Josh Wolff returned to MLS and a venue where he had one of his most memorable matches. His tying goal in the 75th minute Thursday in his season debut for Kansas City came at the same north end of Crew Stadium where he scored a goal and assisted on another to lead the U.S. to a 2-0 World Cup qualifier win against Mexico.
The setting wasn't quite as dramatic this time around as the 29-degree February night in 2001, but seven years later Wolff showed that he still has the scoring touch as the Wizards and Crew played to a 3-3 draw before an ESPN audience on MLS Primetime Thursday.
"It's a good place for me. It's been pretty good for me over the years," Wolff said.
Wolff signed a four-year deal with the Wizards earlier this month after spending the past two seasons in Germany, where he scored two goals in 34 games for 1860 Munich. The U.S. international had 27 goals for Kansas City from 2003-06, including 10 each in the 2004 and '05 seasons.
Kansas City had just 14 goals in its first 15 matches so the addition of Wolff will be a boost to a team that now has two wins and three ties in its past five outings.
"We have a strong will to win and a lot of good things to build on," said Wizards coach Curt Onalfo. "We have to be smart and less naïve and know how to manage certain situations of the game. Having said that, it was a strange game."
Indeed. The teams combined for five goals in a 16-minute span of the first half with the Wizards scoring in the 22nd on an own goal by Crew defender Frankie Hejduk and Roger Espinoza's tally to make it 2-0 in the 24th. The Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored on a free kick in the 26th, set up Alejandro Moreno in the 33rd and served a corner kick for Chad Marshall to head home in the 38th to give Columbus a 3-2 lead heading into the break.
"Obviously, from the sidelines in the first half, it was an interesting first half," Wolff said. "We started amazing, got two good goals. They answered pretty quickly so the momentum wasn't sustained. To go down 3-2 after being up 2-0 was a bit of a slap in the face. We came out at halftime and I thought we pushed it pretty good. We had a lot of good possession the final third.
"We were on the bench saying, 'Whoa. What a great team, what a great start.' But that's soccer. It was an exciting game. It wasn't fluky goals. It wasn't garbage goals. From a spectator point it was great, for us it was disappointing going behind 3-2. We answered the bell at halftime and got some pretty good tempo."
Kansas City regrouped in the locker room and Onalfo changed his plan to play Wolff only 30 minutes and put him in at the start of the second half.
"The game dictated that," Onalfo said. "He played very, very well. We had an excellent first half and the fact we were up two goals and (gave) away the game, frankly, and not let that momentum (for Columbus) break us is encouraging and Josh was instrumental in that."
Wolff was happy to do his part.
"We talked about it during the week that obviously fitness would be the last thing to come," he said. "(Onalfo) came in five to 10 minutes before the end of the half (at intermission) and asked can you give me 45? Of course, any time he asks you've got to say yes."
The match could have gotten away from K.C. in the 55th minute when Hejduk had a clean breakaway but Kevin Hartman made the stop to preserve the one-goal match.
"Frankie had a chance to make it 4-2 but I thought we did a good job in the end," Wolff said. "Either team had a chance to win it but a point is good. But both teams are maybe disappointed."
He made sure the Crew fans went home without seeing the home side collect three points. Wolff's touch was off on his first shot in the 75th minute but he was dead-on after receiving a cross from the right wing by Jack Jewsbury.
The play was started when Kurt Morsink played the ball over the top of the Crew back line and defender Danny O'Rourke overran the pass to the right side, leaving the Wizards with the advantage.
"Seeing how the game went that point wasn't bad," Wolff said.
For Onalfo, the tie wasn't the retribution he wanted for a 3-0 home loss to Columbus on June 14 but it he will take it and try to build on the most goals the Wizards have scored since the second match of the season on April 5.
"I'm not satisfied but considering the circumstances, yeah, we'll take the point," he said.
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
