In one way, rookie forward Scott Sealy has been a mixed blessing for the Wizards.
Sealy, in a very short time, has proved to be a capable scorer in MLS, scoring in his first game and taking just 5 minutes to score in his first MLS start.
He's also disrupted what last season was the best forward tandem in the league.
Josh Wolff and Davy Arnaud combined for 19 goals and 15 assists — both finishing in the top 10 in the league in scoring — and led the Wizards to a U.S. Open Cup championship and the MLS Cup. They played off each other all season and excelled because of it.
Now, along comes Sealy, a native of Chaguanas, Trinidad, whom Wizards coach Bob Gansler likes for his strength on the ball and nose for the goal. The question is, with Wolff and Arnaud up top, where to put Sealy?
That's a situation in which the Wizards, who play against FC Dallas at 7 tonight at Arrowhead Stadium, find themselves. Three forwards all talented enough to start. Only two forward slots available in their 4-4-2 formation.
“What we're trying to do,” Gansler said, “is get our best 11 out there.”
If Sealy isn't one of the best 11 on the Wizards' roster right now, he's certainly close.
A latecomer to preseason training camp because of national-team duty and visa issues, Sealy finally hooked up with his new team for its second game of the CONCACAF Champions Cup against Saprissa in Costa Rica on March 17 and took little time before scoring his first goal as a professional. In an exhibition a few days later, he scored again.
Then, in his first MLS start April 23 in San Jose, Calif., against the Earthquakes, he scored just 5 minutes into the game.
He started again last Saturday at home against defending MLS champion D.C. United but struggled before being pulled at halftime.
“He's a good player,” Gansler said. “It's a learning process.”
Sealy said he couldn't be happier about his progress thus far.
“I think the transition has been pretty smooth,” said Sealy, 23, who has scored two goals for the Trinidad & Tobago national team. “The guys have helped me settle down, maybe quicker than I should. For rookies coming in … you're usually playing with the reserves. I got the respect of some of the guys when I came in and they saw I have some ability.”
During each of the last two games, Gansler has started Sealy up top with Wolff, while Arnaud has been dropped back in the midfield, playing directly behind them. It's not an area of the field where Arnaud has been most effective in the past. Arnaud, never one to complain, knows that, as does Gansler.
Another curve will be thrown into the game plan tonight because regular starting midfielder Diego Gutierrez is sidelined four weeks after surgery to remove a bone spur and repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The injury was suffered in a collision during the D.C. United game.
That opens another spot in the Wizards' formation, and a probable scenario would be for Sealy to start again with Wolff up top, Arnaud to slip in as a wide-right midfielder (Chris Klein moves over to the left) and insert Jack Jewsbury in Gutierrez's spot in the midfield.
Or not.
“We have to see what opponents give us,” Gansler said. “Diego was out in preseason. Alex (Zotinca), Sasha (Victorine), Jack can play in there. We want to look at what the best combination is.
“(Sealy's) going to start sometimes, sometimes he's not. But he is going to be a regular contributor.”
That suits Sealy just fine.
“I've got to learn,” he said. “Sometimes, they might go with Josh and Davy. I'm fine with that.
“I always have to be ready to contribute. I will be.”