The Columbus Crew defeated both Michigan State and West Virginia in a pair of friendly matches at Crew Stadium on Saturday. After routing Michigan State 5-1, the Black & Gold edged West Virginia 1-0 in matches scheduled to give all players significant minutes and to better prepare for the home opener against MLS expansion Montreal.
The Crew had most of its first team in the match against Michigan State with only a few changes being made at halftime. Midfielder Milovan Mirosevic opened the scoring in the 4th minute with a well placed low shot from 20 yards out beating the Spartans keeper. In the 33rd minute Olman Vargas headed home a perfect cross by Shaun Francis for the second goal of the match. In the second half Mirosevic scored again on a free kick at the top of the box and in the 63rd Vargas notched his second of the day after he back-heeled a low cross from Sebastian Miranda tapping the ball into the back of the net. Midfielder Kirk Urso followed suit a minute later blasting a rocket from distance to give the Black & Gold its five goals of the match. Michigan State pulled one back in the 85th when Adam Montague took a diagonal shot from the top of the box beating Crew keeper William Hesmer, who played 90 minutes split between the two matches.
The lineup for the match against West Virginia was similar to the one that played against Notre Dame on Monday with most of the reserves playing and Hesmer in goal for the first half. The Black & Gold created several chances but the lone goal came early in the second half when Aaron Horton received a cross from Tony Tchani and, after beating his defender, blasted a shot past Mountaineer keeper Pat Eavanson in the 48th minute.
The Crew will now have one more week of training ahead of its home opener against Montreal on Saturday, March 24 at 4 p.m. The match will be followed by a reserve game as the Crew seeks to defend its MLS Reserve League title earned last season.
GAME ONE
Michigan State 5, Columbus Crew 1
Saturday, March 17, 2012 – Crew Stadium
Scoring Summary
CLB – Milovan Mirosevic (unassisted) 4
CLB – Olman Vargas (Shaun Francis) 33
CLB – Milovan Mirosevic (unassisted) 54
CLB – Olman Vargas (Sebastian Miranda) 63
CLB – Kirk Urso (Unassisted) 64
MST – Adam Montague 85
Misconduct Summary
Lineups:
Columbus Crew: Andy Gruenebaum (William Hesmer, 46), Sebastian Miranda, Eric Gehrig, Chad Marshall, Shaun Francis, Ethan Finlay (Justin Meram 46), Kirk Urso, Milovan Mirosevic, Eddie Gaven (Bernardo Anor, 46), Olman Vargas, Emilio Renteria
Non-roster trialist
Michigan State Starting Lineup: Bryce Dobbins, Kevin Cope, Tim Kreutz, Josh Barens, Ryan Keener, Tyler White, Luke Norman, Kyle Rutz, Adam Montague, Wesley Curtis, Fatai Alashe
GAME TWO
West Virginia University 1, Columbus Crew 0
Saturday, March 17, 2012 – Crew Stadium
Scoring Summary
CLB – Aaron Horton (Tony Tchani) 48
Misconduct Summary
WVU – Franck Tayou (Caution) 53
CLB – Tony Tchani (Caution) 74
Lineups:
Columbus Crew: William Hesmer, Aubrey Perry, Josh Williams, Korey Veeder, Jamie Finch, Ethan Finlay (Blas Iribarren, 46), Tony Tchani, Cole Grossman, Justin Meram (Aaron Horton, 46), Tommy Heinemann, Aaron Schoenfeld
Non-roster trialist
West Virginia Starting Lineup: Pat Eavenson, Paul Ehrenworth, Eric Schoenle, Matt Drake, Nick Raskasky, Francis Molasoko, Travis Pittman, Uwem Etuk, James Williams, Nick Breitsameter, Franck Tayou
