The 2010

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

season was the fifteenth season of the team's existence and fifteenth in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

(MLS).

Background

Review

Prior to the start of the 2010 MLS season, the Crew began play in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

, with a quarterfinal-fixture against Group C-winner,

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

of Mexico. During group stage, the crew finished in a second place in their group with an even 2-2-2 record, narrowly edging the Costa Rican champions

Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

to become the only American club in the knockout stage. On February 22, 2010; Columbus hosted Toluca before 4,500 people at Crew Stadium for the first leg. For the match, Columbus would be missing veteran striker

Guillermo Barros Schelotto Guillermo Barros Schelotto (; born 4 May 1973) is an Argentine football manager and former forward who currently manages the Paraguay national team. Barros Schelotto played 16 years of his professional career in the Argentine Primera Divis ...

and defender

Frankie Hejduk Frank Daniel "Frankie" Hejduk (born August 5, 1974) is an American former soccer player who played as a wingback and midfielder. At the club level he represented the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Bayer Leverkusen, St. Gallen, Columbus Crew, and the LA Gal ...

. In the match,

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

-international

Sinha Sinha is a Sanskrit term which originates in the Indian subcontinent and is common in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, covering South Asia. It comes from a Sanskrit word meaning " lion" or "brave person". Usage subcontinent In Indi ...

opened the scoring giving Los Rojos a critical away goal and the lead over the Crew. Following the goal near misses from

Steven Lenhart Steven Lenhart (born August 28, 1986) is a former American soccer player. Career College and amateur Lenhart grew up in Yorba Linda, California, and attended Esperanza High School. He attended Point Loma Nazarene University for one year befor ...

and

Eddie Gaven Eddie Gaven (born October 25, 1986) is an American former soccer player who played 11 seasons in Major League Soccer, primarily with the Columbus Crew. In July 2012, Gaven became the youngest player to play in 250 MLS matches at 25 years and 257 ...

later on in the half almost drew things level. Shortly before halftime, however, Antonio Ríos doubled the lead for Toluca giving them a very strong advantage. However, the Rojos would relinquish their lead in the second half. Lenhart would bag a pair of goals in the 66th and 83rd minute of play to draw the match back on parity, and the Crew would head to

tied at two on aggregate. Columbus began their fifteenth

regular season at home with a 2–0 win in a match against

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

on March 27, 2010.

Roster

''As of Aug 5, 2010.''

Formation

Starting XI vs.

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

on Oct. 23:

Competitions

Preseason

MLS

Standings

= Eastern Conference

= Overall table

Results summary

Results by round

Match results

CONCACAF Champions League

''Toluca won 5–4 on aggregate.''

U.S. Open Cup

Prior to 2010, the Columbus Crew had been to the U.S. Open Cup final twice in 1998 and 2002 and only won the cup once in 2002. On June 29, 2010, the Crew began the competition in the third round hosting the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

of the

D2 Pro League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding Un ...

Columbus Crew Stadium Historic Crew Stadium, previously known as Columbus Crew Stadium and Mapfre Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It primarily served as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from 1999 u ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. The Crew's

Andy Iro Andy Iro (born 26 November 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played primarily as a defender. Iro played college soccer for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team, where he was named the Most Outstanding Player (De ...

scored first in the 30th minute by heading in a

corner kick A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is taken ...

from teammate Eddie Gavin. Later, in the second half, Rochester evened the score at one when substitute

Darren Spicer Darren Spicer (born August 27, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Career Youth and College Spicer attended Diamond Bar High School in Diamond Bar, California, played club soccer with the Newport ...

scored from 17 yards out. The Rhinos'

Alfonso Motagalvan Felix Alfonso Motagalvan (born February 11, 1987) is an American soccer player. Playing career Youth and college Motagalvan was born in Santa Rosa, California, grew up in Gilroy, California, and attended Gilroy High School where he was a ...

was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the 84th minute for a dangerous tackle on

Emilio Rentería Emilio Rentería García (born October 9, 1984) is a Venezuelan footballer who currently plays as a forward for Academia Puerto Cabello. Career Club Rentería began his professional career in Spain, where he competed in the Spanish second divis ...

forcing Rochester to play the final minutes of the game with just ten men on the field. The score remained level until the 4th minute of

stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

when

scored on a "half volley" giving Columbus the victory. A week later on July 6, Columbus faced the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

of the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ( ...

in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals. The match was hosted by Columbus, again at Crew Stadium. In the 37th minute,

was fouled in the penalty area while going for a cross and the referee signalled for a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

. Emilio Rentería took the penalty kick and drove a right-footed shot into the back of the net making the score 1–0. Columbus extended their lead in the 70th minute on a goal from Steven Lenhart, and again in the 87th minute when Eddie Gavin scored off of a pass from

Emmanuel Ekpo Emmanuel Ekpo (born 20 December 1987 in Ekori) is a Nigerian professional footballer. Career Professional Ekpo spent his early years in the youth system of Calabar Rovers, before going on to play professionally for Akwa United and Enyimba in ...

. The Crew won 3–0 earning their first U.S. Open Cup semifinal appearance since 2002. On September 1, 2010, the Columbus Crew visited Washington, D.C. to face MLS club

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

in their semifinal match at

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the w ...

. Pablo Hernández scored in the 17th minute on a penalty kick to give D.C. an early lead at 1–0. D.C. United almost kept that lead for the victory until the 89th minute when United's

Marc Burch Marc Burch (born May 7, 1984 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American soccer player. Career College and amateur Burch played college soccer at the University of Evansville for three seasons from 2002–2004, scoring seven goals and assisting on 22 a ...

deflected a shot by Columbus's

into the net for an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

, tying the score and sending the match into

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

. In the 98th minute, the Crew's Steven Lenhart dribbled the ball into the 18-yard box and was tripped by D.C. United's

Carey Talley Carey Talley (born August 26, 1976) is a former American soccer player. Career College Talley played high school soccer for Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee. His team won the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association soccer ...

to draw a penalty.

took the penalty kick and scored the game-winning goal. The 2–1 final score secured the Columbus Crew's spot in the final.

MLS Playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2010 Columbus Crew Season Columbus Crew seasons