4:2 Seattle New York Friberg Alonso Levesque 2 Richards Scott(OG) 06.23.11 · League

For over a month now, Metro has escaped defeat time and again, somehow finding a way to squeak out a draw in desperate circumstances. Unfortunately, the team finally came up short tonight in Seattle after clawing back from two goals down. Metro's inability to defend set pieces was again a major issue, but if Greg Sutton didn't have his worst day as a Metro, a draw might have still been possible.

The Sword of Damocles that represents Metro's goalkeeping situation may have finally fallen down upon "Clever" Hans Backe's head. Sutton -- a player we have previously playfully derided on this site -- made a fool of himself in the match. Two of the goals (Erik Friberg's placed shot just inside the far post on which Sutton was slow to react, and Roger Levesque's first goal, the point-blank header at the near post on which Sutton left the entire net open) might have been not entirely his fault. The other two, however, were embarrassingly poor.

On the play that led to the game's second goal, Sutton was more concerned with screaming at referee Ricardo Salazar for not paying attention to Freddy Montero obstructing him than worrying about where Stephen Keel's weak clearance ended up (Keel was terrible tonight once again). Maybe Osvaldo Alonso's volley would have still made it through all the traffic in front of the net, Sounder and Metro alike, but we'll never know because Sutton had less than half a second to position himself due to his focus on complaining.

The final goal? It will go down in the annals of great Metro failures, which is saying a lot when you consider how many lousy moments there are to choose from. Not since the infamous Mendes/Conway back pass has a Metro keeper so ineptly handled a ball; Sutton, receiving a well-paced pass from the boot of Jan Gunnar Solli, crumbled under the pressure of an onrushing Levesque, bobbled the ball between his legs, and watched as Levesque ran past him to jog the ball into the net.

On the positive side, Dane Richards should get a lot of credit for creating something out of nothing, even if the declining Kasey Keller got a hand on the ball. Also, while Solli might not be the best defensive fullback in the league, he's always a threat going forward and showed his attacking quality again tonight, setting up Zach Scott's own goal with a cross.

The fact of the matter is, however, that any team will only go as far as its weakest link. We've seen the results of having to get by with shaky goalkeeping in the past (see Conway, Jon) and we have a hard time seeing either of the gentlemen tasked with keeping the ball out of the net rising to the challenge come playoff time.

You've assembled a solid if shallow outfield team, Mr. Soler. Don't let them go to waste because you went cheap between the sticks. Come August 15, there has to be someone new in the goalkeeping rotation; the alternative is almost certainly another first-round exit from the playoffs.

Lineup: Sutton, Miller, Keel, Mendes, Solli, Tainio, da Luz, Ballouchy, Lindpere, De Rosario, Richards. Subs: Rooney, Hertzog.