4:2 New England New York Rowe 2 Imbongo Tierney Espindola Steele 06.12.13 · Open Cup

Steamy weather, weekend barbeques, Metro's exit out of the Open Cup. Three signs that summer is here. Sigh.

This time around, no blame can be placed on a second-choice lineup or a coach who doesn't care. Mike Petke clearly cared, starting pretty much his "A" team... with the exceptions of Thierry Henry and Jamison Olave, who sat out due artificial turf. On the other hand, this game could have definitely used Henry and Olave...

The Revs opened the scoring just five minutes in, as Kelyn Rowe dribbled through Dax McCarty and slid a shot from outside the box past Ryan Meara. In the 37th, he scored almost an identical goal on a play that started with a Metro turnover at midfield.

Those goals sandwiched Metro's first, which came in the 30th. Fabian Espindola pounced on a terrible backpass by Darius Barnes, and then rounded Matt Reis, briefly tying the game.

The Revs made it a two-goal lead five minutes into the second half, after talentless hack Dimitry Imbongo converted after another defensive breakdown. Metro pulled one back in the 61st, Jonny Steele heading in an Eric Alexander cross from close range. Alas, they couldn't muster much after that, and New England made it academic with a Chris Tierney goal four minutes from time.

So, back to Olave and Henry. We understand that the turf is bad for their knees. But this was one game in a three-week span... a game that if Metro won, would have put them three away from their first real hardware. A game that Olave's leadership in the back was sorely missed, a game where Henry's magic up front could have made the difference...

Stupid signs of summer.

Lineup: Meara, Kimura, Pearce, Holgersson, Barklage, McCarty, Alexander, Steele, Sam, Juninho, Espindola. Subs: Luyindula, Akpan.