COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Adolfo Valencia avoided a pileup for an uncontested goal in the 60th minute as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars beat the Columbus Crew 2-0 Saturday night.
Mike Ammann turned away 11 shots -- only one on goal -- for the
shutout. The Crew's only real scoring chance came on Brian
McBride's shot in the 5th minute that was smothered by Ammann.
Petter Villegas controlled the ball off a goal kick by the
Crew's Matt Napoleon and bounced a long lead pass for Valencia. As
the ball rolled to within 17 yards of the Crew goal, Napoleon and
defender Todd Yeagley collided. The ball squirted free and Valencia
was alone for the score.
Valencia came right back with a nifty move against two defenders
to turn a Villegas assist into an insurance goal in the 69th
minute.
The victory moved the MetroStars (3-5-0), to second place in the
Eastern Division. The Crew, which remained in last place in the
Central Division at 3-5-1, drew 17,558 for its largest home crowd
of the season.
Columbus' Roland Aguilera was fouled by MetroStars captain
Lothar Matthaeus in the 78th minute, touching off a brief
confrontation. The Crew's Mario Gori confronted Matthaeus before
players from both sides separated them.
The Crew was without Mark Dougherty, its top goalkeeper, and
Dante Washington, the leading scorer in MLS.
Dougherty injured a hip during pregame workouts and was replaced
by Napoleon in goal. Napoleon made only his second start in his two
seasons with the Crew.
Washington -- leading the league with six goals and 13 points -- was injured in an auto accident after Friday's practice. His car
was rear-ended by another car, with Washington suffering shoulder
and back injuries. He was available, but was replaced in the
starting lineup by Miles Joseph.
Joseph made his first start since being traded by the MetroStars
for a second-round draft pick Wednesday. Joseph had fallen into
such disfavor with MetroStars coach Octavio Zambrano that he was
not even permitted to practice with the team for the two weeks
leading to the trade.
The match was also a homecoming for former Crew captain Thomas
Dooley. Dooley was traded during the offseason after a public feud
with Crew coach Tom Fitzgerald.