John Helps Crew Defeat MetroStars

Stern John scored in regulation and added the winning shootout goal Saturday night as the Columbus Crew beat New York-New Jersey, 2-1, before 11,606 to win the best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinal series, 2-0.

John, who led the league in scoring, tied the score at 1-1 in the 22nd minute.

In the shootout, he drilled a shot just inside the right post to give the Crew a 3-1 lead in the fourth round. Bill Thompson and Thomas Dooley also scored for the Crew in the shootout. Mike Sorber scored in the fourth round for New York-New Jersey.

The Crew, 0-5 in shootouts during the regular season, will face the winner of the Washington-Miami series in the conference final.

The MetroStars, who also got a shootout goal from Tab Ramos, were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round for the second time in three seasons.