COLUMBUS- The Columbus Crew and Philadelphia Union battled to a six-goal stalemate in MLS Reserve League action on Sunday morning. The Union struck first in the opening minute of play when guest player Matt Kassel led a counter attack to find fellow trialist Lucky Mkosana for the finish past Crew goalkeeper Matt Lampson, giving Philadelphia the early advantage. The Black & Gold drew level in the 23rd minute as Emilio Rentería played a brilliant give-and-go to Aaron Schoenfeld, with the Venezuelan beating Union 'keeper Chase Harrison to the far post for the equalizer.
After the break, the Crew took a 2-1 advantage after 53 minutes when Homegrown forward Ben Speas beat his defender and sent in a left-footed cross into Olman Vargas on the far post for the easy tap-in.Philadelphia answered 10 minutes later as Zach Pfeffer dribbled through the Black & Gold defense and beat guest goalkeeper Nick Noble just minute after Noble replaced Lampson in net.
The Crew went ahead once again in the 69th minute when a loose ball in front of net landed at the feet of Justin Meram. The second-year forward utilized some shifty footwork to beat Harrison for the tally, and give the Crew a 3-2 advantage.
Not to be denied the road point, Mkosana fired a shot on goal two minutes later. The trialist's shot was parried by Noble, landing at the feet of forward Chandler Hoffman who netted the equalizer in the affair.
Both teams battled to find a winner throughout the final ten minutes, with the nearest chance coming in stoppage time as Harrison saved Cole Grossman's blast from close range.
The Crew closes out its 2012 Reserve League campaign in Washington, D.C. on October 21 against D.C. United.
Scoring Summary:
PHI – Lucky Mkosana (Matt Kassel) 1
CLB – Emilio Renteria (Aaron Schoenfeld) 23
CLB – Olman Vargas (Ben Speas) 53
PHI – Zach Pfeffer (unassisted) 63
CLB – Justin Meram (unassisted) 69
PHI – Chandler Hoffman (unassisted) 73
Misconduct Summary:
PHI - Cristhian Hernandez (caution) 71
CLB - Cole Grossman (caution) 76
Columbus Crew: Matt Lampson (Nick Noble,62), Ethan Finlay, Kevan George, Eric Gehrig, Nemanja Vukovic, Cole Grossman, Emilio Renteria (Aaron Horton, 58), Aaron Schoenfeld, Ben Speas, Justin Meram, Olman Vargas.
Substitutes not used: Alex Crognale^, Nathan Kohl^, Francisco Juarez.
^ - Academy Player
- Guest Player
Philadelphia Union: Chase Harrison, Matt Kassel, Greg Jordan, Keon Daniel, Gabriel Gómez, Zach Pfeffer, Roger Torres (Brian Nana-Sinkam^, 46), Cristhian Hernandez, Jimmy McLaughlin, Lucky Mkosana, Chandler Hoffman.
Substitute Not Used: Chris Konopka, Antoine Hoppenot, Jack McInerney.
^ - Academy Player
* - Guest Player
Referee: Corey Richardson
Referee's Assistants: Andre Castel, Tre Gaither
4th Official: Devon Duling
