BRADENTON, Fla. - The MetroStars used an Eddie Gaven goal shortly after halftime to earn a 1-1 preseason draw with D.C. United on Tuesday morning at the IMG Academies.
"I don't think there was much soccer played on either side," said MetroStars head coach Mo Johnston. "There was a lot of tackling, but it was a good exercise in terms of fitness."
Forward Jamil Walker had put United in front minutes before the break when he finished off a nice sequence of passing, but the Metros answered back with their own well-worked goal through Gaven, who played most of the match as a forward paired with Mike Magee.
Walker found the net after Clyde Simms and Josh Gros linked up in the left side of the penalty area. Gros' cutting pass found Walker striding into the box and his effort had enough power and placement to find the net, despite Metros goalkeeper Tony Meola getting a hand to it.
For the MetroStars, Gaven side-footed past United's second-half 'keeper Troy Perkins after working a clever give-and-go with midfielder Amado Guevara, who made his first preseason appearance in the contest.
"There was a nice buildup of about six or seven passes and Eddie did a great job of keeping his composure and finishing," said Johnston.
Both sides returned to IMG for afternoon training sessions. The MetroStars will next be in action when they face the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday. For United, their next preseason match pits them against Real Salt Lake on Friday.
METROS MOVEMENT: U.S. U-17 national team standout David Arvizu is scheduled to arrive in Florida late Tuesday afternoon. He will take part in his first training session with the MetroStars at IMG on Wednesday.
Johnston is still awaiting the arrival of Togo native Abbe Ibrahim, though. The striker has run into visa problems in his homeland, which he and the club are working to get resolved. There is no time frame on when he is expected in camp.
WIZARDS, CREW SCORELESS: The Kansas City Wizards and Columbus Crew played to a 0-0 tie on Tuesday morning in Tampa.
Wizards head coach Bob Gansler used two different teams in each 45-minute half, just as he did in his side's 1-0 victory over the University of South Florida over the weekend. Gansler's lineup included three strikers each, as he works on a new team formation that should come in handy now that Kansas City has acquired U.S. national team marksman Eddie Johnson.
Columbus also used the game as a chance to let lots of players get some game action. Coach Sigi Schmid used 22 players in the game, including Polish midfielder Piotr Swierczczewski, who was previously on trial with the MetroStars.
The Crew have returned to Bradenton to continue training and will face the University of South Florida at IMG on Wednesday. The Wizards will face Real Salt Lake on Wednesday as well.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
