2:3 Falke MetroStars Rauch 2 Ramos Villegas Hernandez 02.14.01 · Preseason

The MetroStars defeated German Fourth Division club FC Falke, 3-2, this afternoon in a scrimmage at the Hotel Montechoro soccer complex in Albufeira, Portugal. The scrimmage consisted of two 35-minute halves and unlimited substitutions.

The MetroStars fielded different lineups in each half to enable most of the players to get playing time. FC Falke, a club located 20 kilometers east of Munich and established in 1930, played with a majority of their starters.

The MetroStars' pressure paid off early when Tab Ramos intercepted a pass outside the penalty arc. He dribbled untouched in front of the penalty spot to fire in the first goal after seven minutes of play.

FC Falke took advantage of the MetroStars on a counter attack to tie the game in the 15th minute. The keeper immediately saved another shot by Ramos, and sent a long kick down field to Turkish midfielder Safim. He raced with the ball down the left flank before sending a cross through the box to striker Christian Rauch, who one-timed the shot past Tim Howard.

The MetroStars would go one up again in the 23rd minute on a fantastic effort by Alex Comas, who evaded two defenders on the left flank to send a cross into the box. Petter Villegas, playing the right wing, calmly brought down the ball, watched a defender slide by, and fired a shot into the upper right corner for the goal and 2-1 lead.

Daniel Hernandez, seeing his first competitive minutes since tearing his ACL on July 25, 2000 against Tampa Bay in a U.S. Open Cup match, connected on a low 25-yard right-footed freekick past the wall and goalkeeper in the 48th minute for a 3-1 lead. The Portuguese referee awarded the kick after Adolfo Valencia was brought down hard on a foul.

Despite the MetroStars control of the game, FC Falke managed to pull one back to cut the lead to one in the 56th minute. Once again, the combination of Rauch and Safim contributed to their goal. Safim, working the ball away from defenders Steve Shak and Jeff Rigby, found a cutting Rauch toward the goal for a through pass to beat Giovanni Salinas.

The game finished with the MetroStars on top, 3-2, in their first competitive minutes since October 31, 2000 in a friendly against FC Cologne in Germany.