Dante Vanzeir enters exclusive club
November 12, 2024
Adolfo Valencia. John Wolyniec. Bradley Wright-Phillips. Sacha Kljestan. Daniel Royer. Dante Vanzeir. That's it, a very exclusive club that Vanzeir joined with his goal against Columbus. These are the six players in Metro history who scored in league, playoff, Open Cup, and international play.
Not Thierry Henry (only league and playoff). Not Giovanni Savarese, Clint Mathis, Amado Guevara, or Juan Pablo Angel (no international). Not Connor Lade (no playoff)...
Adolfo Valencia; August 8, 2001: MetroStars 2, Italchacao 0
In Metro's first ever international game, in the long-forgotten Copa Merconorte against a Venezuelan team, Valencia scored the club's first ever international goal in its first ever international victory (and the last for 13 years). Breakdown (league/playoff/OC/international): 21/5/1/2.
John Wolyniec; August 5, 2009: New York 1, W Connection 2
Metro did not have any international wins between 2001 and 2014 because their only continental appearance in the period came during their first trip to the CONCACAF Champions League, when they failed to part-time pros from Trinidad and Tobago. Wolyniec scored the goal in the home leg that briefly put Metro on top. Breakdown: 26/2/7/1.
Bradley Wright-Phillips; July 13, 2017: New England 0, New York 1
Metro rarely wins in New England, going over a decade without a victory between 2002 and 2013. In 2017, they won twice at the Revs in eight days, first beating them in the league and then in the Open Cup, courtesy of a 87th minute goal from BWP. Breakdown: 108/9/5/4.
Sacha Kljestan; October 25, 2017: Chicago 0, New York 4
The first to join this club with a playoff goal, Kljestan's tally was the second goal in the play-in game in Chicago that remains the biggest road win in team history. Breakdown: 16/1/3/2.
Daniel Royer; February 22, 2018: Olimpia 1, New York 1
Metro opened its remarkable 2018 season with a run in the Champions League, which opened with a road tie against a Honduran team in an empty stadium in Costa Rica. Royer opened the scoring to earn Metro a road draw. (They would easily win in the return leg.) Breakdown: 39/4/3/4.
Dante Vanzeir; November 3, 2024: New York 2, Columbus 2 (PK 5:4)
Amazingly, Vanzeir has only scored 10 goals for Metro, but somehow he managed to spread them across competitions. Of course, his goals in last year's Leagues Cup are not exactly the same as the Champions League, but what can you do. And no goal on this list is bigger than the one he scored in the playoffs against Columbus! Breakdown: 6/1/1/2.
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