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Petke and Valencia, 2000
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Ten Best: Metro vs New England
June 8, 2011
From Nicola Caricola's own goal to the 2005 playoff debacle to the decade-long winless streak at Foxboro, the Metro and New England rivalry has been horrifying. But that doesn't mean it wasn't without any positive moments, so here are the ten best Metro-Rev games:
10) June 29, 2002: New England 0, MetroStars 2
Midway through the 2002 season, the two teams made a massive six-player trade that was centered around Mamadou Diallo and Diego Serna and changed the fortunes of both teams forever. On this day, the hated Diallo was in rare form, scoring for Metro early and got ejected in the 32nd minute. Clint Mathis, fresh of the World Cup, was lively, setting up both goals (the other being Mark Lisi's first Metro tally), Tim Howard was great in the nets, and the Metros had a victory in New England. Their LAST victory in New England.
9) April 7, 2001: MetroStars 2, New England 1
In the 2001 season opener, Mathis scored on a free kick midway through the second half. The Revs responded, but Adolfo Valencia played hero in injury time. Mark Chung rang a shot off the crossbar, and El Tren headed the rebound into the net to open the season as winners.
8) October 21, 2010: New York 2, New England 0
Metro needed a win to clinch the regular season East title, and a win they got. Dane Richards opened the scoring early on, taking a perfectly-placed ball from Juan Pablo Angel. Joel Lindpere added one in injury time, sending the long-suffering crowd into a ruckus.
7) July 12, 2003: New England 3, MetroStars 3
We don't usually include ties on these lists, but this one was special. Howard's last game with Metro could not have started worse. 50 minutes in, it was 3:0. All looked doomed. Then, in the 66th, John Wolyniec took a long pass from Lisi and made it 3:1. In the 73rd, Mike Magee pressured the Revs' Adin Brown, resulting in a bad clearance and an own goal by Daouda Kante, 3:2. Then, three minutes after, a Lisi pass was met by Ricardo Clark's head to make it 3:3 to send Timmy out maybe not a winner, but at least somewhat happy.
6) September 11, 2004: MetroStars 3, New England 2
14 minutes into the match, Metro was down 2:0. But a Magee penalty and an Eddie Gaven goal tied the game before the half. Then, Cornell Glen was subbed in, took a long Wolyniec pass, and raced down the wing to score. The game was marred by horrible refereeing from Abbey Okulaja, who was taken out for a good chunk of time by a ball that came off Tenywa Bonseu and hit the ref in the face.
5) June 24, 1998: MetroStars 5, New England 3
A crazy game that set the team record for goals saw the Metros go down midway through the first half and then respond through Brian Kelly and Giovanni Savarese before the break. Kelly made it 3:1, but the Revs got two quick ones to even it up. Then, in the 69th, a minute after the equalizer, a rookie named Mike Petke took a shot from outside a penalty area that was touched by a Rev player and sailed into the top of the net. It was Petke's first Metro goal. Paul Dougherty added the fifth.
4) October 22, 2005: MetroStars 1, New England 0
This would have ranked higher if not for the collapse that followed next week. Metro got their first playoff win in five years, exercising a terrific defensive theme to thwart the top-seeded Revs. Little-known second year player Seth Stammler started at left midfield for the first time, and completely befuddled Rev star Steve Ralston. Amado Guevara's long shot was the lone goal of the match, and all seemed great going into the return leg... but let's not talk about that.
3) August 12, 2000: MetroStars 2, New England 1
In a torrential downpour, the game was scoreless for the first 87 minutes. The Revs scored off a corner kick, and all looked doomed. But a minute later, Valencia received the ball from Mathis, and all was tied. Then, in overtime, El Tren proved golden, heading home a Mathis corner for a terrific victory.
2) August 14, 1996: MetroStars 4, New England 0
The first game on the hated AstroTurf and ping-pong soccer saw a second-half debut of Antony De Avila, as Pitufo didn't disappoint, scoring the game's last goal. The others came from A.J. Wood, and two from Rob Johnson. It was an absolute laughter, punctuated by the ball's mountainous balances.
1) September 17, 2005: MetroStars 5, New England 4
Needing a win for the playoff push, the Metros scored early through Mike Magee, but New England equalized. In the second half, Youri Djorkaeff and Guevara tallied to give Metro a two-goal lead only for the Revs to respond with three goals in 13 minutes. Then, just two minutes after the last Rev goal, Magee brought Metro level. In the 86th minute, Djorkaeff got his second, when he walked through the Rev defense and scored off an impossibly acute angle to complete a frantic victory.
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