It was always going to be a tough situation for Dan Popik. The former Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper, now an assistant coach at North Carolina State, Popik was signed by the Columbus Crew after four of their goalkeepers went down to injury this season.
Unfortunately for Popik, who made all of two substitute appearances for a total of 61 minutes while playing for the Galaxy in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, his first action since was in back of a lackluster Crew defense and against an in-form D.C. United squad that rolled to a 5-1 victory Wednesday night at RFK Stadium.
Popik was shelled all match, facing 22 shots, 11 of which were on goal. His reintroduction to MLS did not begin well, as he pulled down United striker Alecko Eskandarian inside the penalty area in the seventh minute. Referee Jair Marrufo immediately pointed to the penalty spot, and Popik was perhaps fortunate not to have his night end there, shown only a yellow card.
Then he had to face United forward Jaime Moreno, who coolly placed the ball into the corner of the net for his 100th career goal, moving him within three of Jason Kreis' MLS leading total of 103.
The second half saw United score four more goals, sparked by an Ezra Hendrickson own goal in the 48th minute. In the end, the 5-1 loss matched the worst defeat in Crew club history.
However, Columbus coach Sigi Schmid would not place blame on his goalkeeper for the defeat.
"Goalkeeping was a situation we knew we were going to have coming into the game, but everyone has to share the blame. We gave them too much respect. You can't expect to give such a good team that much respect and not get punished," Schmid said.
Indeed United, who have only one loss in their first 10 games, dictated the pace of play throughout. Even after Columbus was able to equalize with three quick one-touch passes in the box resulting in a splendid finish from Joseph Ngwenya in the 21st minute, they were rarely able to muster any energy.
Already low on numbers, the Crew had fewer healthier players than were even expected due to some illnesses on the field.
"We went into the game with two guys sick. [Defender] Ezra Hendrickson was already sick, which we knew, but then Jose Retiz started throwing up 15 minutes into the first half," Schmid said.
On the other hand, it was seemingly a different Crew side than the one that played United to a 1-1 draw in their last meeting, just 11 days ago at Crew Stadium. Forward Jason Garey, hoping for a triumphant return to the D.C. area after leading the University of Maryland to the NCAA soccer championship last fall, had a dismal game, unable to muster any sort of scoring opportunities for himself.
"I was up there alone, with three or four defenders on me ... but it wasn't a good night," Garey said. "We have to work better together, especially after tying them 1-1 last week," he said.
The Crew, who now sit mid-table in the Eastern Conference with an upcoming game this weekend against a red hot FC Dallas, will probably need to do some soul searching after such a blistering defeat.
"The loss doesn't sit well," Schmid said. "We were ball watching; we didn't close down things fast enough.
"Chad Marshall didn't get close to an attacker all night and he's the biggest defender on the field and he had no impact. Jason Garey was bad. Everyone needs to look at themselves. I want to see how upset they are with the loss. We have to look at our character and see how we come back on Saturday against Dallas."
Jordan Brown is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
