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Shooting Stars Valencia rescues MetroStars with two late goals
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The first 86 minutes passed by with no score, but the final five-minute span brought four goals -- only three of which counted. Adolfo Valencia scored his second goal of the match in the 93rd minute Saturday to lift the New York-New Jersey MetroStars to a 2-1 Major League Soccer victory over the New England Revolution. The result snapped a two-game losing streak for the MetroStars, who solidified their hold on first place in the Eastern Division with a 14-9-2 record and 44 points. The loss dropped the Revolution to 9-11-6 and 33 points. Valencia scored the game-winning goal in overtime after a Clint Mathis shot had been knocked over the endline by the New England defense. On the ensuing corner kick by Mathis, Valencia went high into the air to nod his golden goal into the net. It was Valencia's 13th goal of the season. It appeared New England would walk away with the victory when Wolde Harris tallied his fifth goal in as many matches after Mauricio Wright headed on a corner kick in the 87th minute.
But the MetroStars fought back to even the match just a minute later when second half sub Mathis took a pass from Lothar Matthäus and headed it to Valencia at the right post for a tap in. Mathis, the MetroStars' second leading scorer, did not start because of a sore ankle. Harris just missed on a chance to win it in injury time when his hard shot missed the right post by inches, sending the match into overtime. In the second minute of overtime, recently acquired Revolution forward Eric Wynalda finished a William Sunsing cross at the far post, but the goal was called back for offside. ''We should have been able to kill the game in the final two minutes,'' Harris told the Boston Globe. "What is important is how we react to them scoring. And we acted like we had won the game. I went from complete joy to utter disappointment. We should have been doing everything we could to get the ball back and clear it.'' A driving prematch rainstorm and intermittent showers that continued left the pitch sodden and slippery and limited offensive opportunities for both sides. A scoreless first half ended with five shots -- four by New England -- including just one on goal. ''I believe we mentally had a letdown with three minutes to go,'' said Revolution coach Fernando Clavijo told the Globe. ''We were pretty much celebrating. ''But this was one more in a series of incidents with the referees. I want to be a coach who protects his players, but what can I say to them?'' The match also marked the return to MLS action for the MetroStars' Matthäus. The controversial German defender had missed the past six weeks with injuries and commitments to the German national team. The MetroStars were also without midfielders Roy Myers, who was with the Costa Rican National team (and serving a red-card suspension), and Tab Ramos, who was sitting out a red card suspension. New York-New Jersey was further weakened when it lost midfielder Steve Shak, who was red carded in the 67th minute.
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