2000 Season Review

Strikers

This page would be more aptly titled "Striker". For most of the 2000 season, the Revolution only seemed to play with one striker, namely Wolde Harris. The 2nd spot has been troublesome since the loss of Gio Savarese, who was last seen playing for mighty Swansea in Wales. Johnny Torres is more at home playing for the Bulldogs, Paul Keegan is gone to Bray, and William Sunsing is still raw. Oh, and we wasted a striker allocation on Jose Luis Morales as well. Waldo was never found this season.

It's tough to gripe about that job that Wolde Harris did this year. He was inexplicably left off the All-Star squad, and this eemed to fuel his outstanding play at the end of the season. He finished as the team's leader scorer with 37 points (15 goals, 7 assists). Only midfielder Imad Baba (9 goals) had more than 3 goals.

For the most part, Wolde was always on his game. He played a powerful style this year, asserting himself physically on the opposing defense. Harris tended to fool around with the ball too much, and he needs to learn to make the simple pass instead of the spectactular. He also missed way too many easy chances for a striker of his caliber. Harris needs a quality striker partner, and Sunsing may be the guy. They have a bit of chemistry, but the partnership needs to to develop. Wolde reminds us a bit of Andy Cole with more international success. Harris has resigned for at least the next couple of years.

This grade seems like it should be higher, but most forget that Sunsing had only one goal on the year. Like Pierce, Sunsing has shown enough to keep him around. He has also started to feature in the full Costa Rican National Team, and let's face the fact that the Revolution do not have many international/TFC caliber stars. Sunsing is quickly establishing himself as a possible add to that category.

The most encouraging sign in Sunsing's play this year was his tireless workrate. Sunsing ran after the ball all day, forcing errant passes from opposing defenses. His raw speed unnerved many lead-footed defenders around the league, and he consistently beat his man one on one. However, Sunsing needs to work on his striking. He took 38 shots, and only scored once. On numerous times during the season, William missed the net on clear scoring opportunites. Sunsing will be a key factor in 2001 if he can improve his striking enough to be a reliable strike partner for Wolde Harris.

The older brother of the heralded DaMarcus, Jamar finally stepped off the bench in 2000. He emerged as a solid role player/occasional starter. Jamar developed immennsely during this year. Hmm...Pitchside wonders if the playing time and development went hand in hand. We don't think that's a coincidence. Jamar will most likely be deployed as a wing mid next year due to the probable departure of Chrono.

Jamar possesses most of DaMarcus' traits: he's speedy, shifty, and slightly built. Beasley needs to gain some muscle mass as he cannot deal with the physical play in MLS. We worry about his health after taking so much banging. His striking is raw at this point, due to his lack of time. Jamar has problems finishing chances, but then again, that has been a familiar refrain among Revolution striker this year.

Horrible. Just downright horrible. He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, but he was bad this year. It's unlikely that he'll be here next year.

We hardly knew ye, Jose. He was shipped off at the end of the season after failing to live up to expectations. Jose was a promising pickup from Primera Liga club Numancia. However, he didn't pan out as he recieved very little service. Morales is a ground based player, but he rarely got the ball at his feet. A chance lost for the Revolution.

Thanks for the memories, Paul. We'll miss you. It must have been tough sitting on the bench after starting so brightly in 1996. You were a dutiful soldier for the club. Good luck at Bray.

Where's Waldo?

Fabio Zuniga played 27 minutes this year before blowing out his knee. It's too bad, as he showed promise during spring training. He'll be one to watch in the future, if he can survive the roster cuts after draft day.

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