MLS Red Bull New York

Pre-Game Report: MetroStars vs. Colorado

Published on May 2, 2003 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Red Bull New York News Release


MetroStars' Athletic Trainer Gives Speech To Prominent Audience: John Gallucci, Jr, MS, ATC, spoke at the National Conference for the National Association for Health and Fitness, the Network of State and Governor's Councils, on Thursday, April 24, in Morristown, New Jersey. Gallucci, a strong advocate of youth sportsmanship presented the Saint Barnabas Health Care System's Rediscovering Youth Sportsmanship Program for Administrators, Coaches and Parents. The Rediscovering Youth Sportsmanship Program is an innovative, proactive approach to fostering a positive environment at youth sporting events.

The Rediscovering Youth Sportsmanship program has been adopted by many national and state youth sports organizations including: the New Jersey Youth Hockey League, New Jersey Youth Soccer Association, Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association, Mid-American Youth Hockey League, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, USA Hockey Atlantic Division, USA Hockey Pacific Division, USA Hockey Congress, Atlantic Youth Hockey League, Delaware Valley Hockey Association,Missouri Amateur Hockey Association, Youth Division, Northern New Jersey Maternal and Child Health Consortium, Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center and Seton Hall University.

For further information about the program or to arrange for the implementation of the program for your sports organization or league, please call (877) 84-YOUTH or visit on the web at www.discoveringsportsmanship.com.

May 10 is US Soccer Foundation Day at Giants Stadium: The United States Soccer Foundation, in conjunction with Resource Center Partner, Eurosport, and the MetroStars will be collecting old but usable soccer gear as part of their Passback Program during the May 10 home game against DC United. The soccer gear will be collected at the US Soccer Foundation tables located at Gates B & D at Giants Stadium. All of the equipment that the US Soccer Foundation collects at the game will be donated to local soccer associations in the Tri-State area. The US Soccer Foundation is developing the sport of soccer across America through innovative partnerships and grants that help underwrite and support soccer programs and field development. Since it's creation in 1994, the Foundation has put more than $35 million into the sport nationwide. For more information about the Foundation's programs, visit ussoccerfoundation.org.

Second Annual TSANJ Fund Raising Dinner to Take Place May 8: The Tourette Syndrome Association of New Jersey will hold its annual fund raising dinner at the Johnson & Johnson World Headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey on Friday, May 8, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET. MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard is on the board of directors for the TSANJ. Tickets for the dinner are $175 each and features accomplished athlete and speaker Jean Driscoll. For more information, please call 908-575-7350.

Up Next, Colorado: The MetroStars face the Colorado Rapids Saturday night at Giants Stadium with kick off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET (MSG-TV, WADO 1280 AM). The MetroStars are 4-1-1 in their last six meetings overall between both clubs. The Metros also hold the all-time edge on the Rapids with an 8-7-1 mark. Former Metros midfielder Tab Ramos stands as the all-time leading scorer for the team against Colorado with five goals and five assists for 15 points. Former Rapids midfielder Ross Paule leads Colorado all-time with four goals and two assists for 10 points.

Mathis vs. Colorado: MetroStars midfielder/forward Clint Mathis has scored three goals and eight assists for 14 points against the Rapids. Two of the goals and three of the assists have come as a member of the MetroStars. Both goals were scored on August 20, 2000, in a 5-3 win at Giants Stadium.

Howard vs. the Rapids: MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard has posted a 4-2-1 record against the Rapids with a 0.85 GAA. The North Brunswick, NJ native made his MLS debut against the Rapids on August 18, 1998, making five saves in a 4-1 win at Giants Stadium to record his first victory in MLS. Howard has only allowed six goals in seven games against Colorado and has recorded one shutout on May 16, 2001 in 1 1-0 win at Giants Stadium.

Stifling the Rapids offense: Only four of the current Rapids have scored goals against the MetroStars and all have only one goal each. Chris Carrieri, Mark Chung, Chris Henderson, and John Spencer are the only Rapids to tally and only Henderson has earned more than one assist with his eight. The Metros have kept the Rapids to only four goals in the first half all-time.

10 in 20: Colorado has scored 20 goals against the MetroStars in the all-time series. Ten of the goals have come in the final 15 minutes of games, yet nine of those goals have come in the final eight minutes. The Metros hold a record of 3-5-1 in those games.

The 10
07/04/1996 83 min. Steve Trittschuh 2-1 loss at Mile High Stadium
08/15/1997 85 min. Ross Paule 2-0 loss at Mile High Stadium
05/22/1999 76 min. Paul Bravo 2-0 loss at Mile High Stadium
06/12/1999 88 min. Jorge Dely Valdes 1-0 loss at Giants Stadium
06/24/2000 82 min. Matt Okoh 3-1 win at Mile High Stadium
08/20/2000 86 min. Ross Paule 5-3 win at Giants Stadium
08/20/2000 89 min. Jorge Dely Valdes 5-3 win at Giants Stadium
04/14/2001 83 min. Marcelo Balboa 1-1 draw at Mile High Stadium
04/13/2002 87 min. John Spencer 2-1 win at INVESCO Field
06/26/2002 88 min. Chris Carrieri 1-0 loss at Giants Stadium

Pope the Rock: Defender Eddie Pope has been rock-steady at center defense for the MetroStars, helping to nullify the high-powered attacks of preseason favorites Los Angeles and Columbus. On April 26, Pope anchored the team's backline during an impressive 1-0 road win at Columbus, limiting Crew forwards Brian McBride and Jeff Cunningham to just five total shots with only one on frame. In three games this season, Pope has played all 280 minutes for Bob Bradley and the MetroStars (1-1-1, 3pts). Despite nagging injuries that limited his offseason activity, Pope's sharp play has earned him a spot with the U.S. National Team for the May 8 clash against Mexico.

Moreno Out 3-6 Weeks: MetroStars forward Jaime Moreno underwent a MRI Tuesday at St. Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center in Livingston, NJ revealing a small disc herniation in his lower back. The injury will sideline the Bolivian international for 3-6 weeks.

Moreno, 29, has played all three games for the Metros in 2003. The fifth all-time leading scorer in MLS history (69 goals, 52 assists for 190 points) was acquired on December 23, 2002, in a trade with D.C. United, along with Eddie Pope and Richie Williams, in exchange for on defender Mike Petke, a 2003 MLS SuperDraft first-round pick (number five overall), and an allocation.

Bradley All Alone at the Top: MetroStars head coach Bob Bradley earned his 83rd career regular season win this past last Saturday afternoon in Columbus. The win moves him to the top of the all-time MLS win charts, surpassing Thomas Rongen (DC, NE, TB) with 82. The Princeton graduate also owns 13 career playoff wins, putting him just one behind U.S. National Team and former DC United Head Coach Bruce Arena and two behind current Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid.

Bradley vs. Hankinson: MetroStars coach Bob Bradley has posted a 5-2-3 regular season mark against Colorado coach Tim Hankinson.

Metro Call-ups: MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard, midfielder/forward Clint Mathis, and defender Eddie Pope were named to the 18-player roster for the United States National Team by Head Coach Bruce Arena for the friendly match against arch-rival Mexico on Thursday, May 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET at Reliant Field in Houston, Texas. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and Telemundo. All 18 players on the roster are from MLS teams. The MetroStars and the Chicago Fire have the most with three on the U.S. squad.

Magee Sets Another Age Mark: Mike Magee, who recently set the record for the youngest player (18 years, 222 days) to play for the MetroStars in the April 12 season opener, set another age mark against Columbus this past Saturday by becoming the youngest player to score for the MetroStars at 18 years & 236 days. Magee, who immediately flew to Chicago following the win to attend his girlfriend's prom, scored his first-ever goal in the 59th minute of the 1-0 win at Columbus Crew Stadium before a national audience on ESPN2.

Among The MLS Leaders: Defender Steve Jolley leads with two blocks...The MetroStars lead in attendance with 21,794 following two home games...Mathis is second with 13 corner kicks...Tim Howard is second overall in saves (15) and catch/punches (19), and is tied for first with Pat Onstad of San Jose in GAA (0.64)...The defense is tied with San Jose in least goals allowed (2).

Nugent Joins Metros: The MetroStars acquired forward Mike Nugent as a developmental player, making him the sixth roster exempt player on the team. Teams are allowed to have up to six Nike Project-40 or developmental players on the roster. Nugent joins Ricardo Clark (P-40), Eddie Gaven (P-40), Jacob LeBlanc (P-40), Jeff Matteo (DP), and Mike Magee (P-40) as the MetroStars contingent of developmental players.

Metro Debut Scorers: The MetroStars have seen 20 players score a goal or record an assist in their MetroStars debut. Nine players scored a goal in their debuts (Michael Butler, Alex Comas, Antoney DeAvila, Mamadou Diallo, Jim Rooney, Giovanni Savarese, Mike Sorber, Chris Unger, and John Wolyniec).

Bradley's Search: MetroStars new Head Coach Bob Bradley underwent an extensive search to assemble the 2003 team. The Montclair native looked at 81 players, since being appointed to the position on October 22, 2002. The players came from nations all over the world including France, Scotland, England, Cayman Islands, Cameroon, Ireland, Argentina, Spain, Korea, Australia, South Africa, Sweden, and Jamaica.

MetroStars Averaging 21,794 Through First Two Home Games: The MetroStars first two home games of the 2003 regular season have attracted an average of 21,794 fans. The attendance of 19,801 on April 19 against the Los Angeles Galaxy outdrew the New Jersey Nets playoff crowd that same day of 16,102 against the Milwaukee Bucks at nearby Continental Airlines Arena.

Down on the Field: The MetroStars will be the first team to play competitive games on the new FieldTurf surface at Giants Stadium. The field replaces the grass tray system, which was in place since the 2000 season. See www.fieldturf.com for more information.

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Major League Soccer Stories from May 2, 2003


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