Metro eases past Reading in the Open Cup, 2:0
May 29, 2013
You could feel it coming: a scoreless game well into the second half. A clearly overmatched team on its heels... and yet, Metro unable to pull the trigger. Unable to break through. Could it be? A counterattack is all that it takes...
No. Not tonight. After failing to solve the minor league defense for the first hour of the match, Metro got goals from Fabian Espindola and Lloyd Sam for an easy 2:0 victory. They now advance into the Round of 16 of the Open Cup, where they will play New England.
Mike Petke's lineup was a mixture of starters and backups. Ryan Meara finally made his return in the nets after a year away from the game. Roy Miller, Heath Pearce, S. Markus Holgersson, and Brandon Barklage lined across the back. Connor Lade, Sam, Michael Bustamante (making his debut), and Juninho made up the midfield. Amando Moreno and Peguy Luyindula were the striking tandem.
And it was that tandem's inability to get a shot off that doomed Metro in the first half; all the possession went for naught. Dax McCarty and Espindola entered at halftime, and, slowly but surely, Metro's dominance extended to the scoreboard. The opener came in the 61st minute, when McCarty, operating on the right, sent a low cross that Espindola tapped in from the closest of ranges. Five minutes later, Sam's thrusting run was followed by a give-and-go with Espindola, and the Englishman finished to put the game out of reach.
Meara didn't have to do much, but was called on for a couple of consecutive saves soon after the second Metro goal. The game ended with a Reading player needlessly hacking down Espindola, as the amateur's exit from the match was met by the unkindest of Petke's scowls.
So, to Harvard Metro goes, to face the Revolution. At least it's not at Foxboro, right?
Lineup: Meara, Miller, Pearce, Holgersson, Barklage, Lade, Sam, Bustamante, Juninho, Luyindula, Moreno. Subs: McCarty, Espindola, Alexander.
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