Saturday, August 3

MetroStars at New England

Location: Foxboro Stadium. Kickoff (ET): 1:00 p.m. Television: ESPN. Satellite: Galaxy 5, Tr. 9.

Series History: New England spoiled the Metros home opener April 20 with a 1-0 win on a last-second own goal by Nicola Caricola; Alberto Naveda had a goal and an assist in the Revs 2-0 win at Foxboro May 19.

Injuries: MetroStars — D Matt Knowles (strained quadricep) is probable, M Manny Lagos (torn ACL) is out for the season; New England — D Iain Fraser (sore groin), D Francis Okaroh (strained knee), and M Geoff Aunger (hip pointer) are probable, M Mike Burns (arthroscopic knee surgery), M Welton (sprained ankle and strained thigh), and F John Kerr (pulled muscle) are out.

Of Note: A battle between the two lowest-scoring offenses in the league…. Joe-Max Moore had a happy Foxboro debut on Wednesday, scoring both goals in New England’s 2-0 win…. New England coach Frank Stapleton will again rest Welton and John Kerr in an effort to have them fresh for the playoff drive…. Alberto Naveda’s start against San Jose on Wednesday was his first since June 30, and he paid big dividends with a pair of assists…. Naveda is the club’s leading scorer despite missing eight games…. Olympian Imad Baba made his first MLS appearance on Wednesday…. The MetroStars are 0-2 against New England this season, but Roberto Donadoni was unavailable for either game…. New York/New Jersey is 6-1 with the Italian international in the lineup…. Peter Vermes scored his first goal of the season in Sunday’s 4-1 thrashing of San Jose…. Sunday also saw the first assist of the year for goalscorer Giovanni Savarese.

PROBABLE LINEUPS

MetroStars — Meola, Caricola, Zaun, Harty, Vermes, Donadoni, Unger, Ramos, Joseph, Savarese, Johnson.

New England — St. Andre, Okaroh, Fraser, Wylie, Lalas, Aunger, Woodring, Sawatzky, Naveda, Moore, Keegan.

Prediction: Donadoni sparks Metros to a 3-1 win.

Colorado at Tampa Bay

Location: Tampa Stadium. Kickoff (ET): 7:30 p.m. Television:
none. Satellite: none.

Series History: May 11 in Denver — Steve Ralston scored the winner in Tampa’s 2-1 victory; June 8 in Tampa — Martin Vasquez had a goal and an assist in a 2-1 Mutiny win; July 21 in Denver — Valderrama had 2 assists as Tampa rolled 3-1.

Injuries: Colorado — M Steve Trittschuh (broken toe) and F Jean Harbor (broken ulna) are probable, M Roy Wegerle (sprained ankle and strained calf) is questionable, F Richard Sharpe (stress fracture in tibia), M Dominic Kinnear (strained knee ligament), and M Chris Henderson (strained hamstring) are out, D Troy Edwards (groin surgery) is on injured reserve; Tampa Bay — M Evans Wise (sprained ankle) is out, M Peter Hattrup (torn ACL and MCL) is on injured reserve.

Of Note: Injury woes continue to ravage the Colorado lineup…. Midfielder Chris Henderson had to leave Thursday’s shootout loss to the Galaxy with a severely strained hamstring that will most likely sideline him until September…. Look for Chris’ younger brother Sean to make his first start for the Rapids in midfield…. Forward Richard Sharpe aggravated his stress fracture in a one-minute (and shootout) appearance on Thursday and will not travel to Tampa…. Dominic Kinnear’s strained knee ligament may keep him out for the rest of the season…. Roy Wegerle did travel with the team, but he is still bothered by a strained calf…. At least coach Bob Houghton can count on “iron man” Steve Trittschuh, who has played every minute of every game, despite a painful broken toe he suffered five games ago….Shaun Bartlett (two assists on Thursday) must shoulder the offensive load for Colorado…. Tampa will be without All-Star defender Steve Pittman, who collected his fifth yellow card against L.A. last weekend, and midfielder Evans Wise, still suffering from a sprained ankle…. The Mutiny is attempting to become the first MLS team to sweep a four-game season series, having swept their first three games against Colorado.

PROBABLE LINEUPS

Colorado — Woods, Kmosko, Hamlett, Balboa, Butterworth, Benedetti, Trittschuh, Bates, S. Henderson, Harbor, Bartlett.

Tampa Bay — Dougherty, Kooiman, Yallop, Diffley, Vasquez, Ralston, McKinley, Valderrama, Hunjak, Lassiter, Galderisi.

Prediction: Even Captain Bligh couldn’t stop this Mutiny — Tampa wins 3-2.