2:0 New York Philadelphia Barlow Royer 09.22.19 · League

Oh, what a difference a week makes! Just seven short days ago, we were hanging our head low after Metro's disastrous ending in Seattle. Now, with back-to-back shutout wins and a playoff berth clinched, Metro is riding high. Tonight, they eased through Philadelphia, 2:0. It's the teams first winning streak since early June.

Despite this being the third game in eight days, Chris Armas kept ten in the lineup from Wednesday. The only change was Daniel Royer for Alex Muyl.

Early in the first half, with much of the Metro team caught upfield (how many times have we typed that over the years), a quick Worms free kick started a rush the other way. Luis Robles had to come out of the net and made a stop on the breakaway, only for the ball to be sent to the top of the box. Aaron Long had to play goaltender, clearly the ensuing shot off the line.

Metro broke through in the 32nd minute, with Josh Sims once again playing creator. The winger, this time operating on the right, sent a low cross that Andre Blake muffed. The ball dropped to the middle of the box, where Tom Barlow calmly placed it into the net.

Just like midweek against Portland, Metro's defense brought it up a notch, limiting the opponent's chances. The Worms were held to just three shots on goal. Both Kemar Lawrence and Tim Parker did have acrobatic clearances inside the box.

Once again, just like midweek, Royer put the exclamation point in injury time. This time, Alejandro Romero Gamarra sprung Bradley Wright-Phillips, who laid it off to Royer. The Austrian knocked it in for his 46th in all competitions, moving him past Clint Mathis for fourth all-time in team history.

Next week's game versus DC should go a long way to determine home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Will it matter? Who knows. But we like what we've seen this week...

Lineup: Robles, Lawrence, Long, Parker, Duncan, Davis, Casseres, Rzatkowski, Sims, Royer, Barlow. Subs: Romero Gamarra, Wright-Phillips, Muyl.