Nashville 1-0 New Orleans (shootout)
April 25, 1997 — Ezell Park (Nashville, Tenn.)
Scoring Summary
Metros outlast Gamblers
(Nashville Tennessean, 04.26.97)
By Jim Wyatt
Like cowboys in a wester, the Nashville Metros love a shootout.
And for the second straight game, they saved their best shots until the end.
After 90 minutes of regulation and 15 minutes of sudden-death overtime, once again the Metros pulled it out in a shootout, winning 1-0 last night over New Orleans.
Nashville (2-0) started the season with a 1-0 shootout victory over Milwaukee.
“This is nice, getting the win again,” Nashville’s Mark Foster said.
“But we have to start scoring. We have to start capitalizing on opportunities.”
Defense was once again the name of the game at Columbia Soccer Complex, where 2,235 fans watched as Nashville defenders frustrated the Riverboat Gamblers (0-1)
In goal, it was another superb performance by the Metros’ Randy Dedini, who stopped 3-of-4 shtos in the shootout after posting his second straight shutout in the field.
In 210 minutes this season, the Metros have not allowed a goal.
On the flip side, they haven’t scored one either. Curt Cox, Vince Martinez and Jason Larrieu did step up in the end, though, each scored a goal in the shootout.
“These guys are making me old quick,” joked Dedini, who saved six shots on the night.
“Our defense did a great job, and I’m sure our offense will get there. It’s just going to take time.”
Because shootout victories only count for a single point in the A-League standings, Nashville has just two points. A victory in regulation or overtime is worth three points.
“To go scoreless again, that’s not right,” Metros coach Greg Petersen said.
“We attacked better and created more chances, but we have to finish. That’s something we’re going to have to improve on.”
With El Paso in town for a 3 p.m. game tomorrow, the Metros must find a way to generate enough offense to take a little heat off defenders like Martinez, Larrieu and Ken Rogaski.
The addition of Chefiek Goelab made a positive impact while another player, Oleg Chinkanov, also helped create scoring opportunities.
“We were close so many times I could taste it,” Foster said.
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