or allow a goal -- on the season, but that all changed quickly. In just the eighth minute, Columbus took the lead. From a turnover, Joseph Ngwenya received the ball on the right, and picked out Ricardo Virtuoso in the area. He calmly laid a square pass to Ned Grabavoy and he hit for the Crew's first goal on the campaign as his shot took a deflection on its way to goal.
• But the Revolution pulled level just two minutes later. A nifty passing sequence between Andy Cristman and midfielder Andy Dorman saw Dorman collect pass in the heart of the penalty area and he drove it home, claiming honors as the first man to beat Crew 'keeper Andy Gruenebaum this season.
• The Revolution took the lead seven minutes before the break. Taylor Twellman intercepted the ball near the center circle and went haring forward unmolested, letting fly from 25 yards out with a shot that beat Gruenebaum inside his right-hand post. It was the third goal of the season for Twellman, who hit for a double just five days prior in a 4-0 rout of Toronto FC.
• But the Crew showed resiliency, getting the equalizer four minutes from the end. Brad Evans freed Frankie Hejduk on the right flank and after getting to the corner his rolling cross slipped under the boot of a Revolution defender. Kei Kamara was on the other end and he hammered his shot off the underside of the bar into the goal to give the Crew a third draw in as many matches on the season.
• Crew head coach Sigi Schmid made one change to the team that drew 0-0 with the New York Red Bulls the weekend before. Ricardo Virtuoso made his 2007 debut, coming into attack alongside Andy Herron in place of Jason Garey.
• Here's Schmid's team (4-4-2): Andy Gruenebaum - Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Ezra Hendrickson, Rusty Pierce - Joseph Ngwenya (Kei Kamara 69), Ned Grabavoy, Danny O'Rourke, Eddie Gaven - Andy Herron, Ricardo Virtuoso (Brad Evans 62). Substitutes Not Used: Bill Gaudette, Stefani Miglioranzi, Brandon Moss, Duncan Oughton, Tim Ward
• "It was nice to get some goals -- disappointing to give up some, but still nice to get some goals," said Crew coach Sigi Schmid. "It was definitely an exciting game."
TEAM NEWS
• Schmid was pleased with the Crew attack against New England, especially with the addition of Virtuoso.
• "Right now I am not disappointed in our team -- I think we played well. You saw that Ricardo added something to our game when he came on; it would be nice to have Jacob Thomas out there," Schmid said. "Otherwise I think we created a lot of chances in the first half, and chances in the last 20-25 minutes. So yeah, we deserved at least an equalizer, if not more."
• However, on Tuesday night, the Crew were again held scoreless, losing to the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 in the first-round play-in game in the U.S. Open Cup at Crew Stadium. Nate Jaqua scored the game's only goal, tapping in a rolling cross from Landon Donovan in the 17th minute.
• Schmid took the opportunity to give a first start to seven players. Here's his team: Bill Gaudette (Andy Gruenebaum 34), Brandon Moss, Marcos Gonzalez, Stefani Miglioranzi, Tim Ward, Danny Szetela, Danny O'Rourke, Duncan Oughton (Ned Grabavoy 73), Eddie Gaven (Kei Kamara 60), Andy Herron, Robbie Rogers (Joseph Ngwenya 63). Substitutes Not Used: Brad Evans, Frankie Hejduk, Rusty Pierce
• "We're playing four games in 14 days," Schmid said. "Frankie [Hejduk] is coming back from an ACL, so do we push him and risk him suffering a setback? Probably not. Rusty Pierce has had an injury history so we rested him. Same with Ricardo [Virtuoso], and if we want some of these guys on the field the next few games they need a break. We thought some of the guys have been playing well in training and they deserved a chance to go out there and play."
• Schmid felt his team held the advantage in the run of play, but couldn't find the equalizer. "If you look at possession and holding onto the ball, I thought we did a good job. Obviously we got caught on the one run where Landon made to the goal -- all the other chances the Galaxy got came in the last 15 minutes when we were pushing forward," he said.
• Goalkeeper Bill Gaudette took a knock just before the Galaxy goal, and was forced to come off after just 34 minutes. Andy Gruenebaum - who had two shutouts in the first three games - came in and held the Galaxy goalless the rest of the way.
• "He's on top of his game right now," said Crew captain Duncan Oughton. "He's doing a good job. He's really taken his chance and stepped up. It's been great team defending, plus Andy's doing a good job, he's in the right place making good saves and really getting his confidence."
• On Wednesday, Andy Herron was suspended four games for the incident with Revolution defender Jay Heaps. While the officials on the field did not see Herron's blow to Heaps, in such a case, the MLS Disciplinary committee will review the video evidence and may impose discipline. Having reviewed the video evidence, in the judgment of the committee, the elbow by Herron to Heaps was a deliberate and dangerous act, committed away from any play on the ball.
D.C. UNITED
D.C. United lost for the second time in as many games in their last outing, a 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Wizards in their RFK Stadium debut two weekends ago. United are tied with Toronto FC at the foot of the Eastern Conference table with no points, now seven points adrift of the division leaders, Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls.
LAST MATCH
• United were making their home debut while the Wizards were opening their 2007 campaign after sitting out the opening weekend of the season.
• But the Wizards had a two-goal lead after just eight minutes in a wild opening half that saw five goals scored. A long ball was flicked on into the left corner and rookie Michael Harrington ran onto it. After Facundo Erpen fell on the wet turf, Harrington rounded the fallen United defender and hammered a low drive inside the near post to give Kansas City a lead after just three minutes. It was the earliest goal in league history scored by a player making his MLS debut.
• Then five minutes later the Wizards doubled the lead. Scott Sealy chased down a ball on the left and sent in a low cross that Eddie Johnson corralled in the heart of the area. Instead of shooting, he pushed the ball to his right where Sasha Victorine came rushing in to send the ball crashing into the top of the goal.
• Yet United pulled a goal within three minutes. Erpen sent a long ball forward to the K.C. penalty area, where Luciano Emilio was inexplicably left completely alone behind the Wizards defense. The Brazilian striker brought the ball under control and hooked a quick shot home.
• United drew level in the 34th minute. The Black-and-Red won a free kick well out from goal, and Christian Gomez sent a drive past the wall. But it skipped off the wet turf and Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman somehow saw it bound off his chest and into the goal to make the score 2-2.
• But just before the half, Kansas City again nosed in front, again thanks to a defensive lapse. A poor ball out of the back was deflected and picked off by Johnson, who out-raced the United defense into the penalty area before ripping a low drive past D.C. goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
• After the break, the Wizards put the game away. Again Johnson was the instigator, running onto a long ball from Victorine and sending a drive on goal. Perkins was able to parry the attempt, but Sealy came racing in to put the rebound home, sealing a victory for head coach Curt Onalfo in his first match in charge in the stadium he used to call home.
• United head coach Tom Soehn made two changes to the team that lost 2-1 to the Colorado Rapids in the MLS season opener at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. They were both in the wide midfield roles: Josh Gros returning from suspension to come in on the left while Devon McTavish started on the right, in place of Stephen deRoux and Justin Moose respectively.
• Here's Soehn's team (3-4-1-2): Troy Perkins - Facundo Erpen (Fred 46), Bobby Boswell, Bryan Namoff - Devon McTavish, Brian Carroll, Ben Olsen, Josh Gros - Christian Gomez - Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno. Subs Not Used: Kasali Yinka Casal, Stephen deRoux, Justin Moose, Jay Nolly, Jamil Walker, John Wilson
• "As a whole, I think we're a little bit busy reading all the predictions of how well we're doing and hearing how good of a team we are," Soehn said. "And then we forget about all the little things that make you a good team - how hard you work, how clean you are with the ball, your reactions."
TEAM NEWS
• Since the loss, much of the conversation has focused on whether United will change from their traditional 3-5-2 system, put in a couple of years ago with Peter Nowak took over as head coach.
• "I think we're just getting caught up in the attack," said goalkeeper Mark Simpson. "A lot of times we've looked on video where the [other team] wins the ball and one pass beats six or seven guys. It just can't happen like that. The natural tendency for the backs is to drop and delay, so now you're giving them even more space. We just need to get everybody on the same page in terms of team defending."
• The coaching staff faced a similar dilemma a year ago when trying to balance Freddy Adu's attacking flair with his defensive limitations. The situation led to a hybrid 4-3-3 formation that gave Adu license to range forward down the left flank, while giving the energetic Gros more of a right back role when United was defending.
• "Maybe it's the solution right now, because we lost two games," said Facundo Erpen. "Maybe for a win and some confidence, we can play with four. But if you play with four, you have to train it. All the time, we play with three in the back - for three or four years, D.C. United [has] played with three in the back."
• There was a change at halftime when Fred came on for Erpen and Devon McTavish went to the back.
• "I don't know if we should tweak the formation or what, but [Fred] is a dangerous player when he gets the ball and he's running at people," said Josh Gros. "I feel I'm more comfortable playing defensive. Maybe we can work something out where he's more attacking and I'm more defending. But they still want me to get forward too, so it's not easy figuring out when to go and when to stay."
• Said Soehn: "We're going to continue to look for ways to get [Fred] on the field as he continues to understand what we're about. He added life and he added energy, and we're going to look for a way that he best suits us to get him on the field."
• For the first time in team history, United will wear maroon jerseys, in honor of the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy. The goalkeepers will be dressed in orange, the other school color for the Hokies. The jerseys will be auctioned off on the club website, www.dcunited.com, and the proceeds will be donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, a university charity benefiting victims and their families. The jerseys will also feature a Virginia Tech logo on the chest.
