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Rookie Steven Lenhart scored the opening goal but also drew a red card.

Crew 2, Rapids 0 -- (7/27) -- Columbus took the post-all star show on the road to Denver Sunday night and came away with only the second franchise win ever in the Rocky Mountain state. The Crew (9-5-4) climbed to 31 points, only two behind division leader New England, which was idle. The real star of the game was GK Wil Hesmer (along with the goal posts late in the match), but of most interest was rookie Steven Lenhart, who was making his first MLS start and scored the opener in the 21st minute, his third goal on the season. Lenhart also drew a red card at 43 minutes when he elbowed Fecundo Erpen to the ground after the two had battled most of the first half, forcing the Crew to play a man down for the remainder. The Crew then played it conservative for most of the second half, allowing Colorado a number of opportunities, all rejected by Hesmer, who had 7 saves on the night. Just when it seemed the Rapids might get an inevitable goal, Hesmer fired a downfield boot that made its way to a streaking Jason Garey, who deftly put the ball past Colorado keeper Bouna Coundoul for the 2-0 lead. Garey failed on another breakaway shortly thereafter, but Hesmer made several late saves to secure the 3 points. All-star Frankie Hejduk, who helped MLS to a 3-2 win over West Ham earlier in the week, drew a yellow card for the second league match in a row and therefor must sit for the next game. Next up is at Houston at 8:30 pm on Sat. 8/2. Without Hejduk and also Emmanuel Ekpo (Nigerian Olympic team), the Crew might be hoping for a draw on the road against the defending league champs.

Guillermo Barros Schelotto helped fight KC to a 3-3 draw.

Crew 3, Kansas City 3 -- (7/18) -- The 16,000 + announced fans (who knows the real number) who showed up on a steamy Thursday night at Crew Stadium were treated to a wild and wacky kiss your sister draw between Columbus and Kansas City. The game was broadcast nationally on ESPN and Crew Stadium certainly gave the proper rowdy aura of a soccer hotbed. The ESPN cameras were actually shaking in second half injury time from the incessant drumbeating as the Crew squandered some exciting but fruitless late opportunities.  Maybe, just maybe folks will now know that there is life in Cowtown beyond the Buckeyes! Former Buckeye Roger Espinoza netted his first MLS goal at 24 minutes in the first half to put the Wizards up 2-0. They had just taken the original lead when Crew defender Frankie Hejduk headed in an own goal to help the enemy. The game then took an even more frenetic pace as Crew star (and all-star snub) Guillermo Barros Schelotto essentially took over a large chunk of the game, the end of which saw the Crew on top 3-2 at the half. Schelotto hammered a free kick into the net not long after Espinoza's goal and then assisted on goals by Alejandro Moreno and Chad Marshall. The three goal comeback was accomplished in a mere 12 minutes. The second half was a different story, though, as KC started to take back control, culminating in a beautiful cross pass to Josh Wolff in front of the Crew net at 75 minutes. Wolff put the ball past GK Wil Hesmer for the tying goal, a fitting one for his return to MLS after playing in Europe with Munich 1860.  Columbus certainly had its chances for 3 points instead of one, but Frankie Hejduk missed on a big breakaway and Stephen Lenhart's goal was disallowed as he had collared KC defender Jimmy Conrad on the way in. The Crew also missed two late corner opportunities in stoppage time and had to settle for the one point tie, leaving Columbus still in second place at 8-5-4.

Real Salt Lake can celebrate their victory if not their field.

Real Salt Lake 2, Crew 0 -- (7/14) -- Okay, it's now clear that Columbus and Salt Lake City must have a superstitious, unhealthy and/or unholy connection. First, my good drinking buddy moves there and falls off the face of the earth. Next, Kosta Koufos leaves OSU prematurely and is drafted into the abyss of the Jazz. C'mon folks, that is the worst carryover name for a sports team next to the LA Lakers. There are NO lakes in LA, and there is NO jazz near the Mormon Tabernacle choir! Third, RSL plays in a cavernous college football stadium, just like we had to do for years. With this background, the Crew had to depart Cowtown to a city on the outskirts of the Bonneville salt flats (good racing there, actually) and play a team that is 5-0-5 in the most awful venue known to MLS since games were played in Ohio Stadium. Columbus must have forgotten about those confusing college football yardlines on the hard artificial "pitch" since surely the home of the Utah Utes at Rice Eccles Stadium confounded our hard working boys into a 2-0 defeat. "Real" Salt Lake (nothing royal about the place, and a cheap european rip-off name if you ask me) struck for a goal in the 4th minute and never looked back. Javier Morales scored the opener on a freak free kick that got past fan favorite D Frankie Hejduk in the "wall". Robbie Findlay put in the late one for the RSL win, stagnating the Crew at 8-5-3, still at 27 points and second place in the east, but the second most points in MLS overall. Real Salt Lake now leads the west at only 6-6-5 and 23 points. You can do the math on their road record. A Crew-like crowd of 12,378 attended and saw Columbus pour on the substitutes, using all available by the 70th minute. Rookie Emmanual Ekpo barfing at halftime did not help the sub situation, and even Guillermo Barros Schelotto came out of the match right before the second RSL goal. The Crew were held scoreless and had their four game unbeaten streak ended by a squad that has conceded  only two goals in its past seven games. Next Up --  This Thursday 7/17 on ESPN at home at Crew Stadium at 8pm against  Kansas City (5-5-5). 

Former Crew star Robert Warzycha took the coaching reins against Chicago.

Crew 2, Fire 2 (7/5) --  With head coach Sigi Schmid away at his stepdaughter's wedding, former Crew midfielder, coach and current assistant coach Robert Warzycha took the reins Saturday night at Crew Studium as the hard working boys fought back from an early 2 goal deficit to earn a tie and a point, remaining in second place in the east at 8-4-3 (27 points). The coaching switch was well-planned in advance and seemed to have no real effect on the match. Instead, it was the Crew's dubious defense on the field that led to the early Chicago onslaught, with Kettering, Ohio native and University of Dayton product Chris Rolfe scoring at 8 minutes off a goal post rebound into an undefended net. Rolfe then assisted on Calen Carr's 25th minute shot at 25 minutes for the Fire. Chicago had failed to win in its previous four games and had not scored in 333 minutes, so things started to look grim on what otherwise was a beautiful and energetic July weekend in Columbus. Despite being down 2-0 so quickly, new Nigerian standout Emmanuel Ekpo netted a goal just 11 minutes later to narrow the gap. Ekpo's chance came thanks to a stout play by midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto who passed to Ekpo, who in turn fired the ball into the top of the net past Chicago GK Jon Busch. In fact, it was only a great play by Busch minutes later that prevented a long range missile by Schelotto from tying the game while still in the first half, and Schelotto then kept up the barrage just afterwards on a nice corner that Robbie Rogers headed against the crossbar for a narrow miss. Columbus finally got the tying goal, which ultimately stuck for the draw and the point, off rookie reserve and substitute Stephen Lenhart at 87 minutes. Lenhart deflected the balland it may have struck the hand of Crew MF Stefani Miglioranzi, but there was no call and the goal counted, That is more than can be said for Alejandro Moreno's first half attempt that got past Busch and into the Chicago net but was nullified when Moreno was called for fouling the Chicago keeper. So the calls evened out, and a cheering crowd announced at 17,172 enjoyed the comeback and the point. The crowd was the largest one to date this season at Crew Stadium. Next up -- Sat. 7/12 at Real Salt Lake.

Tags: columbus crew, crew, mls, soccer