MetroStars forward Giovanni Savarese, celebrating his 25th birthday, tied the game, 2-2, when he hammered in a deflection off the hands of West goalkeeper Mark Dodd in the 69th minute. Dodd made a diving save off a centering pass, but the unmarked Savarese was there for the rebound. It gave me a lot of confidence. I feel I definitely showed I belong. He scores goals.
Great scorers have that happen.
Tampa Bay's Carlos Valderrama earned MasterCard Most Valuable Player honors with two assists for the Eastern Conference All-Stars. It was Valderrama's creative playmaking abilities that set up Pittman's game winner. We played good soccer, attacking soccer that excited the crowd. But winning and losing was not important here today. The winners were MLS, the players and the fans, who saw a great game.