Crew Closes Series With 2-0 Win Over Wizards

Matt Bernhardt
November 8, 2008

Brad Evans gave the Crew an early lead, and Robbie Rogers provided the insurance tally in tonight's second leg against the Kansas City Wizards. The victory sets up an epic clash on Thursday night against former Crew idol Brian McBride and the Chicago Fire.

The game's first goal came early - in the 7th minute. Brian Carroll sent a looping pass over the Kansas City backline, allowing Brad Evans to run onto the ball and lob a shot over the onrushing Kevin Hartman. Credit for the goal should also go to Alejandro Moreno, whose run along the back line distracted the Wizards defenders just enough.

The Wizards almost leveled the match, and the series, in the 15th minute. Abe Thompson found himself with an easy tap-in at the Crew's back post, but he only managed to squib the ball into the turf - falling down in the process. In the ensuing confusion, William Hesmer was first to the ball, smothering the chance before Thompson could get off another shot.

The rest of the half was a largely toothless affair. Kansas City continued to try to catch the Crew on a counterattack, which usually broke down on the Crew defense. For their part Columbus attempted to play pretty soccer, but found their touch just wanting on several occasions.

Perhaps the Crew's best chance came in the 20th minute, as some nice interplace up the left wing resulted in Rogers cutting a pass back from the end line for Brad Evans. Evans' shot from a dozen yards was right at Hartman, however, who gobbled the ball.

Kansas City was only credited with two shots in the half, the second coming in stoppage time. In the melee after a Kansas City free kick, Jimmy Conrad struck a low drive from just outside the penalty area, but the ball missed the near post by two yards.

After the break, Columbus resumed their possession advantage but continued to have a hard time creating the final scoring chance. That is, until the 57th minute.

With almost an hour gone, Guillermo Barros Schelotto played a sublime ball through the Wizards back line to release Alejandro Moreno up the right flank. Just beating the offside trap, Moreno dribbled towards the near post before sending a low ball across for Robbie Rogers on the left side. Rogers' one-time shot beat Kevin Hartman to the near post, doubling the Crew advantage.

Immediately after the goal, Kansas City started making personnel changes. First up was Michael Kraus, who relieved Abe Thompson in the 59th minute. Veteran striker Josh Wolff came on in the 68th minute for Tyson Wahl as Curt Onalfo decided to roll the dice in search of their first goal of the game.

While the Wizards were making changes, referee Ricardo Salazar started earning the ire of Crew fans by calling fouls - and handing out cards - for fouls on Davy Arnaud. First up was Brad Evans, who earned a deserved caution for pulling on Arnaud as he tried to start a counterattack. Three minutes later, Robbie Rogers found his way into the referee's notebook for a slightly late clip on Arnaud in the left defensive channel.

The substitutions gave the Wizards more energy, but did not make them cohesive enough in the attack. While they were able to possess the ball deeper into the Crew's defensive half, they were still only able to get a single shot on goal in the second half. That shot, from Claudio Lopez, came in the 89th minute from a free kick. William Hesmer proved equal to the task, falling to his knees to smother the ball as it cleared the wall and dipped towards the goal line.

What It Means

Tonight's 2-0 victory gives the Crew a 3-1 aggregate victory over the Kansas City Wizards. It is the first playoff series success for Columbus since 2002, when the team fell in the Eastern Conference Finals to New England.

What Comes Next

The Crew will host the Eastern Conference Finals this Thursday night against the Chicago Fire. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM; the game will be televised on ESPN2.