2:2 New York Seattle Le Toux Lindpere Fernandez Montero 07.15.12 · League

Two days ago, Bill Gaudette was in Los Angeles and Sebastien Le Toux was in Vancouver. Today, they both played key roles for Metro in a 2:2 tie with Seattle. Le Toux scored on his debut as Metro dominated for long stretches, but was not able to escape with a victory.

With the acquisition of Le Toux, "Clever" Hans Backe decided to move Titi Henry to central midfield. Gaudette started in goal for the injured Ryan Meara, and the brand new central defensive pairing was Rafa Marquez and S. Markus Holgersson.

Seattle started the game completely dominating, as Henry's drifting led oodles of space in midfield. After Gaudette came out of goal to make a huge stop on a breakaway, Seattle made Metro pay in the 16th minute. A prefect cross was placed behind the defense, and Alvaro Fernandez, left completely unmarked, redirect it into the net. Marquez was taken out of the game for Wilman Conde five minutes after the goal.

Soon after, someone in charge, be it Backe or Henry, realized that the experiment is not working, and Titi resumed his more familiar place up top, Le Toux sliding to right midfield. And all of the sudden, the game changed completely. Metro evened it in the 24th, when a long shot from Kenny Cooper was parried by Bryan Meredith. The ball fell to Le Toux, who easily converted.

Late in the first half, Seattle was not called for a clear hand ball in the box when Henry went up, attempting to knock it in from a close angle. On the ensuing corner, Holgersson hit the crossbar with a massive header.

The teams exchanged goals midway through the second. In the 61st, Joel Lindpere received a ball from Brandon Barklage, and hit a well-placed low shot from outside the box that tucked into the bottom right corner. Six minutes later, much against the run of play, Fredy Montero sneaked behind Dax McCarty to tie the game off yet another cross.

Metro's continued good service off corners almost paid off ten minutes later, but McCarty's header was cleared off the line. The heat looked to be taking its toll late, but Backe, stubborn as ever, refused to sub, and the game stalled to a lull. Another corner at the end of injury time was sent to the head of Miller and ended just wide, ending a frustrating match at 2:2.

Lineup: Gaudette, Miller, Holgersson, Marquez, Barklage, McCarty, Lade, Lindpere, Henry, Le Toux, Cooper. Subs: Conde.