Despite loss, Crew look forward to title defense
Columbus drops final regular season match to Revolution, RSL up next
Related
- Shorthanded Crew fall to playoff-bound Revs
- MLS Cup Playoff standings
- Highlights: NE 1, CLB 0
Watch
- Relive with VW Game Nav
His teammates were feeling the same way after falling in a 1-0 loss that dampened the postgame celebration for winning a second consecutive Supporters' Shield.
"We wanted to play well and get a win and have a better feeling, especially accepting the Supporters' Shield award," midfielder Brian Carroll said. "I thought we fought. We tried to win the game. It just didn't work out tonight. It was still special to celebrate the Supporters' Shield with the fans and win it two years in a row but now it's over and every team is on an even field going into the playoffs."
Columbus had nothing on the line in the match other than determining its first-round opponent in the playoffs that start this weekend. A win and Colorado would have been the team. Instead the Crew will open on the road against Real Salt Lake.
 |
It was an entirely different matter for the Revolution. They had to at least tie to qualify for the final postseason spot and knock Colorado out.
Jeff Larentowicz assured the result when he scored a 22-yard free kick in the 79th minute against third-string goalkeeper Kenny Schoeni in his MLS debut.
"I'm pretty disappointed we lost the game, especially giving up a goal at the end of the match," Schoeni said. "I feel like I could have done better with it. It was a very well struck shot. He hit it clean. He hit it hard. If I had been a little more to the left I would have had a cleaner read on it. I was a little slow to react. From the moment he struck it I lost it for a fraction of a second. I was a little slow to react but he hit it well."
He found out 45 minutes before the game that Hesmer was being pulled from the starting lineup because of flu-like symptoms.
"Friday after training I felt weak and pretty much slept all day on Saturday," Hesmer said. "I fully planned on playing but when I went out (for warmups) I felt terrible. I felt really weak and really tired. Bobby made the decision that it wasn't worth it. He said, 'Let's get you ready for next week.' If you go out there weak and tired you not only hurt your team but you might get injured."
Hesmer played 19 matches this season despite missing two months because of injuries. His backup, Andy Gruenebaum, appeared in appeared in 10 games but underwent season-ending hip surgery in September. Schoeni was brought back from Miami FC of the USL First Division where he had a 1-4-2 record and a 1.57 goals-against average. He was on the Crew's developmental roster in 2008.
Schoeni said he was no more nervous than any other match.
"This year I played plenty of games with Miami," he said. "I played at Portland and there were 13,000 fans there. It wasn't that big a deal but it was still nice because when you train with everyone it's practice and when it's a game it's more real and you're contributing directly to the team."
He made four saves but couldn't prevent a second consecutive loss for the Crew.
Columbus (13-7-10) starts defense of its title on a slide. It has lost three of four, scoring one goal. The Crew have also been blanked in two consecutive home games after a 24-game unbeaten streak in Crew Stadium.
Hesmer was not the only regular missing. Injured defenders Chad Marshall and Danny O'Rourke did not play and midfielder Eddie Gaven entered in the 77th minute.
"Obviously you don't want to lose the game. It's not like we're playing bad in those games," coach Robert Warzycha said. "Sometimes it's tough to score the goal, especially at the end of the season when teams have to play harder. They feel like they have to win the game, it disrupts or rhythm. Sometimes we can't find that rhythm in the game.
"We are missing some key players, first of all. Second, they played some long balls trying to win the second ball. Obviously, the goal that they scored was very nice."
Warzycha feels the Crew are still in good shape going into the playoffs.
"If you lose a game you can also learn from it," he said. "For example, today we found out if we're not going to play as hard as we're capable to play, the game is going to slip away. If we don't finish our chances then the game can slip away. We have to be sharper in the box."
That will get major attention in practice.
"We need to work hard this week and improve on a few things and prepare for the environment in Salt Lake because they're a very good team at home and it's a tough place to play," Carroll said.
The teams split this season. RSL won 4-1 at home on April 2 while the Crew returned the favor July 18 in Columbus with a 3-1 win.
Warzycha said the Crew were not trying to influence who they would face by the lineup he fielded.
"Coming in I said we have to respect the game and play it the way it should be played because it was easy to throw the game away. I don't think we threw the game away. New England wanted it more and they scored a beautiful free kick," he said. "It's not like we're trying to help somebody or punish somebody. We were trying to play our best game but you know what? New England was better today."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com
