For the third time in seven years, the MetroStars were bounced out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by lower division competition when they were defeated 3-1 on Wednesday by the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the USL First Division at Frontier Field.
Scott Palguta and Mauro Carabajal gave the Rhinos a two-goal first-half lead as they completely dominated their MLS rivals, then a penalty kick from Rene Rivas sealed the victory before Sergio Galvan Rey scored a late consolation goal.
The Rhinos set the pace from the start and Palguta gave them the lead after 20 minutes. A corner was sent into the box and was headed on goal, but MetroStars goalkeeper Zach Wells -- with two Rhinos draped on either side of him -- made the initial save.
But he was unable to corral the ball after the contact and Palguta gathered the loose ball and hammered it into the back of the net.
Ten minutes later, Carabajal doubled the lead for the Rhinos when he slipped a shot past Wells. The Rhinos outshot the MetroStars 6-0 in the first half.
Rochester kept the pressure on in the second half and the Rhinos were awarded a penalty after a tackle by Seth Stammler on forward Jonathan Bolanos in the box. Rivas buried the spot kick in the 58th minute to give the Rhinos a 3-0 lead.
The Metros scored their lone goal of the match late in the second half when Galvan Rey put one past Rhinos goalkeeper Scott Vallow from a nice cross by defender Tim Ward.
After reaching the 2003 Open Cup Final, a year ago the MetroStars met a similar fate as on Wednesday, losing their opening Open Cup match to the USL's First Division Charleston Battery. They also lost to the Battery in 2001, while in 1999 they lost to then A-League Staten Island Vipers.
The Rhinos will host their U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match on Aug. 24 against the Chicago Fire, 3-1 winners in extra time on Wednesday against the New England Revolution in Ludlow, Mass. It will be the third consecutive away match in the competition for the Fire.
U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round
Rochester Raging Rhinos 3, MetroStars 1
August 3, 2005 - Frontier Field, Rochester, N.Y.
Scoring:
RRR -- Scott Palguta 1 (Tenywa Bonseu 1) 20
RRR -- Mauro Carabajal 1 (unassisted) 30
RRR -- Rene Rivas 1 (penalty kick) 58
MET -- Sergio Galvan Rey 1 (unassisted) 85
MetroStars: Zach Wells, Danilo daSilva (Jeff Agoos, 85), Chris Leitch (Tim Ward 65), Carlos Mendes, Seth Stammler, Michael Bradley, Mark Lisi, Eddie Gaven, Mike Magee, Sergio Galvan Rey, Abbe Ibrahim (Ante Razov, 59)
Substitutes Not Used: Tony Meola, Chris Corcoran, Jason Hernandez
Rochester Raging Rhinos: Scott Vallow, Frank San Fillippo, Tenywa Bonseu, Scott Schweitzer, Scott Palguta, Rene Rivas, Kirk Wilson, Pato Aguilera (Stoian Mladenov 79), Juninho Da Silva (John Ball, 64), Jonathan Bolanos, Mauro Carabajal (Greg Howes, 90)
Substitutes Not Used: Dusty Hudock, Billy Sedgewick, Rey Martinez, Shaun Tsakiris
Discipline:
RRR -- Mauro Carabajal (caution; Game Disrepute) 30
MET -- Seth Stammler (caution; Reckless Foul) 52
MET -- Zach Wells (caution; Reckless Foul) 57
RRR -- Tenywa Bonseu (caution; Reckless Foul) 77
MET -- Mark Lisi (caution; Reckless Foul) 82
MET -- Mike Magee (caution; Reckless Foul) 90+
Attendance: 10,547
Weather: 90 degrees, hot
