The Crew followed its 2-1 loss to the Revolution last Sunday with a convincing 3-1 victory over the same team in a rematch at KSU Soccer Stadium for the inaugural game of the Atlanta Pro Soccer Challenge in Kennesaw, Ga. on Wednesday night. Crew forward Tommy Heinemann scored two goals and rookie Bernardo Anor had one goal and one assist while Ilija Stoica tallied the lone Revolution goal.
The Crew began the first half sizing up the opposition with a couple of early looks including a header by defender Julius James early on. In the 16th minute a free kick by Robbie Rogers found rookie midfielder Anor in the box who proceeded to slot the ball to the right of Revolution ‘keeper Matt Reis. Only one minute later Tommy Heinemann took advantage of a bad clearance by A.J. Soares and chipped the ball over Reis from 20 yards out for the 2-0 lead.
The Black & Gold continued to show some composure and control the match in the second half and found the back of the net again with Heinemann’s second goal assisted by Anor in the 53rd minute. The revolution pulled one back nine minutes later when forward Zack Schilawski sent a through-ball to Ilija Stoica who beat Crew goalkeeper Alex Riggs for the 3-1 result.
The Crew faces the Houston Dynamo on Friday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. at KSU Soccer Stadium before returning to Columbus on March 12 for one final week of preparation, in advance of FirstKick 2011 vs. D.C. United at RFK Stadium on Saturday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m. The Black & Gold will open its home season at Crew Stadium on Saturday, March 26, when it hosts the New York Red Bulls at 4 p.m.
Scoring Summary:
CLB – Bernardo Anor (Robbie Rogers) 16’
CLB – Tommy Heinemann 17’
CLB – Tommy Heinemann (Bernardo Anor) 53’
NE – Ilija Stolica (Zack Schilawski) 62’
Misconduct:
NE – Franco Coria (Caution, 80’)
NE -- A.J. Soares (Caution, 90’)
Crew Lineups:
William Hesmer (Alex Riggs 46’), Korey Veeder, Julius James (Josh Gardner 46’), Chad Marshall (Ben Sippola 46’), Josh Williams, Robbie Rogers (Dilly Duka 46’), Eric Gehrig, Leandre Griffit (Santiago Prim 60’), Bernardo Anor (Justin Meram 60’), Jeff Cunningham (Andy Adlard 46’), Tom Heinemann (Bernardo Anor 89’)
New England Lineups:
Matt Reis, Didier Domi (Michael Augustine 74’), A.J. Soares, Franco Coria, Zak Boggs, Chris Tierney, Shalrie Joseph, Stephen McCarthy (Pat Phelan 62’), Ryan Kinne (Sainey Nyassi 63’), Zack Schilawski, Ilija Stolica (Kenny Mansally 63’)
