The Columbus Crew couldn't hold a lead for the second consecutive home match and saw their winless streak stretched to five games following a 1-1 tie with the Colorado Rapids at Crew Stadium on Saturday.
Conor Casey took an over-the-top pass from Pablo Mastroeni and outmuscled Crew defender Danny O'Rourke to score the equalizer in the 82nd minute for his fourth goal. Guillermo Barros Schelotto had his third for the Crew in the 41st minute.
Columbus (0-2-3) is off to the worst start for a defending MLS champion but extended its home unbeaten streak to 13 (9-0-4). It began with a 2-1 win over Colorado last June 28. Columbus also gave up a late goal in a 1-1 tie with Toronto FC on March 28 in its home opener.
The only other time Columbus started the season without a win in five games was a 0-3-2 mark in 2004 before going onto win the Supporters' Shield.
Colorado improved to 2-1-1 thanks to Casey, who had three goals in the Rapids' win against the Los Angeles Galaxy last week.
Still, the Crew came within inches of a dramatic win in the last seconds of stoppage time when substitute forward Steven Lenhart took a long ball out of the back from Jed Zayner only to put a header from four yards barely over the crossbar to end a frustrating match for the home side.
The Crew used a revamped lineup because so many regulars were missing but still had Schelotto, the reigning league MVP, and he put Columbus into the lead four minutes before the halftime break.
Emmanuel Ekpo, making his first start on the left flank after four games in the middle, took a chip from defender Gino Padula and dribbled toward the left end line before sending a sharp ball to the penalty spot where Schelotto made a sliding, left-footed strike that reached the upper right corner for his third goal.
Columbus limped into its final match before a bye week with six players injured and a red-card suspension of center back Andy Iro.
Also absent were defenders Frankie Hejduk (hamstring) and Chad Marshall (headaches); midfielders Robbie Rogers (hamstring strain) and Cory Elenio (hamstring strain) and forwards Jason Garey (sprained ankle) and Pat Noonan (herniated disc). The Crew had only 17 healthy players so coach Robert Warzycha listed Noonan on the game sheet to fill out the roster even though he has not practiced for a month.
Eric Brunner, from the Columbus suburb of Dublin and Ohio State, made his MLS debut in place of Marshall in the middle of the back four while Zayner made his fifth career start for Hejduk at right back.
Even though Brunner and Marshall are both 6-foot-4, the Crew missed Marshall's dominance in the air and experience on set pieces. The Crew could not convert on eight corner kicks.
Central midfielder Adam Moffat made his first appearance for the Crew since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear nearly 11 months ago. His eighth career start enabled Ekpo to move wide and the change paid off on Schelotto's goal. Duncan Oughton substituted for Moffat in the 67th minute.
Rapids coach Gary Smith made only one change from the last MLS match by inserting Ty Harden for Kosuke Kimura on the backline. However, Harden left with a possible right hamstring injury and was replaced by Scott Palguta in the 17th minute.
Colorado played on the road for the third time in four matches, just as the Crew did when they lost at Chivas USA on Sunday. The Rapids defeated Los Angeles at The Home Depot Center in their previous league outing and also downed the Galaxy on Tuesday in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match. The Rapids finish their trip with an April 19 match at Houston.
Rapids defender Cory Gibbs received the game's first caution in the 26th minute when he tackled Alejandro Moreno after a give-and-go with Schelotto. The foul almost proved costly but Schelotto's bending 28-yard free kick from left of the arc hit the crossbar.
Ekpo was booked for a challenge on Ugo Ihemelu two minutes later. A second Colorado card went to Palguta for a hard foul on Schelotto in the 68th minute.
Colorado didn't have forays into the Crew penalty area until Colin Clark lifted an off-target shot in the 32nd minute, one of three first-half shots compared to seven for Columbus. The Crew had two of the three on goal.
Colorado had a prime opportunity in the 51st minute when Omar Cummings forced a turnover from Brunner at the top of the penalty area. Cummings got free and sent a ball across the goal area to a wide open Casey, only to see the pass go behind his teammate.
The Crew responded in the 57th with an Eddie Gaven drive from 25 yards that goalkeeper Preston Burpo made a diving save to his right as the ball headed for the left netting. The stop proved critical and the Rapids were able to take a valuable point on the road.
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
