Monday, Nov. 3, 2008 | 11:45 a.m.
Las Vegas High graduate Herculez Gomez will not be part of the Kansas City Wizards in their Major League Soccer playoff round against Columbus on Saturday.
Gomez received a red card – and automatic next-game suspension – for his sweeping tackle of Crew left back Gino Padula on Saturday in Kansas City.
The Wizards, ahead 1-0 at the time, played a man down for the final 15 minutes, and Columbus tied it in extra time.
The second leg of the aggregate-goals series will be played at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday. The Wizards must win to advance past the Eastern Conference semifinals.
"The ball got loose. I tried to make a play on it, and just really put my team in a bad position regardless if it was a foul or not," Gomez told MLSnet.com.
"I'm extremely disappointed for the position I put my team in. I definitely let my team down. I can't blame the referee, he called what he saw."
Kansas City obtained Gomez from Colorado on Sept. 3. He had been an imposing threat on the right flank.
Gomez helped the Los Angeles Galaxy win the MLS Cup championship in 2005.
"I have tons of faith in what we've done as a team lately,” Gomez said, “and what we continue to do."
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