after scoring two all of last season -- to pull the MetroStars all the way back. He hit for his first just before the halftime break, John Wolyniec slipping a square pass inside the box for the Colombian to drive past Bo Oshoniyi (43).
Then on the hour, Galvan Rey hit again, with Wolyniec again the provider. He ran down a long ball from the center circle from Youri Djokaeff -- who made his MLS debut -- and after holding off a defender in the penalty area laid it back for the oncoming Galvan Rey, who made no mistake with his low finish.
The Wizards claimed victory on May 25 at Arrowhead Stadium, winning by the lone goal in the match. It came on 48 minutes through a quick attack off a turnover just inside the MetroStars half. Chris Klein drew the MetroStars defense to him, then fed Sasha Victorine who quickly squared for Davy Arnaud to the right as Scott Sealy played a wonderful dummy. Arnaud's left-footed shot snuck between MetroStars goalkeeper Zach Wells legs and into the back of the net.
The Wizards had nearly taken the lead in the 19th minute when defender Jimmy Conrad headed a corner goalward that seemed certain to hit home, but Amado Guevara made an acrobatic diving header on the line to preserve the scoreless tie at that point.
LAST MEETING
On Saturday at Giants Stadium, the MetroStars were once again forced to come from behind to salvage a point in the final game of a three-game homestand termed "must-win" by head coach Bob Bradley.
Rookie Ryan Pore gave the Wizards the lead after just a minute with his first MLS league goal, driving home a pass from Kerry Zavagnin from the right side of the penalty area.
But the MetroStars leveled terms midway through the first half on a quick restart, Amado Guevara finding Youri Djorkaeff on the right and he beat Bo Oshoniyi to his right with a low shot for his seventh goal.
Yet just six minutes after the restart, Josh Wolff once again nosed the visitors in front, rattling home a Davy Arnaud pass from close range.
But just two minutes from the end, the MetroStars again grabbed a dramatic equalizer from a free kick, Ante Razov blistering a shot from the right corner of the area over Oshoniyi to again provide late heroics. Two minutes into stoppage time the Metros nearly hit for an improbable winner, but Djorkaeff rattled the woodwork with his header off a Mark Lisi free kick.
"Not good goals, obviously a ball turned over early in the first half and Ryan Pore was able to get Jeff on the wrong foot and Tony was cheating a little bit, thinking that the ball was coming across and he got caught," MetroStars head coach Bob Bradley said. "We worked hard to get back to 1-1. Now to continue that push and keep the game even until we get chances to win. Again, early in the second half, it was a tough goal to give up."
"We're not frustrated, but we're not elated either," Wizards head coach Bob Gansler said. "We scored the first goal, we scored the second goal after they tied it up, so we feel good about that. We don't feel good about giving up two goals off restarts."
HISTORY
A year ago, the MetroStars won the first two meetings before the Wizards came back for a victory in the third. The Metros won 1-0 at home on May 30 (Wolyniec 73), then 2-1 at Arrowhead on July 28 (Klein 37 - Glen 23, Guevara 66), but the Wizards captured a 1-0 victory at home on Sept. 4 (Wolff 43)
The MetroStars had won three consecutive meetings between the teams before Kansas City's triumph on Sept. 4 of last year. The teams had split their season series the three previous seasons before last year.
Coaches record: Bob Gansler vs. MET: P19 W8 L6 D5 ... Bob Bradley v KC: P23 W14 L6 T3
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Wizards rebounded after seeing their four-game winning streak snapped with a 1-0 loss to the Columbus Crew the previous weekend, and still remained tied for second place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points from 26 matches, level with the Chicago Fire and a point ahead of D.C. United. They now trail East leader New England Revolution by six matches.
Wizards head coach Bob Gansler made two changes to the team from the weekend before, both because of international duty. Jimmy Conrad with was the USA for their win against Mexico and Scott Sealy with Trinidad & Tobago for their win against Guatemala, as Alex Zotinca came in at right back (Nick Garcia moving centrally) and Ryan Pore coming in to partner Josh Wolff in attack.
Here's Gansler's team (4-4-2): Bo Oshoniyi - Alex Zotinca, Nick Garcia, Shavar Thomas, Jose Burciaga Jr. - Chris Klein, Sasha Victorine, Kerry Zavagnin, Davy Arnaud - Ryan Pore (Jack Jewsbury 46), Josh Wolff
"We came here to win," Gansler said. "I pointed out to the guys before that we'd won everywhere (in MLS) but here. It was there. Maybe at the end of the day, it was a just result. But it's hard to give up two goals on restarts."
The Wizards have won on the road against every team in the Eastern Conference - except the MetroStars. The two teams played to a 2-2 tie April 16 and again played to a draw last Saturday at Giants Stadium.
"We can win any game anywhere in this league," Gansler said. "That's not being pompous or whatever else, we feel that we can. We're not going to win them all, but we feel that we can."
After leading NCAA Division I in scoring at Tulsa last year, rookie Ryan Pore scored his first MLS league goal 50 seconds into the match at The Meadowlands. "It feels good to finally get one in the back of the net but unfortunately it came in a tie," Pore said. "I think it helps a lot knowing that you can score at the top level."
Said Gansler: "He's going to score quite a few more. The kid can score goals, he scores goals in the reserve league, he scores goals (in exhibition matches). Sometimes he reads the biographies of the guys he's playing against when he's playing in MLS and he's a little (nervous)."
The MetroStars set is the first of two home-and-home series for the Wizards, who will next face the Los Angeles Galaxy in a home-and-away pair on Sept. 17 (at Arrowhead) and Sept. 25 (The Home Depot Center).
"This gives us good practice for what it's going to be like in the playoffs," midfielder Chris Klein said. "We'll probably see a little more aggressiveness, too, because we get sick of playing each other.
"I like it," goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi said. "It's like a pre-playoff atmosphere. You go try to get points out there, whether it's a win or tie, then come back strong and win at home."
METROSTARS
The MetroStars once again snatched a dramatic result, but ended the "must-win" homestand by taking just five of a possible nine points with a second successive draw. The MetroStars are still currently out of the playoff picture with 34 points from 25 matches, seven points behind fourth-place D.C. United with seven matches still left to play (though with a game in hand).
MetroStars head coach Bob Bradley made two change to the team that claimed a last-gasp 3-3 draw with Chivas USA the previous weekend. Jeff Agoos returned to the team after missing one match through injury along with Carlos Mendes, coming in for the central defense pairing of Jeff Parke (suspended) and Ryan Suarez.
Here's Bradley's team (4-4-2): Tony Meola, Tim Ward, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Agoos, Tim Regan - Michael Bradley (Mark Lisi 75), Amado Guevara - Eddie Gaven (Sergio Galvan Rey 62), Mike Magee - Youri Djorkaeff, Abbe Ibrahim (Ante Razov 56).
"This team again shows that they don't give up," Bradley said. "It was difficult to play this game, where both halves we gave up an early goal. The effort to continue will be there until the end."
Even with an entirely new central defense partnership, the MetroStars were hit for two goals. Despite claiming draws in their last two games, they've allowed five goals in their last two games while picking up no ground at all in their chase for the final Eastern Conference place in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
"I think we did everything tonight but win on the scoreboard. I think we dominated a large portion of the game, so you know we gave up a bad goal in the beginning," Jeff Agoos said. "We have to put ourselves in a better position where we have to defend a lead in the last ten minutes rather than try to come back."
Before Razov's heroics, Djorkaeff had a goal called back for a controversial hand ball in the 81st minute. Djorkaeff followed Razov's shot off the crossbar, but he was called for a handball by referee Tom Supple. Guevara received a yellow card for dissent.
"I'm too upset tonight," Djorkaeff said. "I don't know. Nothing with us, everything against us. Maybe, I don't know, people don't want to watch the MetroStars in the playoffs."
Added Bradley: "I saw the replay on the board and from what you see it looks like he took it down and put the ball back into the net. The explanation was that it was a deliberate handball. Again, I feel as though before you take a goal away you need to be one hundred percent sure of what you have seen. Again, when you look at a replay to me he is guessing (the referee) a little bit in a situation that takes away an important goal."
