Chester, Pa. – The Columbus Crew strengthened its lead atop the East Division of the MLS Reserve League with a 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park on Saturday night. Crew forward Emilio Renteria tallied a hat-trick and an assist, while Cole Grossman added a fourth goal before halftime. The match was marred by four ejections as Renteria, Tony Tchani, Justin Meram and Philadelphia’s Greg Jordan were all shown red. Crew keeper Matt Lampson was instrumental between the pipes to earn his second straight shutout.
It only took 12 minutes for Renteria to find the back of the net as he picked up a rebound and hammered a shot past Union goalkeeper Chris Konopka. Eight minutes later Renteria doubled up as he headed home a corner from Nemanja Vukovic to give the Crew the 2-0 lead.
In the 38th minute Renteria found himself on the receiving end of a cross from Tchani and tapped the ball in to beat Konopka and earn the hat-trick. Three minutes later the Venezuelan sent a ball through to Grossman who curled a shot within the far post for the 4-0 lead heading into the break.
The final moments of the first half and the remainder of the match produced no goals but plenty of physical play. Renteria and Union rookie midfielder Jordan were both shown red in the 45th minute after a scuffle, and both Tchani (two yellows) and Meram (straight red) were ejected in the second half, leaving the Crew to finish the match with just seven field players.
Despite the two-man advantage, the Union were unable to capitalize. Academy striker Darius Madison fired two promising shots late, but both were denied by Lampson. Earlier, forward Jack McInerney nearly snuck a 25-yard free kick between Lampson and the crossbar, but the Homegrown keeper was able to get his fingertips to the ball and tap it out for a corner preserving the shutout.
The Crew is now 3-1-0 with nine points in Reserve League Eastern Division play and returns to the field on Sunday, June 10 as it hosts the New England Revolution at Crew Stadium at 10 a.m.
MLS Reserve League: Columbus Crew 4, Philadelphia Union 0
Saturday, April 14, 2012 – PPL Park, Chester, Pa.
Scoring Summary:
CLB: Emilio Renteria ‘12
CLB: Emilio Renteria ’20 (Vukovic)
CLB: Emilio Renteria ‘38 (Tchani)
CLB: Cole Grossman ’41 (Renteria)
Misconduct:
PHL: Antoine Hoppenot (Caution) ‘43
CLB: Emilio Renteria (Ejection) ‘45
PHL: Greg Jordan (Ejection) ‘45
PHL: Cristhian Hernandez (Caution) ‘46
CLB: Tony Tchani (Caution) ‘51
CLB: Tony Tchani (Caution) ’78
CLB: Tony Tchani (Ejection) ‘78
PHL: Zach Pfeffer (Caution) ‘84
CLB: Justin Meram (Ejection) ‘85
Lineups:
Philadelphia Union: Chris Konopka, Jimmy McLaughlin, Andrew Marshall^, Porfirio Lopez, Cristhian Hernandez (Colton Storm^^ ’73), Amobi Okugo (Keegan Rosenberry^^ ’64), Greg Jordan, Zach Pfeffer, Jack McInerney, Chandler Hoffman, Antoine Hoppenot (Darius Madison^^ ’64).
Subs: Chase Harrison, Josue Martinez
^ Union Trialist
^^ Union Academy Member
SHOTS: 11, SOG: 4, CORNERS: 3; FOULS: 8; OFFSIDES: 4; SAVES: 1
Columbus Crew: Matt Lampson, Aubrey Perry, Carlos Mendes (Korey Veeder ’46), Josh Williams, Nemanja Vukovic, Cole Grossman, Kevan George (Aaron Horton ’46), Tony Tchani, Bernardo Anor (Moore^^ ’65), Justin Meram, Emilio Renteria
Subs: Karl Wosczynzowski
SHOTS: 8 SOG: 5, CORNERS: 2; FOULS: 9; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 4
Crew Guest Player
^^ Crew Academy Player
