The Columbus Crew’s quest for a repeat MLS Cup championship has come to an inglorious end.
Its 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake in the second game of its first round series sent the Crew home prematurely.
The Crew looked to be in command early, with the two-goal lead it needed to advance. Each score came from reigning MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
In front of a crowd of 10,109, sparse for a playoff match, Schelotto got the scoring started on a fluky free kick that traveled about 50 yards, took a single hop on the penalty spot in front of RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando, and bounced into the goal. The goal ended a 343-minute scoreless drought for the Crew.
Schelotto struck again in the 35th minute with a shot off a nice header pass from Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo.
Schelotto, the Crew’s top goal-scorer, was left on the bench during the first leg of the playoff series. He appeared to be making a point to his coach.
But the lead would not hold up.
Two minutes later, RSL’s Kyle Beckerman sent a long pass down the pitch to teammate Javier Morales, who put a low shot on goal that Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer could not handle.
Morales’ goal tied the series 2-2 in aggregate.
“Huge, huge important,” RSL coach Jason Kreis said. “Especially to get it before halftime, it gave us something positive to jump on right away.”
RSL then went up 3-2 in aggregate when star forward Robbie Findley beat Hesmer with a penalty kick following a questionable foul in front of the goal committed by Crew captain Frankie Hejduk against RSL’s Fabian Espindola.
RSL closed out the scoring when midfielder Andy Williams took a corner kick and sent it untouched through a tangle of bodies in front of the net to seal Columbus’ fate.
Real Salt Lake did not appear to panic at any time, even with the match’s early two-goal deficit.
“It didn’t start the way we wanted it to, but it just felt like we knew it wasn’t over,” Findley said of his team’s slow start. “We were going to get the chances to score, so we just calmed down a little bit and kept our heads.”
The biggest “what if” of the season for Crew fans is what could have been had Columbus coach Robert Warzycha kept his head before the first game and not benched Schelotto in what seemed like a knee-jerk reaction to a scoring drought.
“I’m proud of the team,” Warzycha said after the loss. “We won the Supporter’s Shield. We won the Eastern Conference. Sometimes the better team doesn’t win.”
Schelotto’s teammates seemed a little puzzled about his benching in the first game.
“He was unbelievable,” the Crew’s Danny O’Rourke said of Schelotto. “I think he was a little frustrated after the last game, but he took it like a professional.”
Schelotto’s status for next season is up in the air. One would hope that being benched for the first game doesn’t affect his decision.
“I want to stay in Columbus,” Schelotto said. “I like the city, and I like the team.”
So the Crew’s championship hopes will have to wait until next season. If Schelotto does come back, fans hope he will be in the lineup when the season is on the line. Otherwise, the Crew faithful could be left with another “what if?”
