1994 On June 15th, the MLS committee decided that NY/NJ would be a location for one of their first teams. Later that month, the World Cup visited the United States, and played in Giants Stadium. The stadium hosted seven games where over 525,000 spectators were in attendance. In November, the NY/NJ Venue Executive Director for the World Cup, Charlie Stillitano, was named both Vice President and General Manager of the NY/NJ Team. The team was first known as the Empire Soccer Club.

1995 The original ten teams of the MLS were determined and approved to begin play the following year. The Empire Soccer Club, in August, hosted the Parmalat Cup. The tournament involved four teams, including the U.S. National Team, and drew nearly 80,000 people for the two-day affair. In October, Major League Soccer held its unveiling for their new league. The event, known as "MLS Unveiled", introduced team nicknames and uniforms as well as franchise players. During this event, it was announced that the NY/NJ club would be known as the MetroStars and their first player would be Tab Ramos, both a member of the U.S. World Cup team and native of New Jersey.

1996 In January, the MetroStars hired Eddie Firmani, former coach of the New York Cosmos, to become the first Head Coach of the team. They also announced the acquisition of Tony Meola, U.S World Cup goalkeeper and team captain. In February, the team announced the signing of A.C Milan midfielder and Italian league star Roberto Donadoni. This news was considered some of the team's most exciting in its brief history. On April 13th, the MetroStars and the Los Angeles Galaxy played their first game in MLS history at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The home crowd of 69,250 saw the Galaxy defeat the MetroStars with a score of 2-1. The first goal in team history was scored by Giovanni Saverese. Later in the season, Firmani resigned as coach of the team and was replaced by Portuguese coaching legend, Carlos Queiroz. The MetroStars finished the season with a record of 15-15. After reaching their first ever playoffs, they were defeated by the D.C United in a best-of-three series 2-1. At the end of the season, Queiroz left the team to coach a team in the Japanese League. Filling the coaching vacancy was the coach of the World Cup Champion Brazilian team, Carlos Alberto Parreira.

1997 At the start of the season the MetroStars announced plans to convert Giants Stadium into a natural grass arena. After finishing the season 13-17 and without making the playoffs, the MetroStars lost one of their key players, Roberto Donadoni, to the Italian League. They also lost their Head Coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, as he accepted a head coaching job for the Saudi Arabian World Cup Team.

1998 The MetroStars promptly hired Alfonso Mondelo, the former head coach of the Long Island Rough Riders, to fill the position. To add to the preseason acquisitions, the MetroStars acquired defender Alexi Lalas from the New England Revolution in the first three-team trade in MLS history. At the end of the season, the MetroStars endured a six-game losing streak and finished with a 15-17 record. As a result, former U.S and Mexico coach Bora Milutinovic replaced Mondelo as head coach. The MetroStars ended the season reaching the Playoffs, but were defeated by the Columbus Crew in the opening round. Milutinovic became the fifth head coach in three seasons for the MetroStars.

1999 The MetroStars decided that it was time to rebuild the team with youth. This decision caused the trading of Giovanni Saverese, one of the team's leaders, to the New England Revolution for Raul Diaz Arce. Diaz Arce was then traded to the San Jose Clash in return for a player to be named later. The MetroStars continued their rebuilding philosophy by trading away goalkeeper Tony Meola and defender Alexi Lalas to Kansas City in return for Mark Chung and goalkeeper Mike Ammann. In August, MLS signed German star Lothar Matthaus and allocated him to the MetroStars for the 2000 season. The club finished the season with the worst record in history winning only seven out of thirty-two games. At the end of the year, head coach Bora Milutinovic agreed to step down from his position. A month later, the team named Octavio Zambrano their new head coach. While with the Los Angeles Galaxy, Zambrano posted the best winning percentage in MLS history (.684).

2000 In January, the MetroStars acquired Thomas Dooley, U.S National Team veteran, to anchor the defense. Just prior to Dooley's acquisition, the club appointed 1999 MLS "Executive of the Year" Nick Sakiewicz the club's new General Manager. In February, the MetroStars had the first pick in the 2000 MLS Superdraft and selected UCLA defender Steve Shak. With the combination of both young talent and experienced veterans on the team, along with the knowledgeable front office members pointing this team in the right direction, the NY/NJ MetroStars appear to be poised to join the elite teams of the MLS as they enter the new millennium.

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