Olsen to miss 3-4 weeks; Wallace weighs international options
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
May 20, 2009
D.C. will use mix of players to fill void in the midfield
Ben Olsen will miss 3-4 weeks after an MRI on Monday revealed a grade two right hamstring strain suffered in the opening minutes of D.C. United's 2-2 draw at Chivas USA last weekend.
After missing the previous week against Toronto for precautionary reasons, Olsen left the Chivas match in the seventh minute.
"Any time you're out, especially him, he takes it hard," said United head coach Tom Soehn. "We're just going to have to wait for him to get back, and in the meantime, we keep trucking along. It's someone else's chance to step in. That's why we've been circulating a lot of guys."
Without Olsen, United is expected to use some combination of Andrew Jacobson, Devon McTavish and Clyde Simms in the midfield against New York in Wednesday's final round of qualifying for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The winner will earn a place in the tournament's third round, which begins June 30.
Wallace undecided on international future
Rodney Wallace's strong start to his first professional season with D.C. United has done more than put him on the radar for MLS rookie of the year. It also could force the Costa Rican-born midfielder to make a decision sooner rather than later on which country he'd like to represent at the international level.
"I've been thinking about it," said Wallace, who was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, before moving to the U.S. at age nine. "But to me, right now, it's just something that is not number one on my list. Obviously, it's something important and something that I have to face at a point. But right now, I'm focused on playing here, getting myself into D.C. United."
Wallace declined to comment on whether he has been contacted by the Costa Rican national team, and said he'll root for both the U.S. and Costa Rica this summer in World Cup qualifying and the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
"I've always been following [Costa Rica]," said Wallace. "But I've also followed the U.S. because I've been living here for such a long time. Most of the games I've watched, I've been for both the U.S. and Costa Rica. I'm just a soccer fan no matter what."
