KANSAS CITY -- Not that playing in the return match of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series isn't motivation enough, but the Kansas City Wizards have some unfinished business with the Columbus Crew.
The last time the Wizards went to Ohio and Crew Stadium, on July 17, they put their hosts down two in the first 24 minutes via an own goal and a Roger Espinoza strike. But then the Crew surged and took the lead back, before the teams ended in a 3-3 draw thanks to Josh Wolff's first goal in his return to MLS.
"Both times we went up there and played, we competed," said team captain Jimmy Conrad. " ... Even the time we went up there early in the season and we lost 2-1, we were down 2-0 in that game and went down to 10 men because Roger [Espinoza] got a red card. I thought we were the better team with 10 guys."
This Saturday, the prognosticators are predicting a Columbus win, but it's just more of the same for the Wizards who have grown accustomed to what they perceive as a lack of respect. A win at Crew Stadium would mean a win in the aggregate-goals series after a 1-1 draw in Kansas City last Saturday. And it would also mean that, once again, Kansas City will have proved the pundits wrong. After all, who thought the Wizards would even be in the playoffs?
"We're definitely excited to go there and play. We felt like we had done enough offensively last time we were there to get the deal done. But, unfortunately, defensively we had some mistakes they were able to capitalize on," said goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, who will likely become the first MLS player to reach 4,000 career playoff minutes on Saturday.
"They're a very, very good team, and we just want to try and get one of these wins. They've gotten the better of the series against us this year, and we'd love to have the opportunity to play well and satisfy not only ourselves but our fans and get to the next round."
Making the Wizards' chore more difficult is their surrendering of the game-tying goal in stoppage time in the first leg. Having gained the lead in the 53rd minute on a superlative Claudio Lopez cross and Davy Arnaud header, Kansas City repeatedly failed to clear the ball out of their own end just minutes before the final whistle blew. The Crew's Steven Lenhart latched on to an Alejandro Moreno lay down and blasted the ball past Hartman.
The goal tarnished a defensive performance that had a shutout going until then, even after playing a man down when Herculez Gomez was sent off in the 75th minute. Surely the Wizards will want to make amends in Columbus.
"For the most part, we did a pretty good job at least slowing down [wide midfielder Robbie] Rogers. [Playmaker Guillermo Barros] Schelotto is going to have his impact; we just try to minimize it. We did a good job of keeping Moreno quiet," said Conrad. "It was just unfortunate we were down a guy. They just kept pounding us in the box for a couple minutes and got one in."
No wins against the Crew this season in games the Wizards performed well for long stretches, a painful mistake in the dying minutes last week -- unfinished business.
"We're happy with our effort and how we kind of shut them down, frustrated them a little bit," said Conrad after Saturday's match.
Frustrating the Crew for a full match to gain a win would get Kansas City into the Eastern Conference Championship and exorcise a few demons along the way.
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Conrad relishes time up front
