Despite taking an early lead on a Chad Marshall header, the Columbus Crew succumbed to the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 on Saturday evening at Columbus Crew Stadium. Eddie Robinson leveled the match in the first half before Ronald Cerritos rounded out the score sheet midway through the second half.
In an effort to take the match to the visitors, Crew coach Greg Andrulis opted for a more attack-minded formation.
"We went to a 3-4-3 to try to put pressure on their backs and try to play in their half a little bit more," said Andrulis. "I thought the pressure worked. We got some chances and we got the goal."
With Cornell Glen suiting up for Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Kyle Martino suspended for the match, the home squad flanked point man Edson Buddle with Mario Rodriguez and Chris Henderson on the right and left, respectively. The Crew have used a different starting lineup in every match this season.
Unfortunately, the move only lasted for the first half as Buddle could not continue due to injury.
"Edson's Achilles were acting up and he couldn't go," said Andrulis. Rookie Knox Cameron replaced Buddle in the second half.
The first half featured a surprising matchup: Marshall versus Robinson. The pair of center backs battled each in the air off set-pieces, and each got the better of his counterpart on the offensive end. Marshall struck first with his first MLS goal.
"It would have been nice to get the first goal in a win, but I didn't," said Marshall. "I would like to have had it last year, but it was nice to get it. ... It was a certainly a good ball and I was able to get on the end of it."
In somewhat of a rarity, Marshall is one of the few players to score for his country before tallying on the club level. Marshall scored for the U.S. national team in a friendly victory against Colombia in March. However, the opening goal for Marshall ended his joy on the evening.
Robinson beat Marshall for the equalizer on a Ronald Cerritos free kick 12 minutes later.
"I lost my guy on a corner kick. I lost the ball in the sun," said Marshall. "I thought I was going to get to it and then it was way over my head and [Robinson] heads it in."
Andrulis expects his young defender to do better in the air.
"A guy [Robinson] can't get that wide open. We had our best header defending him and he gets beat," said Andrulis.
Columbus came out strong to start the second half, but the momentum had clearly shifted after the first 10 minutes.
"We were about to make a change before they scored the goal because the game dropped for us," said Andrulis. "It was unfortunate to have a goal-scoring chance called offside and then they were up 2-1."
Before forward Jamal Sutton could enter the pitch, Ricardo Clark and Alejandro Moreno set up the game-winning goal for Cerritos. Marshall again accepted blame for the goal.
"I get beat down the sideline and Ricardo crosses it back and [Cerritos has] an easy finish," said Marshall.
Despite their best efforts down the stretch, the Crew were unable to tie the match.
"You can never question the guys' effort, heart, and determination," said Andrulis. "They left it all out of the field."
A bright spot for Crew was the return of Danny Szetela after missing the last 10 games.
"It was good and I felt good. We played well," said the young midfielder. "We had our opportunities and we didn't finish and it haunted us like every other game we lost."
He was missing due to the Youth World Championships in the Netherlands. After returning, he discovered he had suffered a mild concussion, but he felt no lingering effects.
Said Szetela: "I haven't felt anything so far and I got hit in the head a couple times tonight."
However, the night overflowed with disappointment as the Crew are now winless in their last five contests. Said Andrulis: "It seems even when we play decent, we can't get a break."
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
