Crew Fall In First Round, Real Move On

The Columbus Crew season has ended after a 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake in what maybe the biggest upset in MLS Cup 2009. 10,109 Crew supporters came to see their black and gold move onto the next round of the MLS playoffs, but will be unable to defend their MLS Cup from a year ago. The Crew finishes the year with a regular season record of 12-7-10 and for the second year in a row won the Supporter's Shield, which goes to the club with the best record at the end of the year.

"I am proud of the team," head coach Robert Warzycha exclaimed after the match. "Sometimes the better team does not win, but that is the sport."

Columbus came into Thursday night's match behind the ball, literally, as they lost the first leg of the playoffs last week in Utah, 1-0. The Crew set up their defensive forces in the first leg of the series, but left their player with the most goals for the club, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, on the bench. Now they needed to outscore Real to move on to the next phase of the playoffs.

The Crew looked right off the bat to get that goal needed to equal the series. Within the first four minutes, the Crew had a corner and possession in the attacking half, but could not register a shot on goal. Head Coach Robert Warzycha had his big attacking players in his starting 11 that were not in the first leg, including Alejandro Moreno and Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the Crew's leading goal scorer for the 2009 campaign.

Will Hesmer came up big in the early going when Real Salt Lake's Javier Morales fed a streaking Andy Williams into the box, had Hesmer in a one-on-one, but Hesmer stuck his right foot out and was able to clear the ball away, despite getting Williams' cleats drown Hesmer's leg. RSL seemed to have fun and games on the night, when the Nordeke greeted Javier Morales with loud boos when he took a corner on the northeast side of the stadium. Morales put his hand up to his ear antagonizing the crowd.

Crew got their chances going again in the 19th minute when Alejandro Moreno was fouled as he made a run down the left wing. He was tripped up by RSL defender Jamison and Schelotto asked for a card after referee Baldomero Toledo called the foul. On the ensuing free kick, Schelotto put a rocket towards the goal from 45 yards out, took one bounce around the penalty spot and beat a diving RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando to his left side. Defender Eric Brunner went up for the ball, but never touched, giving Schelotto the unassisted free kick goal. The playoff leg was tied, 1-1.

The game went back and forth from that point, until Schelotto was a key part of the Crew's second goal of the night. Schelotto stopped a pass from Robbie Russell. The ball bounced off Schelotto's boot to the Crew's Emmanuel Ekpo's head, back to Schelotto who dribbled the ball with his right foot down the 18 yard box line, ripped a shot that beat Rimando, again to the goalie's left. Crew led 2-1 in the game and in the series just 35 minutes into the match.

But RSL were not going to lie down as they equaled the series when Morales put a shot just under Hesmer's left hand, after he received a pass from US international, Kyle Beckerman. Again RSL was able to create chances after beating the back line of the Crew with their goal in the 37th minute. RSL took the lead in the series before the teams headed into the locker rooms as Frankie Hejduk took down RSL's Fabian Espindola in the box as the forward was looking to get the ball from a RSL free kick. Hejduk brought him down with nobody around him and made it apparent for Toledo to call the pk. Michael Findley took his second ever pk and made it count as the forward beat Hesmer to the goalie's right as the keeper guessed wrong and dove the wrong way, 2-2 at the half and the crew needed to hold off RSL if they were to make it to the next round of the MLS Cup.

"We just knew all around the field that it was not over," Findley said. "We wanted to play here like we play at home, and that's what we were able to do."

The Crew needed to get off to a hot start in the second half and almost broke through five minutes in the half. Schelotto put another long free kick into the box, but this time defender Eric Brunner put a head on it but Rimando came away with a one handed save to keep RSL on top of the match and series. The Crew were unlucky not to get a pk after RSL's Wiliiams cleared a ball that was centered in, but as he kicked it, the ball nicked off his hand, but no call was given.

"He made some fantastic saves again tonight," Real head coach Jason Kries said after the match. "This time of year its about players making plays."

57th minute Schelotto had a free kick in the edge of the penalty box that hit off the wall and Gino Padula got the rebound but put the ball well wide. The Crew thought they had gotten their penalty just a minute later when Alejandro Moreno dribbled the ball into the box and was brought down by a RSL defender. Toledo called Moreno for diving and gave him a yellow, however on review; Moreno did receive studs to his shin and the foul looked genuine.

"These guys deserve a fair game and judgment from the referee," Crew head coach Warzycha said after the match. "He didn't have a good day."

64th minute and Crew were still down, as Robbie Rogers was subbed in for Ekpo looking for that offensive spark, then 10 minutes later brought in Steven Lenhart for Hejduk, but that did not help as RSL put the nail in the coffin as Williams took the pass from a short corner and put the crossing ball through RSL's Kyle Beckerman's legs and beat a diving Will Hesmer. Hesmer admitted to not seeing the ball after the match, but nobody on either side knew the ball was not touched in the box. The Crew were down 3-2 in the match and looked to have an even more insurmountable playoff deficit.