April 3, 2006

Former West Texas A&M University men's soccer player Davy Arnaud scored the first goal of the season for the Kansas City Wizards in their Major League Soccer opening day 3-1 win over the visiting Columbus Crew Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium.

In the 21st minute, Arnaud took a cross from Matt Groenwald and fired a shot inside the left post and past the Crew goalkeeper. Four minutes later and Wizards struck again to take a 2-0 lead. Columbus got on the board in the 33rd minute to close to 2-1 at the half. In the 61st minute, Eddie Johnson found the back of the net to cap the scoring.

Last season Arnaud made 31 appearances, including 28 starts, scoring five goals and adding four assists. Arnaud netted the game-winning goal against the MetroStars. Arnaud had his streak of 69 consecutive regular season appearance snapped while serving a one game suspension for caution point accumulation, a streak which began on September 13, 2003. Arnaud had appeared in 84 consecutive matches for the Wizards, including regular season (69), postseason (7), U.S. Open Cup (6) and Champions Cup (2).

The 2004 season was Arnaud's breakout season in his third year with the Wizards, as he was the only KC player to not only play but also start all 30 regular season matches. He finished second on the team and seventh in MLS in scoring, tallying 26 points on nine goals and eight assists, finishing just one point behind teammate Josh Wolff. In the postseason, Arnaud played every minute of the Wizards run for the MLS Cup, tallying two goals and an assist, leading KC to a runner-up finish. Arnaud netted two game-winning goals during the season and tied for the team lead with five game-winning assists. Arnaud recorded his first career hat trick, and the third in team history, vs. Dallas on July 3, 2004, sparking a streak of at least one point in four consecutive matches from July 3-24.

Arnaud, a Nederland, Texas native, who played for WTAMU from 1999-2001, was the Buffs' first-ever All-American in the 2001 season, after netting 13 goals that season. He led WTAMU to the quarterfinals of the NCAA-II National Tournament, falling to defending national champion California State University-Dominguez Hills. Arnaud also was named to the All-Midwest Region team and the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior. He led the Buffs to the 2000 LSC regular season and tournament title and the 2001 LSC regular season crown.

Arnaud and the Wizards will be in Texas on April 23 to take on FC Dallas. For ticket information to that match, as well as more information on Arnaud and the Wizards, including a link with video replay of his goal, check out www.kcwizards.com, the Wizards' official web site.

-WT-