Kansas City Wizards starting goalkeeper Tony Meola underwent arthroscopic knee surgery March 31 in Los Angeles, California. The surgery, performed by U.S. national team doctor Bert Mandelbaum, went well, but Meola will be sidelined for six months. The injury occurred on March 17th, as he turned and planted to kick a ball at training. "Tony (Meola) had a complete tear of his ACL and arthroscopic ACL reconstructive surgery was performed, as well as repairing the tears to his meniscus," Dr. Mandlebaum said. "The procedure went very well and rehabilitation will begin immediately. We are probably looking at six months for …

U.S. U-23 men's mational team coach Clive Charles today announced the 18-player roster that will compete in a friendly against Brazil on Wednesday, April 7 at Brasilia Stadium. The team departs for Sao Paulo, Brazil on April 4 before traveling on to Brasilia the following day. The Brazil friendly marks the first U-23 call-up for U.S. U-17 scoring sensation Landon Donovan, who has scored 15 goals in 15 games in 1999, including six goals in four international matches. Donovan is currently competing with the U-17s in the Dallas Cup, and will join the team this weekend. "He's one of our …

Group 1 March 31 in Zurich Switzerland 2 (Chapuisat 4, 70) Wales 0. Half: 1-0. Att.: 13,500. March 31 in Ancona Italy 1 (Inzaghi pen. 31) Belarus 1 (Belkevich 24). Half: 1-1. Att.: 25,000. TEAM GP W T L GF GA P Italy 4 3 1 0 7 2 10 Switzerland 4 2 1 1 4 3 7 Wales 4 2 0 2 5 7 6 Belarus 4 0 2 2 3 5 2 Denmark 4 0 2 2 3 5 2 SCHEDULE June 5 -- Italy vs. Wales, Denmark vs. Belarus. Group 2 March 31 …

FEATURES U.S. Reaps Benefits Of Maturing Eddie Lewis By Scott French Promising Start For MetroStars By Frank Giase Walter Zenga: 'Spiderman' Starts Spinning His Web By Frank Dell'Apa Tony Dicicco: "Mexico Was A Better Team This Time' By Dean Caparaz Americans Are Ready To Make Their Mark In Nigeria By Scott French Call For Miracle-Worker Keegan To Stay With England Mexico: The Red Devils Blaze With Jose Cardozo By Amparo Sim=n COLUMNS Soccer Talk -- Young Americans rush toward pro game By Paul Gardner Short Passes By Lynn Berling-Manuel DEPARTMENTS

• Up Front
• MLS Q&A: Billy Hicks
• MLS Roundup
• MLS …

Here's a look at the television schedule for this week's MLS games: Date Matchup Kickoff (ET) Television April 3 D.C. United at MetroStars 7:00 p.m. espn2 April 3 Columbus at Tampa Bay 7:00 p.m. Fox Sports Ohio April 3 Chicago at Miami 7:00 p.m. Fox Sports Chicago April 3 New England at Kansas City 8:30 p.m. Fox Sports New England April 3 Los Angeles at San Jose 10:00 p.m. *Fox Sports Bay Area; KVEA-Telemundo (LA); ESPN Dos (Mexico) *-delayed on Fox Sports Bay Area.

The U.S. U-17 national team drew 0-0 with UAG ("Tecos") of Mexico March 29 in action at the Dallas Cup. The USA will play Group D leaders SC Corinthians (Brazil) on March 31 to conclude first-round play. Corinthians beat UAG Tecos, 3-0 and FC Augsburg of Germany 5-1. The top two finishers from each group advance to the quarterfinals on April 2 and the USA needs a win to assure advancement to the next round. If the U-17s draw against SC Corinthians the USA will need help from the UAG-FC Augsburg match to advance to the quarterfinals. The USA will …

Scoring Player (Team) GP G A P Razov (Chicago) 2 4 2 10 Kreis (Dallas) 2 3 1 7 Lassiter (D.C. United) 1 2 1 5 Gottardi (Tampa Bay) 1 2 0 4 Bravo (Colorado) 2 2 0 4 Podbrozny (Chicago) 2 1 2 4 Hurtado (MetroStars) 2 2 0 4 Williams (D.C. United) 1 1 1 3 Etcheverry (D.C. United) 1 0 3 3 Paule (Colorado) 2 1 1 3 Trotman (Dallas) 2 1 1 3 Wolff (Chicago) 2 1 1 3 Trotman (Dallas) 2 1 1 3 Paule (Colorado) 2 1 1 3 Goalkeeping …

The following are quotes from the March 30 MLS media teleconference, which featured MLS commissioner Doug Logan, MLS Executive VP Ivan Gazidis, Los Angeles coach Octavio Zambrano and San Jose coach Brian Quinn. Doug Logan Opening Remarks "On our part for me personally and on behalf of the league, we're saying a prayer for peace in the Balkans ... Many of our coaches and players have family and loved ones there ... We are hoping for an end to the conflict which is impacting our family ... We hope the stand-down and the cease-fire comes to fruition ... At the …

KANSAS CITY 0 CHICAGO 3 March 27 Att.: 15,509. Goals Chicago: Razov (Marsch, Podbrozny) 10, Wolff (Razov, Armas 61), Razov (Podbrozny 69). SA Report Card Kansas City: Winner 5, Vermillion 4, Lalas 3, Bowers 4, Uderitz 4 (Johnson, 53rd, 4), Wright 3 (Klein, 46th, 4), Sabanadzovic 3, Preki 4, Henderson 5, Brown 4, Johnston 4. Chicago: Thornton 6, Okaroh 6, Kubik 7, Brown 7, Gutierrez 6, Armas 6, Marsch 5, Podbrozny 5, Nowak 7, Razov 7 (Lagos, 73rd, NR), Klopas 4 (Wolff, 53rd, 7). Yellow cards Kansas City: Lalas 28; Chicago: Podbrozny 14, Nowak 29, Okaroh 81. Referee: Ricardo Valenzuela. …

Landon Donovan scored his 15th goal of the season for the U.S. U-17s, but a late equalizer meant the Americans had to settle for a 1-1 draw with FC Augsburg of Germany in the two teams' openeing match in the first round of the Dallas Cup. The U.S. suffered blows to its defense with injuries to Alexander Yi and Oguchi Onyewu. Yi suffered a strained ACL in his left knee and is expected to return to Bradenton, Fla. for further examination. Onyewu has a strained right hip flexor and is questionable for the remainder of the Dallas Cup. The U-17s …

Kansas City defender Scott Uderitz tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee in the 53rd minute of last Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Chicago Fire. The Wizards' injury woes continue as Uderitz, 28, will most likely miss the rest of the season. Uderitz missed the entire 1997 season due to a bone contusion in his left leg, but made a remarkable comeback to play last year, appearing in 22 games and starting 18. Uderitz, known for being a tenacious defender, was injured as he tried to tackle the ball away from Fire midfielder Peter Nowak. He missed, and …

Despite falling to Honduras for the second time in the tournament on March 26, Costa Rica took its third straight UNCAF Nations Cup title over the weekend. With Guatemala's 2-0 win over Honduras in the first match of March 28, the Ticos needed to beat El Salvador by at least two goals to win the championship on goal difference. Costa Rica rolled to a 4-0 win to lock up the title. Costa Rica, along with second-place finisher Guatemala and third-place finisher Honduras, qualifies for the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Feb. 12-27 in Los Angeles, San Diego and Miami. El Salvador, …

Results March 28 MetroStars 1 Columbus 0 Miami 2 New England 1 (SO) Los Angeles 1 Dallas 0 (SO) March 27 Kansas City 0 Chicago 3 San Jose 3 Colorado 2 (SO) Standings EASTERN GP W L P GF GA MetroStars 2 2 0 4 3 2 D.C. United 1 1 0 3 5 2 Miami 2 1 1 1 3 3 New England 1 0 1 0 1 1 Columbus 1 0 1 0 0 1 Tampa Bay 1 0 1 0 2 5 Shootout records: MetroStars …

The U.S. women's national team opened the "NIKE Road to Pasadena" tour on the same field it hopes to end it, defeating regional rival Mexico, 3-0, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final will be held at the stadium on July 10. The match, the first-ever for the U.S. women at the Rose Bowl, marked the beginning of the nine-game "NIKE Road to Pasadena" tour that will take the USA across the country and into four Women's World Cup venues in preparation for the tournament that kicks off June 19 against Denmark at …

Group 1 March 27 in Minsk Belarus 0 Switzerland 1 (Fournier 72). Half: 0-0. Att.: 35,000. March 27 in Copenhagen Denmark 1 (Sand 56) Italy 2 (Inzaghi 1, Conte 68). Half: 0-1. Att.: 41,429. TEAM GP W T L GF GA P Italy 3 3 0 0 6 1 9 Wales 3 2 0 1 5 5 6 Switzerland 3 1 1 1 2 3 4 Denmark 4 0 2 2 3 5 2 Belarus 3 0 1 2 2 4 1 SCHEDULE March 31 -- Switzerland vs. Wales, Italy vs. Belarus. Group 2 March 27 …