Crucial clash awaits Crew, Metros

Two teams desperately in need of points come together knowing that, for the loser, hope of a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs will grow even dimmer. The MetroStars are still within striking range, six points out of the tie for third place in the Eastern Conference, but unbeaten in their last seven games at the Meadowlands. They play host to a Columbus Crew team that is still 14 points out of the final playoff spot with 12 games to play, though they lost for the first time under new head coach Robert Warzycha in their last match.

REFEREE: Jair Marrufo. SAR (bench): Craig Lowry; JAR (opposite): Richard Eddy; 4th: Jorge Gonzalez
MLS Career: 33 games; FC/gm: 31.1; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 7; pens: 17
Games involving MetroStars: P6 W2 L2 T2; FC/gm: 34.5; Y/gm: 4.3; R: 1; pens: 4
Games involving Crew: P7 W1 L4 T2; FC/gm: 28.6; Y/gm: 4.3; R: 3; pens: 5

INJURY REPORT: METROSTARS - OUT: DF Carlos Mendes (hamstring strain); GK Mike Ueltschey (R finger fracture); DF Ryan Suarez (R MCL sprain); DOUBTFUL: DF Tim Ward (L hamstring strain); DF:Tim Regan (R foot metacarpal fracture); QUESTIONABLE: DF Jeff Agoos (L wrist contusion); MF Mark Lisi (L quadriceps contusion) ... COLUMBUS CREW - OUT: MF Duncan Oughton (R knee surgery); MD Ross Paule (post-concussion syndrome); GK Jon Busch (R knee); DOUBTFUL: FW Edson Buddle (L Achilles tendonitis); DF Stephen Herdsman (L groin strain); QUESTIONABLE: MF Mario Rodriguez (R hamstring strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: MET: Amado Guevara (through 8/14)
WARNINGS: MET: Chris Leitch (20 CP) ... CLB: Kyle Martino (20 CP); Chris Wingert (20 CP)

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (35 meetings): MetroStars 15 wins (0 shootout), 50 goals ... Crew 17 wins (0 shootout), 48 goals ... 3 draws
AT MEADOWLANDS: (17 meetings): MetroStars 7 wins (0 shootout), 20 goals ... Crew 8 wins (0 shootout), 20 goals ... 2 draws
• The two Eastern Conference clubs meet for the fourth and final time in league play this season, the last of two at Giants Stadium. The MetroStars won the first two encounters this season, one at each ground, before a late goal gave the Crew victory in their last meeting.
• The MetroStars claimed a 3-0 victory at Crew Stadium on May 28, then held off the Crew for a 3-2 victory on June 18 in New Jersey. On July 20 in Columbus, a dramatic goal gave the Crew a 1-0 victory.

LAST MEETING
• The Crew ended their winless streak at six games and gave Robert Warzycha his first victory as a head coach with their win at Crew Stadium. The Crew won for the first time since June 11 thanks to Jamal Sutton's late heroics, teaming up with another substitute in Marcus Storey and Knox Cameron for a lightning-quick game-winner two minutes into added time. Jonny Walker earned his first shutout for the Crew, against his former club.
• After chasing down a long ball from Cameron played over the top of the MetroStars defense two minutes into stoppage time, Storey ran past a defender and laid the ball back to Sutton as Tony Meola came off his line. Sutton one-timed the ball into the net to earn the Crew full spoils.
• Here's Warzycha's team (3-4-2-1): Jonny Walker - Chad Marshall, Chris Wingert, Robin Fraser - Chris Henderson, Simon Elliott, Eric Vasquez, David Testo (Mario Rodriguez 85) - Kyle Martino (Marcus Storey 64), Cornell Glen (Jamal Sutton 59) - Knox Cameron
• Here's Bradley's team (4-4-2): Tony Meola - Chris Leitch, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, Jeff Agoos - Michael Bradley, Mark Lisi - Eddie Gaven, Mike Magee - Sergio Galvan Rey, Ante Razov (Abbe Ibrahim 77)

THIS SEASON
• In the first meeting on May 28, the MetroStars scored on either side of halftime before easing to a comprehensive victory against the Crew. Youri Djorkaeff's first goal in MLS put the MetroStars in the lead after 38 minutes, a long-range blast beating Bill Gaudette, who was making his first MLS start after first-choice Crew 'keeper Jon Busch was lost for the season to a knee injury.
• Then four minutes after the break, Abbe Ibrahim neatly flicked on a long ball from Michael Bradley, and Eddie Gaven collected the pass and raced away from a Crew defender before slotting past Gaudette. Ibrahim finished off the scoring with his first MLS goal, getting on the end of a John Wolyniec chip before driving a low shot home from the heart of the area.
• Then on June 18, in the first game after Alexi Lalas took over as the club's president and general manager, the MetroStars knocked off the Crew 3-2 at Giants Stadium.
• Ante Razov scored a pair of goals against his former club as the Lalas era in charge began for the MetroStars. The Crew missed a glorious opportunity to take the lead after 28 minutes when Metro 'keeper Zach Wells saved Chris Henderson's penalty kick, redeeming himself after he had tripped up Crew striker Cornell Glen.
• Almost immediately after, Razov struck twice within three minutes. First he finished off a quick break out of the MetroStars half when he ran onto a perfectly weighted through ball and made no mistake from just outside the area with a low drive (31). Then he finished off a neat passing sequence on the right, hammering the ball inside the near post from a tight angle after sent through by Amado Guevara.
• But the Crew answered just three minutes later, Edson Buddle showing remarkable strength in fighting off defender Jeff Agoos in the box and turning to poke home past Wells.
• Yet the MetroStars sealed the victory in the 70th minute when Youri Djorkaeff finished off from the spot after Mario Rodriguez pulled down Guevara in the box following some wonderful individual skill. The Crew again pulled within one, a terrific ball from former MetroStars forward sending Glen on his way, and he finished with aplomb after leaving Wells grasping for air (77), but that was all the visitors could manage.

HISTORY
• A year ago, the teams split their season series, each team winning once in Columbus with the two matches in East Rutherford ending up in draws.
• The MetroStars claimed a 3-1 win at Crew Stadium on April 3 to open the campaign for both teams (Hejduk 30 - Magee 40, Wolyniec 52, Guevara 88), then on Aug. 29 in New Jersey the clubs reached a 1-1 draw (Paule 43 pen).
• A four-goal night from Edson Buddle gave the Crew a 4-2 victory at home on Sept. 18 (Buddle 9, 52, 65, 74 - Wolyniec 6, Gaven 49), then in the penultimate week of the campaign, they played to another 1-1 draw at Giants Stadium (Galven Rey 71 pen - Cunningham 26).
• The MetroStars have won six of the last 10 meetings between the teams, with two draws. The Crew victory last year snapped a five-game winless streak in the series.
• Coaches record: Bob Bradley v CLB: P27 W16 L7 T4 ... Robert Warzycha vs. MET: P1 W1 L0 T0

METROSTARS
The MetroStars lost for the third time in five games, seeing a gap open up between them and the playoff-paying places in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 loss to D.C. United on Wednesday night at RFK Stadium. The MetroStars now have 29 points from 22 matches, in fifth place in the East, six points behind joint third-place D.C. United and Kansas City Wizards, though they are still eight points ahead of the last-place Crew.
• By the end of the match both teams were left a man down as the captain for each club was sent off by referee Terry Vaughn, but United held the better of the play for long stretches.
• The Black-and-Red went after after just 11 minutes, after Amado Guevara saw his name taken for the first time. Off the set piece, D.C. playmaker Christian Gomez swerved in a near post cross that met Bobby Boswell's late run perfectly, and completely unmarked, the rookie nodded in the match's opening goal with ease.
• Guevara was then shown red for a second bookable offense just before halftime when he clattered into Ben Olsen late from behind, but United couldn't take advantage before Jaime Moreno was sent off in the 60th minute for running up Eddie Gaven's legs from behind as he looked to be clear through for a clear goal scoring opportunity.
• But substitute Jamil Walker made an immediate impact after entering the match. He sent a square pass to Santino Quaranta just inside the Metros half, then made a lung-bursting diagonal run towards goal that Quaranta rewarded. Walker used his startling pace to get to the ball, then showed power to shrug off the defender's challenge and center for a late-arriving Kovalenko, who had the simplest of finishes (76).
• Josh Gros then put a late exclamation point on the win when he raced down the right flank before cutting back to scuff a left-footed shot just inside the near post in the 87th minute to provide the final margin.
• MetroStars head coach Bob Bradley made two changes to the team that drew 2-2 with FC Dallas in the inaugural game at Pizza Hut Park the previous Saturday. Jeff Parke returned from injury to come in for the injured Carlos Mendes in central defense, while Mark Lisi was also hampered by injury, Sergio Galvan Rey coming into a wide attacking midfield role with Amado Guevara moving more centrally.
• Here's Bradley's team (4-4-2): Tony Meola - Chris Leitch (Mike Magee 72), Jeff Parke, Seth Stammler, Jeff Agoos -Michael Bradley, Amado Guevara - Eddie Gaven, Sergio Galvan Rey - Youri Djorkaeff (Abbe Ibrahim 78), Ante Razov
• "We made a good push when we were still down a man. We created a couple of chances. I felt like we were pushing things and there is a goal there for us. The second goal killed us," Bradley said.

TEAM NEWS
• A massive game awaits the MetroStars on Sunday, with their grip on a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs growing ever more tenuous. The MetroStars have four wins and three draws in their last seven home matches.
• "There are a lot of games in the conference left. Almost every one, every game, you've got to push for three points," Bradley said. " Tonight, we didn't get it. I think that there are games within the conference that you've got to fight for the three points. That's what it is going to take."
• "Playoffs?" goalkeeper Tony Meola said. "I want to win a game first before we worry about the playoffs right now." Answering questions about whether fatigue was a factor in the second half, he responded: "Tired? If you're tired I don't want to hear about it. Tired is when you don't run down balls, tired [is when] you don't track a guy on that first goal."
• Said defender Chris Leitch: "By no means are we out of it but we've got to turn these games around. This is the playoff mentality; right now, if the season finished now we'd be out of the playoffs. So obviously we're going into every game with that mentality of winning three points."
• Bradley was bothered by the sending off of Guevara. "You hope that, at the end of the half like that, the referee says 'one more time and you'll be off the field - you already have a yellow.' He chose not to do that. When you lose your captain in a situation like that, it is hard."
• Guevara too expressed frustration with the red card he was shown. "I just can't adapt to the rules of this league," said Guevara. "I'm never going to adapt to the rules of this league and I'm not going to change the way I play, so it's better to leave, to ask for them to move me from here. I'll leave and we'll finish like we started.

COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew lost for the first time under Robert Warzycha, a three-game undefeated streak coming to an end in a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes at Spartan Stadium last Saturday night. The Crew are still in last place in the Eastern Conference with 21 points from 20 matches, eight points behind the MetroStars and now 14 points out of the final playoff spot in the division.
• The Earthquakes won for the third consecutive match and seventh time in their last nine games and remained unbeaten at home on the campaign.
• The Quakes went ahead in the 13th minute as Dwayne De Rosario finished off a nice combination from San Jose's attacking trio. Ronald Cerritos set the Canadian international free with a long pass from the center stripe, and held off Chris Henderson before slotting home on the run.
• Brad Davis, making his first appearance for the Earthquakes after missing six matches on national team duty, doubled the lead with a masterful free kick in the 54th minute.
• Henderson pulled a goal back 12 minutes from the end, taking a long pass from Kyle Martino as the Crew sped from end to end before sending a low drive home from just outside the area, but Columbus couldn't hammer home a second to avoid Robert Warzycha's first loss since taking over as head coach.
• Warzycha made no changes to the team that defeated the Kansas City Wizards 2-0 on July 23 at Crew Stadium in their final game before the All-Star break. Here's Warzycha's team (3-4-2-1): Jonny Walker - Chad Marshall, Chris Wingert, Robin Fraser - Chris Henderson (Danny Szetela 84), Simon Elliott, Eric Vasquez, David Testo (Frankie Hejduk 63) - Kyle Martino, Cornell Glen (John Wolyniec 67) - Knox Cameron
• "I'm not happy with the result, but I'm happy with the performance. San Jose is always a difficult place to play. They scored two beautiful goals and we scored only one, so that's the difference tonight," Warzycha said.

TEAM NEWS
• The Crew are starting to feel the pressure of gaining the top four spots and a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs. But of their final 12 matches, five are against teams from the Western Conference - greatly adding the importance to their remaining inter-division matchups. They play the New England Revolution and Chicago Fire twice, in addition to single games against the other three conference opponents.
• "I think we had moments where we played some good soccer. A couple of their chances came off of our mistakes," Henderson said. "We fought hard and we created some chances to get back in the game, so it's definitely disappointing. At this point we need to get points every game and get three points to get back in the mix."
• It will be a massive game now at the Meadowlands if the Crew are to maintain contact with a potential playoff spot.
• "The point I want to make is that patches aren't good enough. We had patches where we weren't playing good soccer, we were giving balls away and we got punished for it," Martino said. "It is encouraging to see that we did have stretches where we got dangerous, but we need to make sure that we extend those stretches and be a little more consistent."