25 February 2006

3 Out, 1 In

WEBER, VAN SICKLEN, KUYKENDALL RELEASED. MEDIATE NEAR CONTRACT

The Washington Post reports that DC United released Goalkeeper Andrew Weber, defensive midfielder Shawn Kuykendall, and attacking midfielder Nick Van Sicklen on Friday. According to John Haydon in the Washington Times, former Columbus Crew and Maryland Terrapin Dominic Mediate is near a contract with the team.

Let's start with the easy one first: Andrew Weber was never challenging for a starting position, and his only reserve minutes last year came as a forward for the team. It is not entirely surprising that he is leaving.

Nick Van Sicklen's departure is also not entirely unexpected. In The DCenters midfield preview, the prediction was that Rod Dyachenko would move ahead of Van Sicklen for a shot at the Center Midfield location. This move seems to confirm that whatever Dyachenko has down DC United in Florida, it was enough to make them think they had made the right choice.

The loss of Shawn Kuykendall does surprise me though. Shawn's work in the reserves had been decent, and I was hoping he might pull it out. Failing that, I thought he might have some trade value for DC United, even if it was for a very late draft pick. Ben Olsen and Brian Carroll had the top jobs locked up, and Clyde Simms has apparently played well enough to secure the back-up job. Jeff Carroll will apparently be the developmental hope for the team. Now, I can certainly imagine another team taking a look at Shawn, so I wish him well wherever he lands.

The signing of Dominic Mediate, who was a major drain on the DCenters fantasy team last year, is also a bit of a surprise. While Haydon writes that he imagines Mediate contenting for a wing position, part of me wonders if he also might not help challenge Brandon Prideaux for a RB slot.

6 Comments:

At 27 February, 2006 10:03, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It was a shame to see Shawn go. I thought he played well in the games I saw. It is always good to see fellow Eagles get picked up by teams, but seeing him make the DC squad was awesome. I hope he lands somewhere else soon.

 
At 27 February, 2006 18:09, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ha, Chris is just ticked because he sprang for a Kuykendall jersey at the last equipment sale.

 
At 27 February, 2006 19:30, Blogger D said...

Yeah, that would suck. Almost as much as buying a Petke jersey a few days before he got shipped to Colorado...

Not that we know anyone who's done that :)

 
At 28 February, 2006 10:20, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I do own a Shawn Jersey. This is another misfortune of seeing Shawn leave. Notice I did get the Kuykendall jersey and not the Van Sicklen or the other scrubs they had remaining. I honestly thought he was a decent player and it was nice to see AU represent in the MLS. I certainly know Joe can understand this. He practically felates himself when Kareem Rush gets minutes with Charlotte even though he is a Wizards fan.

 
At 28 February, 2006 10:55, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's all true. I bought the Petke jersey right before the Colorado trade. And I get giddy when Mizzou-alum NBA back-benchers score in the double digits.

 
At 28 February, 2006 16:03, Blogger D said...

Yeah, I really can't root for any alums from my school. Except in the Robot Soccer Competition (go CMUnited!) God... we were dorks.

 

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