The Crew convincingly defeated the Seattle Sounders FC 3-0 in the third exhibition match of its preseason trip to Phoenix. Forward Andres Mendoza tallied the game-winner in the first of two 45-minute and one 30-minute periods, while a Seattle own goal and a tally by Jeff Cunningham sealed Seattle’s fate late in the third period.
Goalkeeper William Hesmer saw 30 minutes of action for the first time since suffering a season-ending injury in the final match of the 2010 regular season against Philadelphia on Oct. 24.
Mendoza’s goal came in the 20th minute on a pass from Emilio Renteria. The Peruvian striker shot the ball from the top of the box into the left post and the back of the net.
In the 106th minute Crew draftee Justin Meram sent the ball in the box looking for Jeff Cunningham only to see it deflected in goal by Sounders defender Zach Scott. Cunningham found the back of the net three minutes later after picking up a bounce in the box from a corner kick headed down by Meram.
The Crew’s next preseason match will be Monday (Feb. 14), when it squares off against the 2010 MLS Champion Colorado Rapids.
Scoring Summary:
CLB – Andres Mendoza (Emilio Renteria) – 1st session (20’)
CLB – own goal – 3rd session (106’)
CLB – Jeff Cunningham – 3rd session (108’)
Crew Lineups:
First 60 minutes: Ray Burse (William Hesmer, 45’), Sebastian Miranda, Chad Marshall, Rich Balchan, Shaun Francis, Robbie Rogers, Kevin Burns, Emmanuel Ekpo, Dilly Duka, Emilio Renteria, Andres Mendoza (Cole Grossman, 30’)
Second 60 minutes: William Hesmer (Alex Riggs, 74’), Ben Sippola, Alex Fraga, Andy Iro, Josh Williams (Cory Elenio, 109’), Leandre Griffit, Cole Grossman (Santiago Prim, 79’), Dejan Rusmir, Bernardo Anor (Andy Adlard, 98’), Justin Meram (Eric Gehrig, 110’), Jeff Cunningham
Seattle Lineups:
First 45 minutes: Kasey Keller, James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez, Alvaro Fernandez, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Steve Zakuani, Fredy Montero, O'Brian White
Second 45 minutes: Bryan Meredith, James Riley (Zach Scott), Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni (Tyson Whal), Danny Earls, Roger Levesque, Osvaldo Alonso (Servando Carrasco), Erik Friberg, Steve Zakuani (Lamar Neagle), Fredy Montero (David Estrada), Mike Fucito.
Thiid 30 minutes: Josh Ford, Zach Scott, Leone Cruz, Tyson Wahl, Michael Tetteh, Seedy Bah, Servando Carrasco, Jonathan Prieto, Miguel Montano, Lamar Neagle, DavidEstrada
