After seeing their hot streaks come to an end last weekend, the Columbus Crew and San Jose Earthquakes now have new streaks going: unbeaten in one.
Chris Wondolowski scored his sixth goal of the season on a header in the 78th minute, helping the Quakes rally for a lively 2-2 draw with the Crew at Buck Shaw Stadium on Wednesday night.
Eight minutes earlier, it looked as if Columbus would escape the Bay Area with a victory after Chad Marshall’s header off a Guillermo Barros Schelotto corner kick put the Crew back in front after coming out of the gates firing on all cylinders.
Columbus pushed from the opening kick, and it paid off almost immediately. In the fourth minute, right back Jed Zayner’s cross fell to the feet of Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who held off two defenders and put a shot on goal.
Joe Cannon pushed the rebound aside, but the ball trickled to Jason Garey in the goalmouth, who slotted the ball to his right to an unmarked Eddie Gaven for the easy tap-in.
But the Quakes equalized less than a minute later. Crew center back Marshall got his foot on a long throw-in, but sent the ball directly to Andre Luiz. The Brazilian midfielder flicked it to Arturo Alvarez, who ripped it from the top right of the box to the near post past a diving William Hesmer.
The remainder of the first half was a lively affair, with both teams trading scoring opportunities. Columbus utilized the speed of Robbie Rogers and Emilio Renteria on the flanks, but San Jose were able to absorb the pressure, and put together some nice offensive sequences of their own.
Crew coach Robert Warzycha brought in fresh legs late in the game, at they nearly helped Columbus win the three points. The insertions of Steven Lenhart and Emmanuel Ekpo jumpstarted the attack and led to the go-ahead goal by Marshall.
But San Jose weren’t about to go down without a fight. Frank Yallop energized his own front line with late subs Scott Sealy and Cornell Glen, as well as center back Ike Opara. Bobby Convey was knocked flat in the 78th, and his ensuing free kick from the left side found Glen, who headed across goal onto the waiting dome of Wondolowski for the equalizer.
The Quakes withstood serious pressure by the two-time Supporters’ Shield winners in the waning minutes to preserve the result.
With the draw, San Jose now stand alone in third place in the Western Conference after Houston’s loss at New York. Columbus, who dropped their first match of the season on Saturday against Los Angeles, remain in first in the Eastern Conference with 23 points, three ahead of the Red Bulls.
