3:2 New York Dallas Angel 2 Richards McCarty van den Bergh 08.23.09 · League

It is just one game. It doesn't really mean that much. But for a moment. Just one moment...

Richie Williams put his mark on the team from the opening whistle, coming out in a 4-4-2 with Juan Pablo Angel and John Wolyniec at the front, while Jorge Rojas and Alfredo Pacheco got the bench. It didn't take long to pay off, either, as, off a turnover in midfield, Albert Celades sent the ball to Angel, who rainbowed it right over Dario Sala for a 1:0 lead.

In the 20th minute, Kevin Goldthwaite stumbled over his feet, losing the ball to Jeff Cunningham, and Marty McFly lookalike Dax McCarty jumped out of his DeLorean to tie it up with a perfectly-placed header. But, it was nothing the revitalized Metro couldn't handle. And in the 28th minute, Woly fought off a defender and sent in a pass to Dane Richards that the Jamaican redirected to the back of the net. 2:1 Metro. First two-goal game since May. First time Metro has looked competitive all year.

In the second half, the ghosts of Metro past came to take it all away. On a corner, Goldthwaite channeled his inner Pietravallo and inexplicably punched McCarty in the face. Instant red card. Down a man, Metro could only watch with horror as former friend Dave van den Bergh curved one into the net to tie the game.

But the new attitude, brought by the new coach, wasn't done yet. Williams traded in Woly for Mac Kandji and Sinisa Ubiparipovic for Rojas, announcing his intentions to play for the win (imagine that!). With time running out, Kandji took the ball at midfield, run up the left flank, and then took a long shot that was parried by Sala; an unmarked Angel tapped it in for the Metro all-time league scoring record. And the win.

It's just one game -- an impossibly short time to judge a coach or a team. With everything in flux, who knows where Metro will be in a year's time? Yet for one moment, everything seemed a little brighter.

For a moment.

Lineup: Cepero, Borman, Goldthwaite, Boyens, Hall, Stammler, Celades, Ubiparipovic, Richards, Wolyniec, Angel. Subs: Krupnik, Kandji, Rojas.