Final
Crew-Earthquakes Preview
Aug 7, 2009 - 5:36 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior WriterColumbus (8-3-9) at San Jose (4-10-5), 8:30 p.m. EDT
When the Columbus Crew learned they would be without their top two scorers three weeks ago, there was cause for concern. Jason Garey and Steven Lenhart have helped erase them.
The Crew look to notch their fourth straight victory with their backup strikers in the lineup when they play the San Jose Earthquakes at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on Saturday night.
Columbus (8-3-9) was without reigning MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno on July 18, with Garey and Lenhart replacing them. The Crew responded with a 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake as Garey scored twice and Lenhart added a goal and an assist.
Garey and Lenhart each scored a week later in a 3-2 win over Toronto, but neither found the back of the net last week at Colorado. Chad Marshall was the lone scorer in a 1-0 victory.
"The sign of a good team is if you have a few players scoring the goals and not the same player," Columbus coach Robert Warzycha said. "Because if that player gets injured, what are you going to do?
"The two players that are injured and before tonight, Steven Lenhart and Jason Garey, scored five of our six goals. Today it was Marshall's turn."
Schelotto is expected to miss his fourth straight game with a groin injury while Moreno returned as a substitute against the Rapids. It appears Warzycha will stick with Garey, whose four goals are second on the team to Schelotto's 10, and Lenhart up front.
The Crew lead the Eastern Conference by one point over Chicago, and will try to improve upon their 2-3-5 road record. The defending MLS Cup champions will be doing it in front of a large crowd at Candlestick since this match precedes an exhibition contest between FC Barcelona and Chivas de Guadalajara.
San Jose (4-10-5) should be buoyed by the big crowd after ending its four-match winless streak with a 4-0 win over expansion Seattle last Sunday.
Darren Huckerby, Cornell Glen and Chris Wondolowski scored second-half goals for San Jose, which notched its first shutout of the season. The Earthquakes have 17 points for the second-lowest total in MLS.
"It's only one win, but it's nice to beat a decent team, and we were the better team all the way through and deserved it," Huckerby said. "We created a lot chances and pushed on top of their defense most of the game. We look forward to another important game next week."
San Jose fell 2-1 on May 27 at Columbus despite scoring first on Ryan Johnson's goal in the 23rd minute. Schelotto and Eddie Gaven responded with the Crew's goals.
This will be the third home site the Earthquakes have used for a league match. In addition to playing most of their games at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, they played Los Angeles twice in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
- MLS UPDATE
COLUMBUS 3
SAN JOSE 0 FINAL
Aug 8 10:26 PM - MLS UPDATE
COLUMBUS 3
SAN JOSE 0 0:00 LEFT, 2ND HALF
Aug 8 10:25 PM - MLS UPDATE
COLUMBUS 3
SAN JOSE 0
COLUMBUS GOAL: Adam Moffat in the 87th minute
Crew 3, Earthquakes 0 87'Aug 8 10:19 PM - MLS UPDATE
COLUMBUS 2
SAN JOSE 0
COLUMBUS GOAL: Robbie Rogers in the 73rd minute
Crew 2, Earthquakes 0 73'Aug 8 10:06 PM - MLS UPDATE
COLUMBUS 1
SAN JOSE 0
COLUMBUS GOAL: Alejandro Moreno in the 69th minute
Crew 1, Earthquakes 0 69'Aug 8 10:02 PM - MLS UPDATE
COLUMBUS 0
SAN JOSE 0 HALFTIME
Aug 8 9:23 PM
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