Columbus Crew » Match Report

Columbus 3-0 San Jose: Post Game

Chris — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:23:00 +0000

We are Massive.

The Columbus Crew have officially shown the world that winning the 2008 MLS Cup wasn’t a fluke. The Crew traveled to San Jose to play the Earthquakes in the early half of a day/night doubleheader that also featured CD Guadalajara and FC Barcelona.

After a first half which was at times painful to watch, Columbus coach Robert Warzycha decided it was time to change things up. A 60th minute switch of Alejandro Moreno for Jason Garey followed by Emmanuel Ekpo for Eddie Gaven in the 63rd proved to be just the shot in the arm that the team needed.

Moreno opened the floodgates in the 69th when Ekpo swung the ball in to Robbie Rogers, who then headed it to Moreno for the goal. It was a perfect example of patient soccer, as the good guys just waited for an opening and then took the shot. Robbie and Ale Mo both showed great presence as they played off each other, with Alejandro stuck between two defenders and just waiting for the ball. It was truly a “smart” goal.

Rogers got his first goal of the year just four minutes later after taking a through ball from Ekpo. Robbie received the ball in the corner of the penalty area, juked two defenders, dribbled one more time and then hammered it home with his left to give Columbus the two goal lead. Robbie really showed his speed and skill on this one, doing all the work himself and manufacturing a goal where there shouldn’t have been one. If the 2009 Columbus Crew could be summed with one goal, it would be this one, simply because Robbie played tough and never gave up until the ball was in the net. God, I love that kid.

Coach “Polska Bob” Warzycha hadn’t seen enough, though. An 84th minute sub of Adam Moffat for Steven Lenhart was, maybe, his best coaching decision of the game.

It was in the 86th minute that Gino Padula took a corner and Adam Moffat put the ball in the net with authority for his first goal of the year and only the third of his injury-plagued MLS career. There have been some people this season who’ve said that Moffat isn’t worth the trouble because of all of his injuries. I know it’s only one goal in one game, but I think they can all shut up now, as long as Adam continues to play like he has the last couple of games. Coach Bob knows this, and therefore putting Adam in was a stroke of genius.

After the game Coach Warczycha and the players agreed that the game was a lot closer than the scoreline indicated. I would tend to concur here, as San Jose had plenty of chances and gave us all a few scares, but were unable to convert on any of them. The entire game was a simple case of one club waiting for goals to come to them and the other club making the goals happen. That’s how championship-caliber teams perform week in and week out: they make things happen.

And that’s why Columbus is proving that they actually are a championship team. Columbus has had five shut-outs in it’s last ten games, winning four in a row and going undefeated in its last seven, and has not allowed a goal on the road in 3 straight games. Seattle may claim to have the best fans in the league, but the Crew is the best team.

Columbus faces some interesting challenges as it enters the CONCACAF Champions League, with 11 games over the next eight weeks, but they are proving that depth may not be quite as big as issue as we thought earlier in the year. The Bash Brothers are coming into their own, Alejandro and Adam are healthy again, Frankie Hejduk and Guillermo Barros Schelotto are working hard to get back from their injuries, and everyone else on the team is competing hard every day for a starting spot. There really isn’t a guy on our senior roster that can’t come in and positively impact a game.

The only thing that may cause problems are National Team call-ups but we’ve proven, all summer long, that we can put any 11 of our guys on the field and still win games.

All in all, this game may have not been the prettiest to watch, but it served to put the league on notice that the road to the Cup this year most certainly will go through Columbus.

Highlights here.

[IMG via Center Line Soccer]

Another Draw and Marshall faces Concussion Problems

Matt — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:57:41 +0000

I’ve been dreading writing this post for a while now. It is not because of the result. A result in which the Crew played probably their best match of the season, but were just caught exposed once in the back and it was enough to only come away with one point. The Black and Gold were once again a patch work squad, with Robbie Rogers, Frankie Hejduk, and Pat Noonan unavailable. However, the match saw the return of Adam Moffat, who seemed to be the driving force in the squad. An improved Crew squad were able to take the lead four minutes from halftime when Emmanuel Ekpo (on the wing, where he is a better player) took a Gino Padula chip down the flank and found Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the middle of the box. Schelotto is a good player to find in such an area, as he usually puts away these chances and Saturday was no exception. The Crew continued to attack the entire game, hitting the cross bar on three separate occasions. Columbus would rue these missed chances, as in the 81st minute Connor Casey found a long Pablo Mastroeni pass and only Danny O’Rourke between himself and the goal. O’Rourke dove recklessly and Casey easily danced past the Crew center back and put the ball past a helpless Will Hesmer. Saturday’s draw was the second time the Crew dropped two points past the 80th minute at home. Some thoughts and some bad news after the jump.

-In perhaps the news that all Crew fans were afraid of, it seems that it is official that last year’s MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall indeed has a concussion. Unfortunately, Marshall has had a history of concussions and there is speculation that this concussion might bring an end to Marshall’s career. Hopefully this is just speculation and the big defender will be able to return football. If he is not able to, it is truly a sad story. Not just for the Crew, but for Marshall and his career. The 24 year old was on his way to MLS stardom and a probable European career. Marshall had interest from Bundesliga teams this past summer, but the financial aspects of the deal were just not right. It would be a shame that such a promising career would have to end so quickly because of scumbag Atiba Harris being allowed by MLS referees to throw elbows unpunished. If you’re the type, add an extra prayer in your day for Marshall.
-Back to more present matters, the Crew cannot catch a break this season. Last year, it seemed like everything would bounce the Crew’s way and they’d find a late winner from somewhere. This year, it seems like all those late winners are hitting the crossbar, going over the bar, or being miraculously saved by the opposing keeper. Soccer is a fickle mistress.
-Hacksaw Dan is back. The Colorado goal saw the Crew backline more exposed that a Playboy, with only Danny O’Rourke back. However, O’Rourke attempted what can hardly be a challenge to try and get the ball from Connor Casey, which Casey barely had to move to avoid. It was a pretty poor challenge, making two games in a row of such types of challenges from O’Rourke. Last year, Danny’s form and defense skill had shown considerable improvement to where he was a solid MLS defender, but it seems he’s taken two steps back this season.
-Speaking of comebacks, how about the weegie in the midfield! I do not think it is a coincidence that the return of Adam Moffat to the field coincided with the Crew’s best performance of the year. Moffat’s great play in the middle allowed Emmanuel Ekpo to play his more comfortable position on the flank. Ekpo’s play was greatly improved last Saturday, showing that he’s not a fucking center midfielder, but is a really talented wing player.

The Crew have a week off to get healthy before bitter rivals and Eastern Conference front runners Chicago come to town. Honestly, the break could not come at a better point. Hopefully last week’s performance will be improved upon with the return of Robbie Rogers and Frankie Hejduk. Hopefully Chad Marshall is feeling better as well, for his own sake.

From Worse to Oh S%$#!

Matt — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:41:17 +0000

The Crew finished their two game West trip with their second straight loss, a 2-1 loss against Chivas USA. Yet again, the Crew went down a goal in the first half, after Atiba Harris one touched a ball into the back of the net. Like the match against Real Salt Lake, the Crew were able to even things up after going down a goal when Emmanuel Ekpo’s cross found big Andy Iro’s head and was sent into the goal and everything was all square going into halftime. Everything would come unraveled in the second half for the Crew though, starting with Eduardo Lillingston finding the ball after a rebounded shot off the post. Lillingston was able to put the rebound past Will Hesmer and the goats had a 2-1 lead. Any comeback attempts by the Crew were severely hampered just four minutes later when a two footed challenge by Andy Iro saw his night end with a red card. The 10 men Crew side would not find an equalizer and dropped their second straight match and are one of five teams in MLS to be win-less so far. So what’s going on?

-First: For a token bit of optimism, to be fair, when the Crew had these fixtures last year (Houston Away, Toronto Home, Real Salt Lake Away, and Chivas Away), the Crew only earned three points. These are tough games, especially to start off a season, so it might not be time to panic yet. The MLS scheduler did the Crew no favors by starting the Black and Gold’s season with the best team in the West last season, the runner up in the West, the third team in the West, and a rivalry game. This hopefully means there will be an easy stretch of schedule coming up. With that being said…
-As Vince Lombardi would say, “WHAT THE HELL’S GOING ON OUT THERE?!” Emmanuel Ekpo continues to be lost in the central midfield position. It’s time for that experiment to end.
-Defensive errors are killing the Crew. Everyone besides Chad Marshall have struggled. Danny O’Rourke had a decent first two games, but has seemingly regressed the next two. Andy Iro’s performance showed him to be a young, inexperienced defender with slow decision making. Frankie Hejduk apparently hurt himself in US National Team Duty (hear that? That’s the sound of me, a club over country guy, bashing his head against the wall. BAH!) The backline was the rock that the MLS Cup Champion team was built off of, but this year it is more like quicksand.
-Speaking of injuries, if Chad Marshall picked up a concussion on that elbow his face found, this season could get real ugly real quickly (Where was the foul on that, by the way!). Marshall was down for a good amount of time and he has a history of concussions. Another one might end his season this year.
-The offense just seems out of sync. The midfield has no shape and passes seem to be long, hopeful balls rather than a calculated pass. I thought Warzycha was an offensive minded coach? Hopefully he has the cure to this problem, or he could be updating his resume and practicing his job interviews real quickly.
-Finally, soccer is a funny game. While the Crew have certainly had their problems this year, they have just had some bad breaks as well. All of the injuries have certainly been a killer so far, but there is no way to prepare for that. The Crew tried to prepare for that, bringing in depth in most positions. However, when Lady Luck seems intent on turning that depth on its head, all you can do is play through it. It has been a tough run so far, but hopefully a return to Columbus Crew stadium will be just what the doctor ordered.

From Bad to Worse

Matt — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:39:48 +0000

Wow, that was ugly. Everything that could have went wrong on Thursday night went wrong for the Crew in their match against Real Salt Lake. From the 2nd minute, the Crew would have to play from behind when a Real Salt Lake free kick saw Will Hesmer punch the ball out, but right to an unmarked Robbie Findlay who buried the ball into the net. Not a good way to start out a road match. However, if there is a team that has shown it can play from behind, it is the Crew. It seemed like they would be on the comeback trail, as they started to control the match for a fifteen minute time period. Robbie Rogers and Eddie Gaven controlled the ball on the wings and the Crew created a few chances. Finally in the 22nd minute, they made one of these chances pay when Gino Padula’s initial cross was not cleared by RSL and eventually found the feet of Jason Garey who evened the game up for the Crew. Unfortunately, this would be the end of any positive play by the Crew. Just seven minutes after leveling the match, the screws came loose from an area that is usually most secure for the Crew. Will Hesmer tried to clear a ball long, but instead sent a weak grounder straight to Findlay again, who danced around Hesmer easily and scored in the empty net. It was the second goal for Findlay that the Crew deserved an assist for. Findlay finished his hat-trick in the second half in the 62nd minute and then part time Strike Anywhere lead vocalist Kyle Beckerman put a fourth goal on the Crew with a long strike. After 90 minutes, the whistle mercifully ended the Crew nightmare on a disappointing game. A 4-1 defeat is never fun, but just how could it have gotten worse for the Crew? Well, Jason Garey had to be carried off the pitch late in the game after an ankle sprain to his right ankle to add the a growing list of unavailable players for the Crew. So what went wrong?

Yet again, the Crew were without Frankie Hejduk after featuring in the previous night’s US World Cup Qualifier and spent most of the match without last season’s leading scorer Alejandro Moreno. Are those two keys cogs in the Crew machine? You bet. Should their absence result in a 4-1 gubbing. Hell no. Will Hesmer certainly has his share of blame in this match, being unable to clear the first goal for Real Salt Lake and unintentionally giving an ugly assist to the Royals for their second. While Hesmer is usually solid, I noticed in the match against Toronto that many of Hesmer’s goal kicks were poor, going straight to the opposing keeper or flying helplessly out of play. They certainly were not as bad as the one Hesmer took on Thursday.

Gino Padula also looked very slow and very old on Thursday as well. One must wonder if last weekend’s own goal was on Padula’s mind, because he certainly seemed tentative and played poorly. Danny O’Rourke also seemed to struggle during the match. As I said before the season, O’Rourke has come a long way in his play as a center back, but it seems like he regressed Thursday night. Emmanuel Ekpo continues to struggle in the middle of the field. He really belongs on the wing, as he has shown clearly that he cannot tackle and possess the ball long enough in the middle.

The Crew must have short memories and forget about Thursday night quickly as they have to travel to LA to take on an undefeated Chivas squad on Sunday. Pat Noonan will still be unavailable with back problems and Jason Garey will be missing after the ankle sprain he suffered on Thursday. The good news for the Crew is the return of Frankie Hejduk and Alejandro Moreno. The two key players for the Crew should be 100% and ready to go Sunday. Robbie Rogers has been hobbled by a hamstring problem, so hopefully he got some time to rest it before tomorrow’s match. The Crew’s attack just isn’t the same with Rogers hurt. Hopefully the return of Moreno and Hejduk can help the Crew improve their performance from last Thursday, though it will not be hard to improve it.

Own Goal forces a draw for the Crew

Matt — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:02:04 +0000

Picture thanks to studio79
!The Crew were six minutes away from getting three points in their home opener, but a Gino Padula own goal evened the honors between the Crew and the visiting Toronto FC. While the Crew were ale to prevent the Canadian Reds from truly testing Will Hesmer, the goal rewarded TFC for their increased possession during the second half. The Crew got their goal in the 13th minute when a Guillermo Barros Schelotto cross found the arm of Kevin Harmse and the referee did not hesitate to point to the spot. Schelotto stepped up to the spot and put the ball right down the middle as Toronto keeper Stefan Frei dove right. The Crew nearly doubled their goal total in the 37th minute when Eddie Gaven drilled a strike that hit the left post. The rebound found Schelotto who then played it to Emmanuel Ekpo, who played much better in middle this week than he did the week before. Ekpo fired a shot that Frei barely got a hand on and sent it over the bar. While the Crew was not exactly Brazil, they enjoyed most of the possession in the first half and the best scoring opportunities.

Toronto increased the pressure applied to the Champions in the second half, seemingly holding a majority of the possession in the half, but the Canadians could not do much with the possession beside some moon shot attempts at goal. At one point, Dwayne DeRosario literally put the ball out of the stadium. Literally, I saw it go over the stage, bounce twice and go over the edge of the concourse. Credit for the lack of chances by Toronto must go to the center backs Chad Marshall and Danny O’Rourke. Marshall continued to prove why he was the MLS Defender of the Year, and it might be prudent to say that the best center back for the U.S. was not in El Salvidor but Columbus. Credit must also go to O’Rourke. I spoke in previous entries about O’Rourke’s *ahem* tendency to mow down opposing strikers in the box, but it is clear that this is not the same Danny O’Rourke. O’Rourke seemed to win every 50/50 ball and was just as solid as the dominating Marshall. Unfortunately, a bit of bad luck can ruin 80 minutes of solid work by a defense.

In the 84th minute, Dwayne DeRosario sent a free kick to the left flank. Gino Padula had to clear the ball with the amount of pressure near the net and got his head on it. Unfortunately for Gino and the Crew, the ball went towards the goal where Will Hesmer was in position to play the free kick but not a shot on his goal. Hesmer got a finger on the ball but was only able to put it just below the crossbar. A thousand Canadians in red on the south side celebrated an own goal draw like they just won the World Cup. The Crew tried to gain the advantage in the remaining six minutes, but much of the Crew offensive creativity was lost when Guillermo Barros Schelotto was subbed off a few minutes before the Toronto goal. The referee brought the match to a close and the Crew had their second draw in as many games.

The Crew should be disappointed with the draw, but it was a tough task losing your team captain and top goal scorer to international duties. The Crew seemed content to try and absorb the Toronto pressure in the second half and bend but not break. Unfortunately, in soccer you will get the occasional bad bounce. I am never a fan of sitting back and hoofing the ball on defense. The Crew certainly had the players to try a counter attack but most of the time when the Crew got possession in their own end, they usually just tried to clear it up field and temporarily relieve the pressure.

As mentioned, Chad Marshall and Danny O’Rourke was solid as a rock on Saturday. While Guillermo Barros Schelotto got the Man of the Match honors, I believe that Marshall deserved that honor. After giving up possession and failing to find anyone with a pass when playing as a center midfielder against Houston, Emmanuel Ekpo’s play improved, as the Nigerian created a couple good scoring opportunities, including the shot that Frei just got a hand on. It also seemed like Eddie Gaven was a man on a mission as well on Saturday. Gaven won balls all day and started numerous Crew attacks.

Unfortunately there was plenty of negative aspects to the Crew draw on Saturday. Alex Grendi looked lost again filling in for the injured Robbie Rogers. Grendi was easily pushed off the ball and just seemed a step behind everyone else on the field. While Gino Padula had a decent day besides the obvious incident, why his clearance attempt was towards goal I am not sure. The Crew will have to bounce back from this disappointing result from the weekend and get prepared early for their first trip to the new Rio Tinto stadium to take on Real Salt Lake (who exactly is the King of Salt Lake? The guy with all the wives?)

Crew open season with a draw

Matt — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:05:54 +0000

As I mentioned in my preview, the highlight of the opening weekend of MLS was going to be the Columbus Crew-Houston Dynamo match-up. The match featured the last three MLS Cup champions and arguably the best two teams in the MLS. Well, the match did not dissapoint as it was a back and forth affair, with both sides getting numerous scoring opportunities and creating an entertaining match that ended in a 1-1 draw. While these type of entertaining matches are great for neutral soccer fans, they can drive a supporter of a team involved crazy. While taking a point from a tough team on the road, like the Crew did against Houston on Saturday, the team and Crew fans might feel like they should have earned all three points. There was some controversy, but the Crew had chances to win the match.

For the first half hour, the Crew had to deal with intense pressure from the home team. The Dynamo came out of the gates of fire, but Brian Ching and Chris Wondolowski sent two headers over the bar. A half hour into the match, the Crew seemed to settle down and apply some offensive pressure of their own. In the 31st minute, Gino Padula played a good cross that found Eddie Gaven unmarked, but Gaven could not finish and sent the chance high and wide. Two minutes later, it seemed like the Crew made the breakthrough in the game when Guillermo Barros Schelotto took a free kick that found big Chad Marshall. Marshall got his head on the ball and put it into the back of the net, but the referee quickly blew off the goal for a foul on Marshall. I’ve certainly seen worse behavior allowed in the mixer and the call seemed inconsistent with how the rest of the game was called. A hint of controversy was added to this exciting match.

With both teams being held scoreless after the first half, Houston came out of the locker room as the aggressor in the 2nd half and it finally payed off. Eight minutes into the half Brian Ching and Chris Wondolowski played some great give and go passing that saw Wondolowski thread the ball behind the Crew defense and onto the foot of Brian Ching who put the ball past Will Hesmer. After scoring the opening the scoring of the game, it seemed that it was only a matter of time before the home team got another goal. In the 77th minute, Wondolowski ripped a shot from the top of the box but the shot just went wide. Two minutes later, Brad Davis tried to chip the ball over Will Hesmer’s head but Hesmer was able to get a hand on it. The champions back line was bending, but never broke to give Houston the break away goal, and as anyone who watched the team last season knows, this team has a tendency to never quit and have a flare for late game dramatics.

In the 82nd minute, Columbus finally got onto the board when substitute Jason Garey got his head on a long cross that found the feet of Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The Houston defense gave the MVP far too much time and space, and the Argentinian made them pay when he coolly placed the ball to the right of Houston keeper Pat Onstad. The goal was a great finish to an entertaining match and both teams can probably feel both lucky and disappointed after the 90 minutes to end up with a point.

The Crew had opportunities to win the game, but also gave up ample chances to go home empty handed, so a point from a top team in the MLS’s ground is probably a fair result. Both teams had to deal with the seemingly unplayable pitch that Robertson Stadium was providing that night. Houston keeper Pat Onstad called it “a joke that professionals had to use it”, so it was that bad. Watching the match, the pitch looked like a sandbox and with so many flare players that the Crew have, it was a tough task to be creative on such a shit pitch. While the Crew did not lose on Saturday, another key player was hit with the injury bug. Robbie Rogers had to be subbed off during the match with a hamstring problem. Anyone who has had such an injury knows that it could be a couple weeks before we see Rogers back on the field.

Next week the Crew come back to Columbus to take on Toronto FC. Due to national duties, the Crew will be without Frankie Hejduk, Alejandro Moreno, and Duncan Oughton. Pat Noonan and Robbie Rogers will also be missing the match due to injury, while Adam Moffat is still a question mark. The Crew’s much heralded depth will be tested with so many people missing the match and the team might struggle against an improved TFC….aw heck, who am I kidding. It’s Toronto, I could get a run out against them and the Crew would be fine. Less than one week until Crewsmas!

Highlights

Crew hand Liverpool Reserves Their First Loss of the Season

Matt — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:11:10 +0000

The Crew made their trip to Merseyside a double after defeating the Liverpool reserves 2-0 today. Two wins against two Merseyside teams obviously equal two Scouse jokes. Number 1, What’s the difference between a Scouser and a coconut? One is thick and hairy, and the other is a coconut. *rimshot*. Number 2, Why does the River Mersey run through Liverpool? Because if it walked, it would be mugged *rimshot*. Oh right, the game. After a 45 minutes where both teams got chances, the two sides went to the locker rooms scoreless. It seemed to be clear that despite not scoring in the first half, the Crew were creating the better chances of the first half. Guillermo Barros Schelloto nearly got the first goal of the match after a nice free kick from the left wing that a Liverpool defender had to clear from the far post. Just a minute later, Robbie Rogers got a good chance with a near post shot that the Reds keeper did well in saving.

Five minutes into the second half, the Crew got onto the scoreboard. Gino Padula and Robbie Rogers connected for some nice passing down the left flank. Rogers then sent a nice cross to Schelloto who fired a shot on net. The Liverpool keeper was able to parry away but it fell right at the feet of Alejandro Moreno who put the chance away. Fifteen minutes later Eddie Gaven held off two L’pool defenders and found Schelloto who finished the ball into the corner of the net. After that, the Crew cruised to victory, controlling the match until the final whistle. Overall, the trip to England was a successful one for the boys in Black and Gold, going undefeated after a comfortable 5-1 victory over the Everton reserves and a workman-like 2-0 victory over Liverpool’s reserves. The Crew will return home Friday and have the weekend off before they return to training next week. With the season opener only two weeks away, it is good to see a full strength Columbus Crew team playing well.

Goals:
CLB – Alejandro Moreno 50

CLB – Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Eddie Gaven) 66
Crew Line-up:
William Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Danny O’Rourke, Chad Marshall, Gino Padula, Eddie Gaven, Brian Carroll, Emmanuel Ekpo (Duncan Oughton 77), Robbie Rogers, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Alejandro Moreno

I Hope the weather holds, but you don’t need the sun to make you shine

Matt — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:00:20 +0000

Today’s match against Guisely AFC has been canceled due to a water logged pitch. The Crew Reserves were set to take on Guisely, but the mere sight of Guillermo Barros Schelloto was enough to make the Unibond League team wet themselves, causing the field to be unplayable. Actually, seeing that it tends to rain in the British Islands every so often, this type of thing happens often to lower league teams without the fancy drainage systems quite often. The Crew will now head back to Merseyside to take on the Liverpool reserves Thursday. While yesterday’s 5-1 victory over Everton was exciting, apparently the Blues put a lot of youth squad members out there. Hopefully their city rivals will put forth a more senior squad Thursday for the the Crew to pick apart.

Crew 5-Everton Reserves 1 w/highlights

Matt — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:32:00 +0000

The Black and Gold started their trip to jolly old the right way by beating the Everton reserves 5-1 at Everton’s Merseyside training ground. Robbie Rogers scored twice on the day for the Crew, as well as earning an assist on another goal. Chad Marshall also got onto the score sheet twice, with both goals coming off of corner kicks. Marshall also got an unfortunate hat trick by getting an own goal for the Merseyside Blues only goal of the match. Resident Argentinian MVP and all around bad ass (the guy freaking looks good in a mullet…A MULLET!)Guillermo Barros Schelotto also cruised his way to a goal and two assists, all while receiving a back massage, doing his taxes, and teaching Guy Fieti how a new recipe. Seriously, Guillermo Barros Schelotto: Great Designed Player or Greatest Designated Player? As Dwight Schrute would say, FALSE! He is not actually taking up a DP spot for the Crew, so he’s the MVP and a freaking bargain. Jokes aside, it is good to see last year’s superstars stepping right back into stride. Schelotto seems to create assists without breaking a sweat, young Mr. Rogers continued his path to MLS stardom and likely big money payout to greener pastures, and Chad Marshall puts the questions about whether or not he’d be moving to Europe this offseason aside and continues to play well. All three of these players will be a key asset to the Crew if the look to keep their MLS Cup crown and all three seemed to have started off on the right foot.

Goals:
CLB – Chad Marshall (Guillermo Barros Schelotto), 9th minute
EFC – Own Goal (Marshall), 13th
CLB – Robbie Rogers (Emmanuel Ekpo), 38th
CLB – Schelotto (Frankie Hejduk), 59th
CLB – Rogers (Schelotto), 68th
CLB – Marshall (Rogers), 73rd

Crew lineup: Lineup – William Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Danny O’Rourke, Chad Marshall, Gino Padula (Paul Gerstenberger 75), Eddie Gaven (Alex Grendi 75), Brian Carroll, Emmanuel Ekpo, Robbie Rogers, Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Pat Noonan 70), Alejandro Moreno (Jason Garey 70)

Update: Fancy moving pictures of the game…woo!

Crew finish Florida friendlies on a winning streak

Matt — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:29:39 +0000

In their continuing efforts to prepare for the upcoming MLS season, the Crew were victorious in two 60-minute matches against local colleges Wednesday. The Black and Gold beat the University of Tampa 2-0 and the University of Central Florida 6-0 respectively. Robert Warzycha looked to solidify his starting line up, as most of the same starters for the Crew’s 2-0 victory over the US U20 team also started against Tampa. This week saw many of the Crew players who were on international duty make their training camp debuts, including Alejandro Moreno back from his time with the Venezuelan National Team and Robbie rogers returning from his duties with the USMNT. Midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo got the first goal of the match against Tampa in the 11th minute and Robbie Rogers got the assist. Brian Carroll got the other goal of the day in the 46th minute unassisted.
Crew Lineup
Kenny Schoeni, Jed Zayner, Danny O’Rourke, Chad Marshall, Gino Padula, Eddie Gaven, Emmanuel Ekpo, Brian Carroll, Robbie Rogers, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Alejandro Moreno

The Crew’s second match of the day saw them unleash six goals against an unsuspected University of Central Florida squad. This match featured a completely different line-up than the first game. Pat Noonan, Kevin Burns, Duncan Oughton, Ty Shipalane, Jordan Seabrook, and Jason Garey all added goals for the Crew. Andy Gruenebaum, the Crew’s backup keeper, was also back on the pitch after picking up an injury the week before.
Crew Lineup
Andy Gruenebaum, Chris Clements, Anthony Peters, Andy Iro, Alex Grendi, Steven Lenhart (Ty Shipalane 45), Kevin Burns, Duncan Oughton, Cory Elenio (Jordan Seabrook 30), Jason Garey, Pat Noonan

The Crew will be traveling back to Columbus today for a few more days of training before shipping off to jolly ole England to take on a few EPL reserve teams, including the Everton reserves.