For starters, Nicol will have to wing it
The Revolution will be without starting wingers Khano Smith and Wells Thompson for the season-opener against the Houston Dynamo at Gillette Stadium Saturday. Smith is with the Bermuda national team preparing for a World Cup qualifier at the Cayman Islands Sunday. Thompson sustained a foot injury and will also miss the Revolution's visit to Chicago April 3.
"Wells will be in a [protective] boot for two weeks and that could sort out the problem," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. "If not, we'll move on from there. Ten days ago we had four [outside midfielders] and now we've got two."
The Revolution actually have three outside midfielders, including Steve Ralston, one of the best at the position in Major League Soccer history. But Ralston is slated to perform in a playmaking midfield slot in a 3-5-2 alignment, so Nicol was referring to Mauricio "Pipo" Castro and Sainey Nyassi.
"Sainey is an option but he's only 19 and he's got a bit of learning to do," Nicol said. "His forte is running at people and going at defenders and stuff, but there are other parts of the game he has to get better at. We don't want to put him in when he's not ready but, at the same, time, we always say you get experience by playing. We have to decide if the time's right or not."
Castro, 26, performed for CD Olimpia and the Honduras national team and is expected to challenge Smith on the left side. Nyassi, a member of the Gambia U20 team, played in one MLS game for the Revolution last year.
Castro made his Revolution debut in an exhibition against CD Marathon of Honduras in New Orleans March 16. Castro attempted a free kick and earned a penalty kick, but was prevented from taking the penalty because he was waved off by Adam Cristman, whose shot was saved in a 0-0 tie.
"[Castro] has done really well," Nicol said. "Obviously, he is confident. You don't find too many players who walk into your side and want to take those kicks."
Chasing a dream
Chase Hilgenbrinck, a defender from Quincy, Ill., who played at Clemson University before signing a contract with CD Huachipato in Chile in 2004, is training at left back with the Revolution. Hilgenbrinck helped Deportivo Ñublense to promotion to the First Division last year. Hilgenbrinck joined the Colorado Rapids but was released last month . . . The Honduras team that defeated the US, 1-0, in the Olympic qualifying final in Nashville Sunday included four players from CD Marathon. Georgie Wilson Welcome, who scored for the Catrachos against the US, is the only player on the roster not contracted to a club . . . The Honduras connection appears to be strengthening in the US, with several Catracho clubs competing in exhibitions in Florida and Southern California and the national team contesting a friendly against Colombia in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., tomorrow.
