Metro vs Baltimore, 2008

In 1997, the first year they participated in the Open Cup, the MetroStars made the semifinals. A year later, they did the same. And then again, in 2000. (We'll get to 1999 later.) In 2003, they broke through to their first final. (They didn't win, of course.) Since then... we apologize in advance for the grimness of this article.

10) June 5, 2012: Harrisburg 3, New York 1
A year after the Hans Backe-less debacle (oh, we'll get to that), RBNY promised to take the Open Cup seriously. They crushed Charleston on the road 3:0 and followed with a trip to Harrisburg. Unfortunately, Backe decided to start Jhonny Arteaga up front, and he proceeded to blow chance after chance. Headed into overtime tied 1:1, former Metro-for-a-minute Sainey Tourey gave his team the lead. A clear penalty call was missed by the referee, Harrisburg scored again, and that was that.

9) July 20, 2004: Charleston 1, MetroStars 0
Coming off the 2003 almost-triumph, this was a first-game exit. Metro hit the post three times, including once on a Mike Magee penalty kick.

8) August 3, 2005: Rochester 3, MetroStars 1
Metro was stomped by the Rhinos, as Rochester scored two quick goals in the first half and glided from there. Sergio Galvan Rey made the score a tad more respectable with a late goal.

7) June 29, 2010: Harrisburg 1, New York 0
The 2010 Open Cup run started sweetly, as Metro disposed MLS clubs Philadelphia, New England, and Colorado in the now-defunct "qualifiers". They couldn't get past third-division Harrisburg, and former Metro Danny Cepero. The goalkeeper, cut by Backe before the season, proceed to shutout his ex-teammates, as the home team scored in overtime.

6) May 20, 2009: DC United 5, New York 3
The final score makes it seem somewhat respectable. It wasn't. Khano Smith started. Metro was down 4:0 just 26 minutes in. Let's not talk about this.

5) June 27, 2001: Charleston 4, MetroStars 1
Metro came to Charleston with just 12 healthy players. They left with a devastating loss, the consolation goal coming in the 90th minute on a Daniel Hernandez free kick.

4) June 14, 2014: Cosmos 3, New York 0
The starting lineup looked alright, but it was clear that Metro was just not into it. The Cosmos came to play, Metro came to get out of Dodge. They did so with an ugly, lopsided loss.

3) July 13, 1999: MetroStars 2, Staten Island 3
And yet, 2014 was not the first time Metro was beaten by a local lower-league side. That came in 1999, when the Open Cup was seen as Metro's lone chance to salvage a terrible season. Playing at Rutgers, the upstart Vipers (featuring ex-Metros Cristian da Silva and Rob Johnson) went up early, but Metro responded twice through Billy Walsh. With five minutes left in regulation, the Vipers (conditioning coach: Juan Carlos Osorio) equalized. They won in overtime on a golden goal. The Vipers would go defunct after the season.

2) July 1, 2008: Baltimore 2, New York 0
Speaking of defunct teams, there was the misnomer of Crystal Palace Baltimore. Osorio trotted out a 4-5-1 formation with John Gilkerson, Gordon Kljestan (interesting last name...), and Chris Megaloudis in starting roles. We forgot how he tried to explain himself after this debacle. It was probably written down in his notebook.

1) July 12, 2011: Chicago 4, New York 0
Quarterfinals. A Metro win meant a date with minor-league Richmond, at home, in the semifinals. Backe decided not to travel. Why bother, right? Let's revel in the starting lineup: Bouna Coundoul, Mike Jones, Tyler Lassiter, Stephen Keel, Chris Albright, Teddy Schneider, Austin da Luz, Matt Kassel, John Rooney, Mehdi Ballouchy (captain), Corey Hertzog. Ex-Metro Dominic Oduro scored four minutes in, and Chicago piled it on, and on, and on. All things considering, as bad a loss as this team has suffered in its history.

But this year, we're caring about the Open Cup, right?