The Columbus Crew knew they would be playing their third consecutive game without their best player, Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Columbus defender Chad Marshall said it was tough playing without Guillermo. The defender also stated that his team can still win games without him. Marshall was able to prove that when he scored in the 39th minute to give the Crew a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Get MLS tickets and see Marshall break free before he scores a goal. The Crew won their first road game since June 6th at Kansas City. Columbus coach Robert Warzycha told the press that you know you have a good team when a few players are scoring the goals instead of one superstar. He continued to say if only one or two players were scoring the goals and they got injured, what's the team supposes to do.

Columbus had two star players sidelined due to injuries (Steve Lenhart and Jason Garey). Both forwards scored five of Columbus' six goals. It was Marshall's turn to shine. Goalkeeper William Hesmer made several key saves and earned his third shutout of the season while improving the Eastern Conference-leading Columbus to an 8-3-9 record. Hesmer said his team was up 1-0 late in the game, and he told himself that he was going to make big saves and contribute. The goalkeeper reiterated that he had to make a big save to secure a victory. That save came in the second half. Hesmer denied the Rapids their best chance of the game in the 55th minute when Omar Cummings tried to score a goal off a header from just outside the crease.

Hesmer said he had a good read on the play and saw the ball all the way, coming off Cummings' head. The goalkeeper was glad he did not carry the ball back into the game. Instead, he pinned the ball right in front of the goal line. Cummings couldn't believe what just happened, and could only shake his head in disgust. The forward got another chance ten minutes later, but his shot sailed just wide of the left post. Cummings said it was unfortunate that his team couldn't convert on their chances. He added that if you don't convert your chances, you lose the game. The Rapids (7-6-6) had their three-game home winning streak snapped. The team is 5-2-3 at home.

Colorado had a couple of golden opportunities in the first half. Pat Noonan drove a header over the crossbar in the 13th minute, and Cummings broke free in the 34th minute only to get off a feeble shot that was caught by the goalkeeper. Colorado coach Gary Smith said that when you're behind in the game against a good team, it makes things extremely difficult and slowly but surely the match got tighter and tighter for the Rapids. Colorado's leading scorer, Conor Casey, did not play against the Crew. He missed the team's previous game against New York due to yellow card accumulation. The Crew did not convert on a free 30 yards kick after referee Yader Reyes awarded the team late in the first half.

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