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Crew breaks out in rout of Wizards

Jun 15, 2008 - 3:27 AM By Marc Bowman PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Ticker) -- The Columbus Crew broke a month-long scoreless streak early in a 3-0 win over the Kansas City Wizards Saturday night.

Alejandro Moreno scored two goals and Chad Marshall added one as the Crew won for the first time since a 3-2 win against the Earthquake in San Jose on May 10.

Columbus had been outscored, 5-0, over four games since then before Chad Marshall scored his first goal of the season in the third minute.

"When you put yourself behind the eight ball three minutes in, what can you do?" asked Wizards coach Curt Onalfo. "It was a game we absolutely (gave) away. We couldn't have put ourselves in a worse situation, especially after being away for long and especially in front of a sellout crowd."

Off a corner kick by Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Marshall headed the ball past Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman into the left side of the net from five yards out.

"It was a nice opportunity on the road," Marshall said. "Getting the goal early gets you feeling confident, but we knew we couldn't rest on that. They're an offensive team so we wanted to keep playing the same way. It was just a great ball by Guillermo."

Columbus took a 2-0 lead into halftime after Danny O'Rourke's long crossing pass found an unguarded Moreno, who lifted an 18-yard left-footed chip shot over Hartman as he came out to challenge.

"I was trying to peel off the defender and I got a great ball," Moreno said. "As soon as I peeled off and saw the quality of the ball (from O'Rourke), I saw Hartman coming out and I decided to see if I could get it over him."

"That goal was me trying to do too much," Hartman said. "This game was a letdown on a number of different fronts. We had a bunch of miscues."

Moreno added a second goal, his sixth of the year, on a breakaway with a left-footed blast from 20 yards out in the 67th minute.

"I was following the play and the ball was deflected back to me, so I decided to take a shot," Moreno said. "We hadn't scored for a month or so. Now we're back on it. We played a little more consistently. We're capable of getting results, whether at home or on the road."

"(The goals) were definitely important," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said. "He has six goals in 12 games. I've said he is the kind of forward who can score 10 to 15 goals and he's right on pace. He's sort of a focal point in the attack. I told him, 'It's time to make a couple of deposits in the bank,' and he did."

Goalkeeper Will Hesmer completed his fourth shutout of the season for the Crew, although he was hardly tested by the Wizards, who didn't get off a shot until the 39th minute and took just three shots in the first half. Hesmer was called on for two saves in the match.

Columbus (7-4-1) snapped a four-game winless streak and climbed into second place in the MLS Eastern standings with 22 points. The Crew have three victories and one tie in six road matches.

"This was obviously an important win for us," Schmid said. "A lot of people were becoming concerned. Not us, but a lot of people. We've run into a lot of hot keepers, so getting that first goal was huge."

The Wizards (3-5-3) returned home for the first time in more than two months, going 1-3-2 since a scoreless tie against Houston on April 12.

Kansas City remained last in the Eastern standings with 12 points and have scored just four goals in its last eight matches.

"Columbus stayed so physical," Wizards forward Scot Sealy said. "We just didn't show up. It was 3-0 and that's what you get when you don't show up. We had a good game plan going and just couldn't execute."