BRADENTON, Florida - The Columbus Crew was defeated by the Chicago Fire 3-2 this morning in its second match of the 2008 preseason. Robbie Rogers scored for the Crew in the first half and Eddie Gaven tallied in the second.
Chicago notched the first goal of the day in the 14th minute when Justin Mapp fed Chris Rolfe for a goal to give Chicago the early lead. The Black & Gold answered in the 26th when Chad Marshall's pass hit Robbie Rogers in space, who then found the back of the net to even the score.
Chicago responded with a pair of goals over the next several minutes, both by Tomasz Frankowski. Frankowski's first tally came in the 28th, thanks to assists by Chris Rolfe and Diego Gutierrez. His second came just two minutes later off an assist from Justin Mapp, ending the first half scoring for both teams.
The Crew came out for the second half with a completely new line-up and responded well, registering a goal in the 50th minute by Eddie Gaven, with the assist credited to Jed Zayner. The Crew would continue to have the better of play in the second half, but was unable to notch the equalizing goal.
The Crew will again take the pitch for a preseason scrimmage tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 14), as it takes on the U.S. Under-17 National Team at 9:30 a.m. Columbus will wrap up its Florida preseason match schedule on Saturday, Feb. 16 when it takes on the University of South Florida. Both matches will take place at IMG Academies in Bradenton.
Columbus Crew vs. Chicago Fire (Scrimmage)
February 13, 2008 - IMG Academies (Bradenton, Florida)
Scoring Summary:
CHI - Chris Rolfe (Justin Mapp) 14
CLB - Robbie Rogers (Chad Marshall) 26
CHI - Tomasz Frankowski (Chris Rolfe, Diego Gutierrez) 28
CLB - Eddie Gaven (Jed Zayner) 50
Crew Lineups
First Half:
Will Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Chad Marshall, Danny O'Rourke, Sandro Jose, Lars Ricken, Brian Carroll, Roman Friedli, Robbie Rogers, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Alejandro Moreno
Second Half:
Andy Gruenebaum, Jed Zayner, Ezra Hendrickson, Andy Iro, Leonard Griffin, Brad Evans, Duncan Oughton, Stefani Miglioranzi, Eddie Gaven, Guilherme So, Emmanuel Ekpo
