Stammler's rocket grills Goats, 1:0
June 5, 2010
Oh, what a difference a week makes. Just seven days ago, Metro was reeling after a fourth straight loss in league play. Now, two wins in two matches, oozing optimism as the team enters the World Cup break. Tonight, Seth Stammler scored the lone goal of the match, as Metro beat Goats USA 1:0 for its seventh win of the season.
Carlos Mendes stepped into central defense for Mike Petke, who was rested. Tony Tchani stepped into the midfield for Dane Richards, and Metro was forced to make an early change when the ever-improving Sinisa Ubiparipovic had to be taken off after 12 minutes due to an injury. Roy Miller replaced him.
A minute after Ubi was taken out, a long range shot from Chivas was miraculously parried by Bouna Coundoul and off the crossbar. Yes, the Metro keeper might be fundamentally unsound, but he sure can make that great save.
Metro scored in the 26th minute. The Goats failed to clear a corner kick, Stammler pounced on it, and drilled a low shot from outside the box and into the lower left corner of the net.
Minutes into the second half, Metro had a major scare as the Goats' Maykel Galindo walked along the left touchline, Mendes and Chris Albright collided, taking themselves out of the play, Coundoul overcommited, leaving the Chivas attacked the entire empty net to shoot at. Thankfully, a Tim Ream flew in just in time to deflect the shot.
Metro looked to have doubled the margin in the 82nd minute, when a Joel Lindpere cross was deflected into the net by a Goats defender. But the referee ruled that Juan Pablo Angel was offside on the play, and the goal was wiped out.
But a second goal was not necessary, as the gelded Goats barely threatened the rest of the match. Metro now enters a three-week break for the World Cup, if one doesn't count a friendly versus Brazil's Cruzeiro in two week's time.
Lineup: Coundoul, Borman, Ream, Mendes, Albright, Tchani, Stammler, Lindpere, Ubiparipovic, Wolyniec, Angel. Subs: Miller, Ibrahim, Petke.
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