The Columbus Crew looked strong in Reserve Division action on Sunday night, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy Reserves 5-0, at Crew Stadium. The victory improves Columbus to 4-4-2 (14 pts.) in the 2007 MLS Reserve Division standings and drops Los Angeles to 2-5-2 (8 pts.) on the season.
Ricardo Virtuoso got the ball rolling for the Crew in the 20th minute, when he utilized a nice touch pass from Robbie Rogers into space and fired a shot from the left side of the penalty area that was too much for Galaxy goalkeeper Lance Friesz to handle.
The Crew would strike again just 10 minutes later when Stefani Miglioranzi's shot from the top of the box was saved by Friesz, but forward Kei Kamara was in prime position for the rebound and he knocked home the second goal of the night for Columbus, providing the Crew with a 2-0 lead at the half.
Columbus would continue to control the action in the second stanza, and would further extend its lead, just 10 minutes after the restart. Crew substitute goalkeeper Bill Gaudette sent a long pass up the right sideline that was hotly contested. After several moments of scrapping, forward Robbie Rogers was able to dig the ball out of the scrum and jet up the right side toward the Galaxy box. Rogers made a nifty cutback to the middle of the field and let loose a wicked near-post strike that found the back of the net for a 3-0 Columbus lead.
Crew midfielder Tim Ward got in on the scoring barrage himself in the 74th minute when he stole an errant pass deep in Galaxy territory and struck a shot past Friesz to extend the lead to 4-0.
Columbus would notch its final tally of the night just before the closing whistle. Crew substitute Andrei Pacheco found space along the midfield stripe and knocked a pass ahead to Virtuoso. Virtuoso pushed ahead with an aggressive dribble and slotted his shot just past the outstretched arms of the Galaxy goalkeeper.
The Crew Reserve squad will play its 11th and final game of the season at New England on Sunday, Oct. 14. The Galaxy Reserves wrap up their Reserve Division schedule with matches at Houston this Sunday, Oct. 7, and vs. Toronto FC at home on Oct. 13.
Columbus Crew vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (Reserve Division)
September 30, 2007 - Crew Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Scoring Summary:
CLB - Virtuoso (Rogers) 20th min.
CLB - Kamara (unassisted) 30th min.
CLB - Rogers (unassisted) 55th min.
CLB - Ward (unassisted) 74th min.
CLB - Virtuoso (Pacheco) 89th min.
Columbus Crew Reserves (4-3-2) - Andy Gruenebaum (Bill Gaudette 46), Andrew Peterson, Ryan Junge, Leonard Griffin, Jed Zayner, Adam Moffat, Stefani Miglioranzi (Damian Blackburn 46), Tim Ward, Robbie Rogers, Kei Kamara (Andrei Pacheco 67), Ricardo Virtuoso (David Roman 89)
Substitutes not used: Ben Hunter
Los Angeles Galaxy Reserves (2-5-2) - Lance Friesz, Cameron Dunn, Mark Shulte, Kyle Veris, Ante Jazic (Quavas Kirk 46), Johnathon Bravo, Kevin Harmse (Taylor Canel 46), Israel Sessay, Eric Denton, Mike Caso, Edson Buddle (Steve Cronin 64)
Substitutes not used: None
Misconduct Summary:
CLB - Virtuoso (Caution) 33rd min.
LA - Denton (Caution) 38th min.
Referee: Rizal Milliken
Referee's Assistants: Jason Krnac, Michael Szymanski
4th Official: Jeffrey Mellen
