Savarese proved a prolific scorer during the 1996 season, scoring the next seven goals for the MetroStars and cementing his place in the team sheet.

On January 20, 1999, Savarese was traded to the New England Revolution along with a second-round pick in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for Raúl Díaz Arce.

[2] Savarese made an immediate impact on his new club, scoring his first goal in the first match of 1999 season, against the Miami Fusion on March 28.

His luck improved after returning to Europe with Welsh club Swansea City in the English Second Division, tallying 14 goals across all competitions.

Savarese re-joined the MetroStars organization in 2005 as head of the club's successful youth development program, maintaining his role with through the Red Bull ownership transition before a philosophical conflict with the new management heralded his firing in March 2007.

He quickly signed Long Island native Carlos Mendes as the modern club's first player in preparation for the team's debut in the NASL's 2013 Fall season.

After the end of the 2014 season, Savarese was offered the chance to interview for the vacant Houston Dynamo head coaching position.

The Cosmos defeated the Ottawa Fury 3–2 in the 2015 NASL Championship Final to win their second league title since returning to professional competition.

[9] Following the 2016 season, Savarese emerged as a finalist for the head coaching job with MLS expansion club Minnesota United FC.

[10] Talks with the new franchise fell apart when the Cosmos insisted on a transfer fee for releasing Savarese from the remainder of his contract, and the position went to Adrian Heath instead.

Despite draws in 9 of 16 Fall season matches, the Cosmos qualified for the playoff and upset the top-seeded Miami FC away on penalty kicks.