and then was sent off before the first half was out.
But the Crew withstood the pressure from the Colorado Rapids despite the man disadvantage to pull within two points of first place in the Eastern Conference. Lenhart put the Crew ahead in the 21st minute then was ejected in the 43rd. Jason Garey sealed the victory for the Crew with his first goal of the season in the 75th minute and Hesmer recorded his fifth shutout of the season.
Hesmer came up with two remarkable saves in the dying moments to preserve the shutout. Omar Cummings dove headlong to send a low header goalward, but Hesmer acrobatically kicked it aside.
Then Christian Gomez tried his luck with a free kick that was almost on the goal line, near the left corner. Gomez whipped the ball inside the near post, but Hesmer dove back and somehow knocked it away from almost right on the goal line.
NOTES:
• The Crew are now 4-3-2 on the road this season.
• The Crew were without Olympians Robbie Rogers (USA) and Emmanuel Ekpo (Nigeria) on Sunday.
• Crew midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi's assist was his first of the season and third of his MLS career.
• The Crew defeated Colorado, 2-1, at Crew Stadium on June 28 in the first leg of the home-and-home regular-season series between the teams.
• The Crew return to action on Saturday, Aug. 2, vs. the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston at 8:30 p.m. (ET). The match will be televised live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel.
• With his yellow card on Sunday, Crew defender Frankie Hejduk will serve a one-game suspension for accumulated yellows, making him unavailable for Saturday's game at Houston. Steven Lenhart will also miss that game, serving his one-game red card suspension.
