4:2 Santos L New York Abella Lozano 2 Valdes Fernandez Royer 03.12.19 · CONCACAF

For a while, there was hope. Coming to Mexico down two on aggregate, all looked lost before it even started. And yet, a magical beginning saw Metro even it all and keep the dream alive. Alas, it was not to last, as Santos scored four goals in nine minutes to knock Metro out of the Champions League.

Chris Armas made three changes from last week's lineup. Michael Murillo returned from suspension for Connor Lade, with Florian Valot and Omir Fernandez getting their first CCL starts for Marc Rzatkowski and Alex Muyl.

Just four minutes in, Alejandro Romero Gamarra sprung Daniel Royer, who took it to the endline and centered the ball to Fernandez. The 20-year-old tapped in his first professional goal from close range. Five minutes later, it was Kaku again. This time, he found BWP in the box. The record goalscorer spun around and swung it back to Royer, who knocked it in from the penalty spot. All the sudden, the aggregate was tied.

Santos, who looked shell-shocked for the first half, came out a different team in the second. Metro couldn't hold much of the ball, but the defense looked strong, bending, but not breaking.

And then it broke, first with a leak that left a glimmer of hope, only to be followed by the bursting floodgates. 72nd, 76th, 79th, and then 81st -- that last one from the other side of the halfway line, the exclamation point to extinguish it all.

So much for hope.

Lineup: Robles, Lade, Long, Parker, Duncan, Davis, Valot, Fernandez, Royer, Romero Gamarra, Wright-Phillips. Subs: Etienne, Jorgensen, Ivan.