Earthquakes Give Up Two

• George Pennington
• Thu Jun 3 2010, 9:14pm GMT

Away at San Jose for a midweek contest, the Columbus Crew maintained the aggressive spirit exhibited in last week's home loss to Los Angeles.

It appeared early on that the road trip would yield a quick three points for the visitors as Eddie Gaven scored in the 5th minute. Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon made an initial save on Columbus forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto but couldn't keep the ball secure. Jason Garey knocked it loose from Cannon's feet and put it across the net where an unmarked Gaven tapped it in.

The Quakes responded in kind less than a minute later. Arturo Alvarez sent a rocketing shot to the back of the net from 18 yards as the second best defense in the league watched on helplessly.

The remainder of the first half and the beginning of the second turned into a battle of the 'keepers as both teams saw numerous scoring chances.

Advantage was taken by Columbus in minute 69 as Crew fans saw a familiar sight. A perfectly served corner kick from Schelotto found defender Chad Marshall, whose near post header put the 2008 MLS Cup Champions ahead 2-1.

Just as it appeared that San Jose was about to suffer another loss at home, the Crew's Jed Zayner handed the Quakes a lifeline after a foul on Bobby Convey. From the left of the box, Convey sent the ball in toward substitute forward Scott Sealy, who flicked it on to Chris Wondolowski. The resulting header made for Wondolowski's 6th goal of the season and an equalizer for San Jose.

The resulting 2-2 tie keeps Columbus at the top of the Eastern Conference with 21 points. They will play one more game this Saturday in Colorado before the World Cup break.