Columbus Crew 2 returned home to play at Lower.com Field after three matches away to face Chicago Fire II on Sunday afternoon. Despite starting two first-team regulars in winger Luis Diaz and midfielder Kevin Molino, both who are returning from injury and midfielder Isaiah Parante, Crew 2 lost the second match against the Fire II this season 4-2 with one more matchup in Chicago on July 2. 

Fire II got the scoring started in the 26th minute when defender Ariel Mbumba’s wayward pass into the midfield got intercepted. With no Black & Gold player around, defender Noah Egan had plenty of space to pick out a pass to midfielder Harold Osorio, who then found winger Justin Reynolds. Diaz did not track Reynolds, who then put a move on defender Keegan Hughes and blasted a shot by Columbus goalkeeper Brady Scott. 

In the 28th minute, Scott played a goal kick up to midfielder Cole Mrowka, who let the ball run beyond him so he could run with the dribble. Chicago’s press was there and before Mrowka could touch the ball, Osorio stole the ball and found a wide open Richard Fleming wide open at the penalty spot. The midfielder slotted the ball past Scott for an early 2-0 lead. 

The last whistle of the first half saw Fire II grab a third goal. Forward Bill Hency got on the end of the ball, put a no-look pass beyond Crew 2’s Parente to forward Noeh Hernandez who then returned it to Hency. The striker made no mistake with his open space and found the third goal of the match. 

In the 65th minute, attacking midfielder Luka Prpa found the fourth goal for Chicago when an errant pass from Black & Gold midfielder Thomas Roberts was well short of Hughes. The defender got to the ball second and could not dispossess Osorio, who went two-on-one against Scott with Prpa. Osorio passed the ball to Prpa who calmly placed it into the open net. 

Midfielder Marco Micaletto, a second half sub, scored the first goal for Columbus. Crew 2 played the ball out wide to Micaletto, who then got cleared out on the right flank by center back Lamonth Rochester who took the worst of the tackle and had to come off injured and received a yellow card. The Black & Gold took full advantage of the time Rochester was down to draw up a set play. On the ensuing set piece, defender Jake Morris played the ball towards the penalty spot on the ground, Micaletto beat his defender and put the ball into the back of the net. 

Like the end of the first half, the final whistle blew after a goal, this time for Columbus. Wing back Jordan Knight drove the ball toward the goal but was taken down outside the penalty box. Parente took a confident step up and put the free kick through the wall and into the back of the goal for the final 4-2 scoreline.

Adversity

Crew 2 did not face much adversity last year, losing only three matches en route to being the first-ever MLS NEXT Pro champions. Not even halfway through this season, the Black & Gold have lost four matches and have dropped the last three games in a row. The loss is amplified when plenty of first-team players were in the starting lineup and Fire II had gone winless in the team’s last eight matches. 

Supporting the first team

A number of first team players saw minutes in the matchup against the Fire, including Diaz, Kevin Molino and Parente. Diaz and Molino made their return to game action in this matchup as they continue to regain fitness following extended absences due to injury.

Diaz struggled in his first game back but did show his quality on a couple attacks. In the 15th minute and the 22nd minute, he was able to use his speed to get by his defender. In the 22nd minute, he faked a move out wide and then cut inside, fooling his defender and finding forward Gibran Rayo in space at the top of the 18-yard box. On a couple occasions, however, Diaz looked either unenthused or confused on marking as he gave up on covering his man who then received the ball unmarked in the penalty box. 

After the match, Courtois mentioned how Diaz is still learning his defensive positioning, but the team appreciates how dangerous he is on the attack. Diaz has shifted positions to right wing back and was playing with an unfamiliar line, making communication and marking more of an issue.