3 at the Rose Bowl, with a Game 3, if necessary, on Oct. 6 in Kansas City.
Henderson, a 29-year-old midfielder who played at UCLA, scored his third career playoff goal and his first since 1997. Jason Bent of the Rapids attempted to head out a ball in front of the Colorado net, but it went to Henderson, who kicked it past goalkeeper David Kramer in the 11th minute. Henderson led the Wizards with 27 points during the regular season.
The Wizards made it 2-0 on a Molnar goal in the 65th minute with assists from Chris Klein and Gomez. Molnar, who led the Wizards with 12 goals during the regular season, had the only goal in the Wizards’ 1-0 playoff victory over the Rapids last week.
Just four minutes later, the Wizards increased their advantage to 3-0 on midfielder Gomez’s first playoff goal and only his fourth in 23 games with the Wizards.
