The Columbus Crew has only tallied more than one goal in a match once in the first half of its 2006 campaign - a 2-1 win on June 3 at FC Dallas - and the hopes of performing the feat again this weekend do not look promising.
Columbus (4-6-6) will be facing its archrival and top team in Major League Soccer, D.C. United (11-1-5), at Crew Stadium on Saturday. The Crew has scored 0.81 goals per game, the worst average in the league, while United boasts the lowest average number of goals allowed per game 0.82, following a 1-0 shutout over Dallas on Tuesday.
Columbus' defense has kept the team in most of its games this year and will be tested early and often by the strike force of Jaime Moreno (9 goals, 4 assists) and Christian Gomez (6 goals, 6 assists). Crew captain Ritchie Kotschau and defender Chad Marshall have anchored the Crew defense, starting each of the last three matches. They must deliver in order to ensure a Crew victory on Saturday. If successful, they will avoid tying the 2003 record for the longest winless streak in franchise history of 7 games.
The Crew has already obliterated one team record this season of two consecutive ties, doubling that number in two weeks' time. Columbus earned its fourth draw in a row with a 1-1 tie in its first visit to Houston (6-3-6) where they faced the Dynamo Tuesday night.
Despite going down early on a 5th minute header goal by Dynamo and U.S. Men's National Team striker Brian Ching, Columbus fought back. The team's efforts paid off in the 66th minute when, following some strong footwork to get the ball into the box, Crew forward Joseph Ngwenya was taken down from behind in the penalty area by Houston's Eddie Robinson. Midfielder Eddie Gaven hammered the ensuing penalty kick into the left corner of the goal past Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad to equalize the match and notch his first goal as a member of the Black and Gold.
Last week the Crew also learned its opponent in the third round of the 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament. Columbus will travel to Rochester Hills, Michigan to take on the Michigan Bucks of the USL Premier Developmental League, the top amateur league for players under 23, on Wednesday, July 12. In 2000, the Crew won the fabled tournament with a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy.
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