Oct. 22, 2004

Former West Texas A&M University men's soccer player Davy Arnaud and the Kansas City Wizards will take on the San Jose Earthquakes in game one of the Major League Soccer Western Conference semifinals that will be televised on national TV, on ESPN2 on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 4 p.m. Central Time.

The Wizards are the top seed in the West, after finishing the regular season with a 14-9-7 record for 49 points. KC tied with Columbus for the best record in MLS, but missed out on nabbing the Supporters Shield by virtue of the third tiebreaker scenario, which was total goals, as the Wizards netted two fewer goals than the Crew.

Both KC and San Jose are familiar with each other, as this is the second-straight year they have faced each other in the postseason, as they tangled last year in the Western Conference Final, with San Jose winning, 3-2, in OT to advance to the MLS Cup Final, as the Earthquakes went on the win the MLS Cup.

The Wizards allowed a MLS-low 30 goals in the regular season, earning the title of best defensive team in MLS, also recording a league-high 12 shutouts, blanking their opponents in seven of their final 10 matches of the season, including a 1-0 win over San Jose on Aug. 24 and a 0-0 draw with the Earthquakes on Oct. 9.

KC will host game two of the home-and-home, aggregate-goal series on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Central Time at Arrowhead Stadium.

Second-seeded Los Angeles will take on third-seeded Colorado in the other semifinal series.

If the Wizards win, they'll host the Western Conference Final for the right to play in the MLS Cup Final in Los Angeles, Calif. on Nov. 14.

Arnaud was second on the team in scoring, netting nine goals and tied a team-high by dishing out eight assists.

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-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.

For more on Arnaud and the Wizards, including complete stats and highlight video, check out www.kcwizards.com, the Wizards' official web site.

-WT-