The Columbus Crew defeated the College of Charleston 2-0 in a friendly match played at Patriots Point Athletics Complex in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. on Monday, behind second-half goals by Olman Vargas and Eric Gehrig. Both goals came off set pieces initiated by Korey Veeder and Kirk Urso respectively.
Head coach Robert Warzycha made four changes from the starting lineup that played against the Charleston Battery Saturday night (Feb. 25), pairing Danny O’Rourke with Chad Marshall, testing trialist Nemanja Vukovic at left-back and starting Homegrown goalkeeper Matt Lampson and Supplemental Draft pick Kirk Urso.
The Black & Gold starters controlled the tempo of the game and created a few chances early on resulting in a flurry of corner kicks in the opening third of the half. In the 15th minute Eddie Gaven crossed a great ball into the box finding Milovan Mirosevic who headed the ball above the crossbar. In the 25th, midfielder Tony Tchani had the clearest chance of the first half as he headed down a cross by Sebastian Miranda, but Charleston keeper Kees Heemskerk extended his reach denying the goal opportunity and deflecting into corner.
Four minutes later, Ethan Finlay brought the ball down the right side and crossed it into the box but Emilio Renteria was unable to connect with it in time.
The first goal came ten minutes into the second half. Veeder whipped a free kick into the six-yard box finding Vargas who expertly headed it to the left of Heemskerk for the 1-0 lead.
The Crew continued on the offensive, looking for the insurance tally which came in the 71st minute on a set piece. Urso crossed a corner kick into the box and found Gehrig who easily slotted it home fixing the result at 2-0.
The Crew now faces the Chicago Fire in its second match of the Carolina Challenge Cup on Wednesday, February 29, at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C. The match kicks off at 5 p.m. and will be streamed live on www.thecrew.com.
Columbus Crew 2, College of Charleston 0
Patriots Point Athletic Complex – Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Scoring Summary:
CLB – Olman Vargas (Korey Veeder) 54
CLB – Eric Gehrig (Kirk Urso) 71
Misconduct Summary:
None
Lineups:
Columbus Crew – Matt Lampson, Sebastian Miranda (Korey Veeder, 35), Chad Marshall (Josh Williams, 35), Danny O’Rourke (Kirk Urso, 60), Nemanja Vukovic* (Sean Francis, 46), Eddie Gaven (Jamie Finch, 35), Tony Tchani (Eric Gehrig, 35), Kirk Urso (Kevan George, 46), Ethan Finlay (Aaron Horton, 35), Milovan Mirosevic (Tommy Heinemann, 35), Emilio Renteria (Olman Vargas, 35)
*Denotes non-roster player
College of Charleston starting lineup – Kees Heemskerk, Tanner Clay, Daan Brinkman, Shawn Ferguson, Seth Abramson, Connor Coons, Troy Peterson, Ralph Lundy, Joey De Mare, Sean de Silva, Eric Fornell
