KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- There has been no shortage of heroes for the Kansas City Wizards in their rebound from last place in the Eastern Conference to the verge of clinching a playoff berth. The maturing defense, led by veterans Jimmy Conrad and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, the fortitude and pure heart put in by midfielders Davy Arnaud and Jack Jewsbury, and the various contributions by numerous other players.
Now add Saturday night's performances by Claudio Lopez and Herculez Gomez in K.C.'s wild and woolly 3-2 win against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes.
Lopez had a foot in all goals with a goal and two assists while Gomez scored the match-winner three minutes deep into stoppage time after San Jose had tied the game in the 71st minute.
"I felt good," said Lopez through an interpreter. "My teammates did a good job of supporting me and played a good game. I'm happy we're a step closer to the playoffs."
With one week remaining in the season, the Wizards stand at 39 points after the win, on top of the wildcard race, holding one of the two places with the New York Red Bulls. D.C. United is two points behind, while the Colorado Rapids are at 34 points, still yet to play this weekend.
Lopez started for the first time since Sept. 7, in place of an ailing Josh Wolff.
"Five weeks ago, he hit a point where he was just tired," said Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo. "It's normal of a player of his age, with the amount of minutes he had played all year, to hit that. He was able to get less minutes in games, which gave him a little bit more of freshness. He hurt himself, which gave him some more time off."
Lopez showed all night that he was ready to lift his side in the pivotal match. He had five shots on goal as he time and time again penetrated the San Jose penalty area. "El Piojo" ("The Louse") was back.
"I told our people in the booth on TV that he was going to have a great week. He was unbelievable in training -- scored two goals in our intersquad game in 35 minutes," Onalfo said. "He looks fresh again. He looks just like he did when we first brought him here."
In the 18th minute, Lopez took a pass from Abe Thompson and touched a first time left-footer past San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon for the lead. The goal was equaled in the 27th minute by his backheel flick to Davy Arnaud through two Earthquakes defenders. Arnaud put on the finishing touch to pull the Wizards ahead again after a 20th-minute San Jose leveler.
"He was great. He's been chomping at the bit to play," said Conrad. "We've been playing well, so he has to wait his turn. He's been a good professional the whole time. He came in and made a goal and an assist, probably could have had a few more. Just buzzing tonight."
The Wizards created plenty of chances on the night (13 shots on goal), but failed to give San Jose the knockout punch.
"We created a lot of chances, and I thought we were very good," said Onalfo. "But, as I turned to my assistant coach after we missed a whole bunch of those chances in the second half, I said, 'I don't feel good about this.'"
San Jose hung on, and in the 71st minute won a scramble in the box after Hartman failed to control a cross. Rookie Shea Salinas drove a loose ball into the net for the tie. But the Wizards switched to a 3-4-3 formation from their 4-4-2, kept on plugging, and made room for Lopez and Gomez's final heroics.
"The guys' heads were down, and we were yelling and screaming to try and get them to believe. And we found a way. Fantastic," said Onalfo.
After a few strong chances as full time approached and passed, the Wizards won a corner on a hustle. As the near-sellout crowd urged them on, Lopez played in a curving and dipping ball just outside the six-yard box, and Gomez got there.
"You can't really describe something like that. I found myself in a good spot, made a hard run, and Claudio had a good ball in," said Gomez. "It was really his service. I got something on the ball, and the ball wound up in the back of the net. After that, it was utter chaos. Very blessed that it went our way."
It was a storybook celebration, receiving an encore when the whistle blew after the ensuing kickoff.
"We haven't had one of those games in a while," said Conrad, who drew comparison's to last season's 3-2 win against the Columbus Crew on Sept. 15. "We had the same kind of game. That victory propelled us into the playoffs, and you need that little bit of good fortune. We were disappointed to give up the second goal, but we feel great right now."
"They didn't give up ever, and our will to win ended up being the difference," Onalfo said. "We've put so much time and effort into this. You work so hard for a few moments of that kind of feeling. ... We're a team that, in crunch time over the last six games, that has compiled a 4-1-1 record. That's a tribute to the guys in the locker room and how hard they are working and that they believe in what we're doing."
The 2008 Kansas City Wizards are becoming a team of heroes. Lopez and Gomez are just the latest stars.
"Curt made a point that we're not really getting a lot of respect from the league, so we need to come out here and work hard for ourselves. And that's what we've been doing," Gomez said. "Everybody on the field is fighting for each other. When you put out that mentality and put out that work, good things happen."
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