ELMHURST, IL - The Chicago Fire Reserves (4-5-2, 14 pts.) were unable to get on the board as they fell 3-0 to the Columbus Crew Reserves (3-8-1 10 pts.) Sunday morning at Langhorst Field on the campus of Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL. Despite plenty of chances on goal for the Fire, it was Columbus who scored early in the game courtesy of an Eric Vasquez strike just five minutes in. The away side went up another goal after a Sebastian Rozental header in the 57th minute to double the Crew lead, and a Cam Weaver goal in the 59th minute put the game out of reach for "Men in Red".
Both sides played an open, attacking game from the start of the match. With five minutes into play, Columbus got the first tally of the contest with a pass from midfielder Sebastian Rozental that slipped behind the Fire defense to midfielder Eric Vasquez, who from nine yards out cracked a low line drive just inside the right post to give the away side a 1-0 lead. Fire forward Calen Carr beat two defenders to a ball to get a clean shot on goal from 16 yards out in the 21st minute, but his strike went just left of the goal. The Fire came close on a few breakaway attempts after that, but could not equalize as the half ended with Columbus on top 1-0.
Just two minutes into the second half the Fire Reserves had another goal-scoring opportunity. A cross from the left side from defender Leonard Griffin found the head of Carr, whose redirect from five yards out forced an acrobatic tip-save over the bar from Crew Reserves goalkeeper Bill Gaudette. In the 57th minute, Crew Reserves defender Ivan Becerra made a long run up the left side and sent a service cross into the Fire 18-yard box for Rozental, whose header slowly rolled in to give Columbus a two-goal advantage.
Two minutes later Columbus added to its lead as a low shot from Crew midfielder Jacob Thomas ricocheted off Thornton and right to second half substitute forward Cam Weaver, who made no mistake from five yards out to bring the score to 3-0. Play stopped ten minutes later for a few minutes due to a play that saw both Fire defender Jim Curtin and the Crew's Rozental go down in the Chicago box, but no penalty was awarded. Both Weaver and Curtin are cautioned following the referee's discussion after the play.
The Fire Reserves had another close chance in the 73rd minute as a cross across the six-yard box from Carr connected with the head of Ryan Johnson, but his redirect from point-blank range went straight to the hands of Gaudette. A pass from Columbus forward Knox Cameron in the 83rd minute found a streaking Kamara, whose low shot from nine yards out was easily collected by Thornton. Kamara's shot would be the last attempt on goal from either side as time winded down, and the Fire Reserves fell for the first since a 1-0 defeat to the Colorado Rapids Reserves on August 27.
Scoring Summary:
CLB - Eric Vasquez (Sebastian Rozental) 5
CLB - Sebastian Rozental (Ivan Becerra) 57
CLB - Cam Weaver (Unassisted) 59
Chicago Fire Reserves (4-4-2) - Zach Thornton, Jim Curtin, Dasan Robinson, Jordan Russolillo (Idris Ughiove 46), Leonard Griffin, Thiago (Adam Ruud 66), Logan Pause, Pascal Bedrossian (Floyd Franks 60), Brian Plotkin, Calen Carr, Ryan Johnson.
SUBS NOT USED: David Mahoney.
Columbus Crew Reserves (4-3-3) - Bill Gaudette, Ivan Becerra, Tim Ward, Chris Leitch, Jose Retiz, Brandon Moss, Jacob Thomas (Knox Cameron 72), Eric Vasquez, Ryan Coiner (Cam Weaver 34), Sebastian Rozental, Kei Kamara.
SUBS NOT USED: Jordan James.
Misconduct Summary:
CHI - Thiago (Caution) 3
CHI - Jim Curtin (Caution) 69
CLB - Cam Weaver (Caution) 69
Referee: Ricardo Salazar Referee's Assistants: Peter Manikowski, Peter Balciunas 4th Official: Jose Gesundheit.
Attendance: 71 Weather: Clear and Sunny, 61 degrees.
