When the MetroStars gaze across the field tonight in Miami, they will see a team in a position in which they felt they should have been.

Truth is, after a breakthrough 2000 season and a blazing start, the Metro- Stars could have easily been a mirror image of the league-leading 15-4-5 Miami Fusion. But a rash of injuries and a mid-season drought cost them a shot at being the team to beat.

But don’t feel to sorry for the 11-9-3 MetroStars. They have won five of their last eight and need only one win their final five games to clinch a playoff spot. As well, they have beaten the Fusion twice, 3-0 on July 7 and 2-1 on Aug. 15. After tonight, they will face the Fusion once again on September 12 and then possibly in the playoffs.

According to MetroStars veteran midfielder Mark Chung, the playoffs start tonight.

“From this game on we need to get on a serious roll,” Chung said. “We need to be more consistent game to game until the postseason.”

Chung, a six-year veteran, is among the career leaders in minutes played for the MLS. His durability has been a breath of fresh air for a team that has been haunted with injuries. So far this year he has logged 1,959 minutes, while netting three goals and five assists.

When asked how important it would be to get a win against the league-leading Fusion, Chung replied, “It’s not really that important that it’s Miami, its just important that we play well. We need to be firing on all cylinders [before the playoffs begin].”