KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- After his red card Saturday forced his team to play a man down in the first leg of its Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, Herculez Gomez could have avoided the situation entirely. Instead, he owned up to his mistake and tried to move forward, even after his Kansas City Wizards ended in a 1-1 tie with the Columbus Crew.
For the remaining 15 minutes after Gomez's ejection, his teammates held off the top-seeded Crew and kept Kansas City's one-goal lead. But then substitute Steven Lenhart tied the match, and the series, with a goal two minutes into stoppage time.
Gomez didn't see any of it as he sat in the locker room likely contemplating the foul -- a sweeping tackle on Crew left back Gino Padula in the 75th minute -- that had sent him there.
But when reporters surrounded him afterwards, Gomez didn't duck.
"The ball got loose. I tried to make a play on it, and just really put my team in a bad position regardless if it was a foul or not," he said with head down, speaking softly. "I put the referee in a position where he had to make a tough call. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way. I'm extremely disappointed for the position I put my team in. I definitely let my team down. I can't blame the referee, he called what he saw."
As he has been since he joined Kansas City on Sept. 3, Gomez posed a significant threat on the right flank as Kansas City looked to head into the second leg this Saturday in Columbus with a lead in the aggregate-goals series. Now, the Wizards will need a win in Columbus to reach the Eastern Conference Championship, and they will have to do it without Gomez.
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"Certainly it's a big loss. He's been an excellent player for us. He's been a constant threat on [the right side] of the field, but every team has to deal with that kind of stuff," said Onalfo. "We'll find a way. We have plenty of other good players who can step in and do a good job."
"I have tons of faith in what we've done as a team lately and what we continue to do," Gomez said when asked if he was confident his teammates could pull out a win at Crew Stadium.
Who will take the place of the former MLS Cup champion (with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005) in the starting XI in Columbus is unclear. Roger Espinoza could step into the starting lineup, as could Josh Wolff, who played the final 21 minutes at forward despite being all but ruled out of the postseason earlier due to a fibular stress reaction. If Wolff comes in, designated player Claudio Lopez would likely be switched to wide midfield. No matter how Onalfo rearranges his lineup, Gomez will be missed.
"It's going to affect the team. He's been a big part of things since he's been here, but we're not for a second going to put our heads down," said center midfielder Davy Arnaud, who scored the Wizards' goal in the 53rd minute off a Lopez assist. "We've got a game to still go and play and go win and that's our mindset."
"Whether it's cheerleader or pushing the guys on the other side of the ball, pushing the starters, whatever they need, I'm going to try doing it," he said Saturday, looking up for the first time after the match.
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