not good news on Brian Ching's status for the MLS Cup Ching likely to miss Dynamo's MLS final Nov. 11, 2007, 11:21PM By BERNARDO FALLAS Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle The Dynamo are headed to Major League Soccer's title game for the second time in as many seasons. This time, though, the defending league champions are bracing to do it without their clutch forward and leading scorer in the playoffs. With less than a week to recover, Brian Ching is doubtful, at best, for Sunday's match against the New England Revolution at RFK Stadium after injuring his left calf in the second half of Saturday's victory over the Kansas City Wizards at Robertson Stadium to capture the Western Conference final and a spot in the MLS Cup. "At this point it seems unlikely (that Ching will play)," team trainer Bruce Morgan said late Sunday. "But I don't want to rule it out as a possibility. "We're trying to be as optimistic as possible. It's a significant muscle injury, but I'd like to believe there's still a possibility that he might be available for selection come Sunday, as unlikely as that appears at this time." Ching strained his calf in the 69th minute of Saturday's 2-0 shutout win as he charged the goal chasing a cross from the left by Brad Davis. Ching went down on his own just inside the goalie box. He remained on the ground grimacing and clutching his left leg in pain and had to be helped off the field by team staff. It marked the second time this season Ching went down with a strained left calf. He missed three weeks in late August and early September with a similar injury. Ching was unavailable for comment Sunday. "Brian, of course, is crestfallen," Morgan said. "He's a competitor, and I respect that about all athletes. "He's pretty distraught, to say the least." Morgan said the team will rest Ching until likely Friday and then begin aggressive treatment. The injury to the Hawaii native and U.S. national team member was the only blemish on the Dynamo in what otherwise was a perfect evening that saw the team dominate the opponent from whistle to whistle. "It was an excellent physical and mental effort," coach Dominic Kinnear said. "I was impressed, and I've seen this team do some great things, and I thought, man, that was great. We didn't give them a chance to get going." The loss of Ching, one of the league's top target forwards, would be a blow to the aerial dominance of the Dynamo. Ching has been clutch for the Dynamo in the playoffs since last year, when he scored three goals, including the Western Conference final clincher and one in overtime of the MLS Cup that forced the shootout against New England. More recently, Ching (seven goals, two assists in the regular season), tallied two clutch goals to help lead the Dynamo to a first-round series win over instate rival FC Dallas. Still, Kinnear said the team is deep enough to absorb the loss and remain dangerous offensively. "You always want to field what you think is your best team," Kinnear said. "You want to see Brian healthy and available, but if he can't there's not much you can do about it." Kinnear started Ching and Nate Jaqua the past two games with positive results. If Ching is out, Kinnear has a replacement. "You slide in Joe (Ngwenya)," Kinnear said. "You look at the times Joe and Nate have played together, they've done well." bernardo.fallas@chron.com
that sucks, because Ching has so much clutch-ness to him. After New England scored in OT last year, he came back a minute later to tie it up. That was awesome and ballsy.
dude they aren't talking about Jessica Alba they're talking about Jessica who used to be a Rockets Power Dancer and now is a Dynamo Girl. Look her up on the Dynamo website or on Dave2000s site that he has linked in his sig.
IMO, it's a better duo than Ching-Jaqua. Ching is probably our best striker, but I think a combo of Ching-Ngwenya or Jaqua-Gwenya is better than Ching-Jaqua. Ngwenya has that "it" that no one on the team has. He has speed, tactical awareness, strength and skill. IMO, he's the most underrated/underappreciated in MLS. It would be nice to have Ching, but I think we're more likely to get off to a good start with Ngwenya in the match.
Not at all. I kind of agree with yaopao. Ching and Jaqua are used similarly. They're both good with their back to the goal and winning crosses. Ngwenya is better facing the goal running at defenders. I'd prefer to have Ching out there, but I feel very confident that Jaqua and Ngweyna will get it done.
because Ching is awesome. but we're deep. i think we'll be fine. they've won tough games without ching before... GO DYNAMO!!!
Probably any other team in the league that lost their star striker you could stick a fork in 'em. It's a luxury to come in with Ngwenya. Jaqua, DeRo, and Davis will have to step it up, too.
You don't have to be a soccer fan to read that "clutch forward" and "star" player are really important words in a news story. I kid, man. Of course this sucks big time, but we have Ngwenya, who should wreak havoc up in the forward area just like he did against Dallas.
What would New England do w/o Twellman? They'd be toast. The Dynamo front office has done a fantastic job putting this team together. Getting Jaqua off of the Galaxy scrapheap. Getting Ngweyna from Columbus. Getting Mulrooney from Toronto. I don't know what kind of awards the MLS gives out for front office work, but if the Dynamo don't get it, it will be a sham.
Chivas USA coach got coach of the year, I don't think there is one specifically for front office stuff. He can have the award though, we'll just have to be happy with the cup. Also, we'll be missing Clark because of his suspension. We've got two national team players missing and still have a competitive lineup.
And Guzan got keeper of the year over Onstead and his .82 GAA (to go with the nearly 800 minute scoreless streak). Guzan is a good keeper and all, but Onstead had the best year. About the only one I agree with to this point is Edu getting ROY. He is going to be a very good player.
I was really just wondering if they had someone that was sufficient to replace him . I forgot to add that .
Good observation. And Ngwenya is the Dynamo's leading scorer this year, although it can be attributed to Ching missing so many games to injury and participation on the national team. Dynamo will be all right.
ha that's hilarious for him thinking that, I was just gonna let him think that thanks for explaining it to him btw, this is a big blow, but we are deep enough to repeat, the Dynamo are an offensive juggernaut
For those of you who aren't soccer fans, this isn't like the Rockets missing Yao or T-Mac. It'd probably be like missing James when we have Alston or Francis. In soccer, there are star players, however they aren't as consistent as NBA stars. Also, the fact that I think Kinnear had the wrong lineup of Ching-Jaqua at the forward positions plays a large role in me thinking it might be beneficial... Ching and Jaqua are both very physical forwards who play the target striker well very well, maybe the 2 best in MLS in that role. Ching, while a good goal scorer/poacher, doesn't have half the skill that Ngwenya does. Ngewnya can play the playmaker role as well as anyone on this team, especially when DeRo decides to pass when he shoot should and vice versa. Ngwenya is what an athletic Battier would be...
Ngwenya impressed me too. If the team had all the strikers available, I'd play the combination of Ching and Ngwenya.
