1:1 tie with Colorado sets up must-win finale
October 7, 2006
Coming into the match, Metro knew that no matter what happened this week, they would live to the next. The only thing this result could have decided was the necessity of a victory in the finale versus Kansas City. And with Metro trying Colorado 1:1 and the Wizards beating Chivas USA earlier tonight, it is a victory and only a victory that we need in the finale -- as much as things have changed from a year ago, this is still same old Metro in so many ways.
Marvell Wynne's suspension caused the only change from last week's lineup, the insertion of Peter Canero. The 142,996-dollar-man made his first start since game 3. Four minutes into the game, Metro went down on a Jacob Peterson goal. As Carlos Mendes was wrestling Metro-for-a-minute Thiago Martins to the ground in the box, Colorado was allowed to play on, and Peterson's shot got past Jon Conway for the early lead.
The Metro goal came in the 60th minute as some nice work by second-half sub Marcus Schopp led to the ball pouncing off Amado Guevara's chest, as the captain then grabbed control and slammed it home into the net. Metro survived some nervy moments after Conway handled a back-pass and the Rapids earned an indirect free kick inches from goal, but after a lengthy setup, Conway came out and blocked the attempt.
Late in the game, Rapids thug Dan Gargan escaped with a yellow after deliberately hacking down Guevara. But the Metro captain kept his cool, knowing that a yellow card would have kept him out of the now must-win finale. Amazingly, the team's 12th draw of the season was the first one in which Metro scored the last goal.
Bring on the Wiz!
Lineup: Conway, Stammler, Mendes, Parke, Canero, O'Rourke, Kovalenko, Henderson, Guevara, Wolyniec, Altidore. Subs: Buddle, Schopp, Magee.
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