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Wizards-Toronto FC Preview

Jun 4, 2010 - 5:18 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Kansas City (2-5-2) at Toronto FC (5-4-1), 4:00 p.m. EDT

Led by dynamic scorer Dwayne De Rosario and the sound play of goalkeeper Stefan Frei, Toronto FC is succeeding at both ends of the pitch.

That doesn't bode well for the Kansas City Wizards, who are struggling offensively and defensively.

De Rosario and Frei look to help Toronto stretch its unbeaten streak to five games Saturday when it hosts a Wizards team trying to avoid extending its winless streak to eight.

De Rosario was named the MLS player of the week Monday after scoring two goals in last Saturday's 3-1 victory over San Jose. Both goals came after halftime as coach Preki decided to rest his star for the first 45 minutes.

The strategy paid off, as De Rosario increased his season total to eight goals, bringing him within one of Los Angeles' Edson Buddle for the MLS lead.

"It's teamwork and that's why we're getting the results that we're looking for," De Rosario told Toronto's official website. "(Everybody is) working hard everyday in training, and it's starting to pay off."

The Wizards (2-5-2) aren't enjoying the same results.

Kansas City is 0-5-2 since defeating Colorado 1-0 on April 10, and has scored five goals during its winless streak. The Wizards lost to Real Salt Lake 4-1 last Saturday, the second time in five games they were outscored by three goals.

"Obviously there is something that's not right (with the team)," coach Peter Vermes told the Wizards' official website. "I'm going to figure it out and I'm going to figure it out quick."

Trying to get the offense on track against Toronto (5-4-1) might not be so easy.

Frei stopped six shots against the Earthquakes after back-to-back shutouts, and has yielded two goals during Toronto's unbeaten streak.

"It feels awesome keeping the streak going," Frei said. "I love being undefeated. I don't care about the shutout streak as long as we keep the undefeated one going."

Making matters worse for the Wizards' sluggish offense is captain Davy Arnaud has been suspended for this match after receiving two yellow cards against Real Salt Lake. Arnaud had both Kansas City goals in a 3-2 home loss to Toronto on March 21, 2009.

Toronto won both matches against the Wizards last season, and is 2-0-1 against them at home since 2008.

Canada's lone MLS team is excelling at home this year - also a bad sign for Kansas City.

Toronto has outscored its opponents 9-2 in winning its four games at BMO Field this year, while the Wizards have been outscored 10-2 in losing their four matches away from Kansas City.