Comeback Crew rally, relent

COLUMBUS -- For the second consecutive home match, the Columbus Crew fell behind by a pair of goals in the opening 25 minutes before rallying.

But unlike the July 5 match at Crew Stadium against Chicago, this time it was the visiting team that scored the late equalizer.

Josh Wolff netted a goal in the 75th minute in his season debut for Kansas City and the Wizards and Crew played to a wild 3-3 draw after the teams combined for five goals in a 16-minute stretch of the first half.

The Crew got a goal and two assists from Guillermo Barros Schelotto and scores from Chad Marshall and Alejandro Moreno but couldn't hold the lead, the first time in seven games this season they have not won when ahead at the half.

"It's good we came back, bad we're giving up the goals," Moreno said. "We've been an explosive team the whole year and we're going to score goals but what has made us successful is when we're united, we're making key tackles for each other at key moments and making good decisions at key moments in the game. Today it didn't seem like we did that. Obviously, we got punished. We're satisfied with what we do offensively but we know we can do better defensively. That comes from all of us, not just a few of us."

After falling behind on an own goal by Crew defender Frankie Hejduk when he headed the ball into his own net and a Roger Espinoza tally, Schelotto took over.

"When we were down 2-0 he played with a lot of energy," Crew coach Sigi Schmid.

After being fouled by Morsink, Schelotto lined up for the restart from 25 yards on the left side as the Wizards' wall tried to get settled. The referee's whistle blew and several K.C. players were caught still looking at goalkeeper Kevin Hartman for instructions when Schelotto laced the ball over the top and into the goal in the 26th minute.

"The referee said play, I play," was Schelotto's simple explanation.

It was his fourth goal but first that was not from the penalty spot.

In the 33rd minute, Schelotto took a ball in full stride from Robbie Rogers and dribbled into the left side of the area. He found Moreno on a near-post run. Moreno was tackled as he got a foot on the ball but still managed to get off a shot. Hartman dove and got to the ball but it looked to have already crossed the line; Moreno was still there to knock the rebound back into the goal.

"I was determined to run into space and (Schelotto) played a great ball," Moreno said.

Marshall gave the Crew a 3-2 lead in the 38th minute when he ran through the box and got his head on the end of the Schelotto service from the right corner. Schelotto said it was a play designed earlier in the week at practice.

Marshall has two goals this season and the other came during a 3-0 win at Kansas City on June 14.

"It's coincidence. Do we play them again this year?" he asked.

No. The Crew won the season series 2-0-1 but rued missing out on winning the third match.

"We felt like they stole points from us," Marshall said.

When Marshall was asked if he had ever been a part of such a wild first half he responded, "No, and I don't want to be again unless it's us going up 5-0. We showed a lot of character coming back. Last year, it would have been 'Here we go again.' We've got character players and we feel we're never out of a match, no matter the scoreline."

Two key plays turned a possible three points into a tie. The first was in the 55th minute when Hejduk made an overlapping run and took a ball from Emmanuel Ekpo on the right side for a clear breakaway, only to see Hartman make a save.

"If Frankie puts the breakaway away we put the game away at 4-2," Schmid said.

The other was when Danny O'Rourke tried to intercept a pass from Kurt Morsink but missed, setting up the opportunity for Jack Jewsbury on the right side to find Wolff for the tying marker.

"If he (O'Rourke) steps up he's got to make the play," Schmid said.

Still, Schmid found positives in the match.

"It was an entertaining game for the fans. We shouldn't have been down in the first half based on the way we played. It's disappointing we were down. If you score three goals you should win the game," he said. "The first 15-20 minutes we carried the game. We did a great job fighting back. We didn't need to give up that third goal in the second half. It was a missed opportunity to get three points tonight but at the same token, our play, I think there are more good things than bad things."