There's no doubt the Columbus Crew are one of the stories of the '08 MLS season. They are the first team to six wins and no other team has scored more goals. Already, the Crew have won two-thirds of the total number of games they won in 2007. Moreover, in beating San Jose 3-2 on Saturday, they did something that no other MLS team had done all season by coming from behind in a game to collect three points.
To the surprise of almost everyone outside Crew Stadium, Columbus has sustained its promising beginning beyond the quarter mark of the season. After amassing 37 points en route to a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference last year, Sigi Schmid's side sit proudly atop the standings. Columbus must now be considered a legitimate threat not only to reach the playoffs, but to do some damage when it gets there.
What makes the Crew's start even more remarkable is its unexpectedness, especially after an offseason in which solid contributors such as Andy Herron, Marcos Gonzalez, Ned Grabavoy and Kei Kamara left the club.
Also rumored to be on his way out of Ohio was Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the talismanic Argentinean whose form was one of the Crew's bright spots in 2007. Crucially, the former Boca Juniors man did return for a second season and the feel-good factor that engendered as a result has grown and grown.
The experience at the offensive end of Barros Schelotto and the revitalized Alejandro Moreno is replicated at the back by the exuberant Frankie Hejduk, who is back to his pre-2006 knee-injury best. Goalkeeper Will Hesmer's stock is rising while, in the middle of the park is Brian Carroll, a shrewd acquisition by Schmid from San Jose, who had selected the former D.C. United player in last year's expansion draft.
The stability provided by this group has enabled Columbus' youth movement to blossom. Most impressive has been Robbie Rogers with five goals, but he is not the only player catching the eye. It might seem like Eddie Gaven has been around forever but he is only 21 and is showing signs of more consistency. Meanwhile, as Brad Evans showed in grabbing the winner off the bench at San Jose, the Crew have some developing strength in depth.
The big boys are back
After observing the lack of goals from some of the league's most well-known strikers, it's only fair to herald the return to scoring form of (some of) the established offensive stars last weekend.
Juan Pablo Angel scored four times in his first four games for New York last season but, after a start to 2008 that seen him dogged by nagging injuries, the Colombian was still searching for his first goal of the current campaign.
That all changed against the Galaxy on Saturday. In the blink of an eye, Angel rifled home a left-footed shot that silenced a Home Depot Center crowd still celebrating the Galaxy's tying goal, which had brought the Galaxy level at 1-1 just moments earlier. Angel, wearing the captain's armband, showed his leadership qualities to re-establish the Red Bulls' lead and earn his side a 2-1 win.
A day later on the same field, Taylor Twellman took less than 15 minutes to open his scoring account for the season. Injured while warming up for the season opener against Houston, the Revolution's all-time leading goal-getter showed a striker's instinct that New England had badly missed in recent weeks. The goal served to show just how important he is to Steve Nicol's side, which must be praying the ankle injury he sustained later in the game is not serious.
It might not have been the goal that gave the league's two-time defending champions a first victory (Dwayne De Rosario's late penalty did the trick), but Brian Ching's capitalization on a hideous Bouna Condoul error at least gave Houston fans something to cheer about. He'll need plenty more if the Dynamo are to make a run at the postseason after their slow start, though the abjectness of the Western Conference makes those hopes achievable.
Well played, young man
When Robbie Rogers returned from Holland without an appearance for Heerenveen to show for his time abroad, the jury was out on the Californian. An inconsistent first season with Columbus did little to help anyone reach a conclusion.
However, after acclimatizing back into his own country, it is clear that Rogers is a
player. Five goals in seven games this season shows the goal threat of the 21-year-old, a trait highlighted against San Jose when he finished impressively timed runs with aplomb in front of goal.
Rogers' left-footedness is a further advantage. He's a good bet to go to the Olympics this summer, by which time he might already have been capped by the senior national team.
Andrew Hush
