Nashville 1-2 Milwaukee

September 4, 1997 — Ezell Park (Nashville, Tenn.)

Scoring Summary
NASH — Tim Geltz (2′)
MIL — Nick Igel (82′)
MIL — David Marshall (86′)

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Metros drop playoff opener 2-1

(Nashville Tennessean, 09.05.97)

By Harold Huggins

It was like the big fish that wriggled off the hook and got away.

Leading in their A-League soccer playoff series opener, the Nashville Metros saw the Milwaukee Rampage break through for two goals in the final 8 1/2 minutes to snatch away a 2-1 decision last night at Columbia Soccer Complex.

To advance to the second round the Metros mus win game 2 Sunday at noon in Milwaukee, then win in a mini-game immediately following.

A key play came when Metros midfielder Andrew Galloway was hit with a red card with 28:10 left in the second half, forcing the Metros to play shorthanded. And it finally caught up with them when Nick Igel head-butted in a goal with 8:40 left, followed by the game-winner by David Marshall with just 4:55 left.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Metros coach Greg Petersen. “At this point in the season, getting a red card is just something we can’t afford to do and we know better. We’ve been through the exercise. And we had some breakdowns on defense.”

Tim Geltz gave the Metros a 1-0 lead just 1:10 into the game when he booted in a short kick from the left side with an assist by Jon Atherton.

It appeared that might stand up, especially when goalie Randy Dedini robbed Steve Morris on a free kick with 21:20 left, followed by another excellent save moments later. In fact, Dedini hadn’t allowed a regulation goal to Milwaukee in two games during the season.

Even after the entry of leading scorer Jamel Mitchell with 25:07 left, the Metros weren’t able to shake him free for one of his usual late-game goals, although he missed on a good chance with 2 1/2 minutes left.

“What a mentally draining game,” said defender Ken Rogaski. “It [the red card] was a bit of a questionable call, but we really paid for our mistakes at the end.”

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