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 LATE MATHIS STRIKE GIVES METROSTARS 1-0 WIN OVER DC UNITED

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Clint Mathis scored the game-winning goal in second-half stoppage time as the MetroStars defeated D.C. United 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Giants Stadium. The MetroStars victory lifts them into the seventh playoff seed on 32pts while United (23pts) see their playoff hopes fade with nine points distancing them from the eighth and final postseason slot (occupied by Kansas City on 32pts) with five games remaining. United remain winless on the road (0-9-3) and saw their winless streak extended to 10 games.

D.C. will hope that it will still be in playoff contention by the time these two clubs meet again for two games in the span of 48 hours. The next contest is set for Thursday, Sept. 12 at Giants Stadium with the teams moving to RFK Stadium for the final regular season meeting between the two teams on Sept. 14.

With the MetroStars making frantic attacks into the United penalty area in the closing stages of regulation, the home team capitalized on a D.C. United turnover in the MetroStars half as Bobby Convey was stripped by defender Craig Ziadie. That play ignited a counterattack which saw Andy Williams feed forward Rodrigo Faria in the left side of the D.C. box. The reigning Kellogg’s Rookie of the Year then sent a low cross to the opposite post which found Mathis in stride as he knocked the ball inside the right post from five yards out. It was the third goal of the season scored by the MetroStars captain and his first since returning from the 2002 World Cup (five appearances since returning). Williams’ 13th assist on the campaign also set a career high for the Jamaican international.

With important points at stake, both teams started the game with high intensity, especially on the defensive end. Both sides had players tracking back to offer defensive cover, limiting the total number of shots on goal in the first 45 minutes to just two (both for the MetroStars), with United enjoying periods of prolonged possession.

The most physical of the one-on-one battles was that between D.C. United defender Milton Reyes and MetroStars forward Mamadou Diallo. In the 51st minute Diallo got the upperhand as he earned a penalty kick after Reyes shoved him from behind as he made a run into the United box. The Senegalese striker, who had converted on three of four kicks entering the game, saw his attempt punched away by goalkeeper Nick Rimando as the score remained knotted at 0-0.

If Rimando came up with a big save on his end, MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard, who earned his fourth shutout of the season, replied in the 59th minute. On a Marco Etcheverry corner kick from the right side, a wide-open Eddie Pope headed the ball on goal from the penalty spot. But Howard made a reflex save to deny the U.S. World Cup defender, tipping the ball over the crossbar. On the ensuing corner kick from the opposite side, it was the turn of United’s Convey to find himself open at the penalty spot as he fired a first-time shot just high over the crossbar.

United Head Coach Ray Hudson attempted to give a jolt to his attack by inserting veteran Roy Lassiter in the 61st minute but it was the MetroStars who nearly scored in the 70th minute when a searing shot from Williams finished wide left. United’s most dangerous scoring chance of the second half came in the 77th minute as Etcheverry and Pope again connected on a set piece. Pope chested Etcheverry’s pass down toward Lassiter in the MetroStars box but United’s striker could not get a foot to it before it rolled out of play.

For yet another game this season, D.C. United did not have two of its best strikers available as Santino Quaranta (abdominal hernia surgery) and Jaime Moreno (strained right quadriceps) were forced to sit out due to injury. United defender Ivan McKinley came out of the game in the first half due to a left hip flexor.

The MetroStars (10-11-2, 32pts), who stopped a three-game losing streak with the win, travel for a difficult match at the Rose Bowl as they next face the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, Aug. 31 in the Soccer Saturday Game of the Week (tape delay broadcast on ESPN2 at 1:00 a.m. ET). D.C. United (6-12-5, 23pts) are also in action next Saturday as they host San Jose (7:30 p.m. ET) and hope that the Wizards and MetroStars drop their next few matches if United's playoff dreams are to subsist.

Scoring Summary:

MET--Mathis (Faria, Williams) 92+

D.C. UNITED--Nick Rimando, Milton Reyes, Eddie Pope, Brandon Prideaux, Ryan

Nelsen, Ivan McKinley (Lazo Alavanja 38), Richie Williams, Ben Olsen, Bobby

Convey, Marco Etcheverry, Eliseo Quintanilla (Roy Lassiter 61)

TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (Alavanja 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Pope 1); FOULS: 26 (Convey 4,

Etcheverry 4, Reyes 4); OFFSIDE: 6; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: Rimando 5;

CAUTIONS: Convey 14, Olsen 18, Etcheverry 90; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION

PERCENTAGE: 56%

METROSTARS--Tim Howard, Ted Chronopoulos (Nelson Akwari 73), Steve Jolley, Mike

Petke, Craig Ziadie, Ross Paule, Jeff Moore, Andy Williams, Clint Mathis,

Mamadou Diallo (Brad Davis 75), Rodrigo Faria

TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Diallo 4, Mathis 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Diallo 4); FOULS: 25

(Faria 5); OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: Howard 1; CAUTIONS: Faria 33,

Chronopoulos 46+; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 44%

Referee: Ricardo Valenzuela; Assistant Referees: Chip Reed, Alex Schuster

Attendance: 20,447; Weather: Partly Cloudy, 82 degrees

source: Metrostars.com

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