As Houston looms, Jacen Russell-Rowe keeps scoring late goals for the Columbus Crew
There’s something about playing Toronto that agrees with Jacen Russell-Rowe.
On June 29, 2022, Russell-Rowe made his debut in the Crew starting lineup in a game at Toronto. The Crew won that one, 2-1, and Russell-Rowe assisted on goals scored by Sean Zawadzki and Darlington Nagbe. It was one of six appearances Russell-Rowe made for the Crew’s first team that year and his only two assists of the season.
Saturday night at Lower.com Field, the 20-year-old forward subbed in with 20 minutes remaining and the Crew leading Toronto 1-0. In the final minute before stoppage time, it was Russell-Rowe who scored the goal to ice the game by getting on the end of a boot from goalkeeper Patrick Schulte and finishing at the other end.
It was a big deal for the Toronto native who was called into the Canadian national team for this summer’s Gold Cup.
“I always dreamed … ever since coming to Columbus, it's been a goal of mine,” he said. “And even from my first game, my debut game was against Toronto in Toronto and I got an assist then. As a striker you always want to score, so then scoring is the next step.”
The goal was Russell-Rowe’s fourth of the season. It was also the second straight game in which he scored late in the game as a second-half substitution. His goal in stoppage time cemented a 3-0 win against FC Cincinnati on Aug. 20, and his goal in the 2-0 win against Toronto came in the 89th minute.
Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said Russell-Rowe continues to improve as he learns to be more consistent on a day-to-day basis.
“I like him because he's a young player, but he's a goal scorer,” the coach said. “He's really good to find time, to get in the box and to have good execution. I know that he can be good, but he knows that he has to better in the day to day and just to learn how to be more consistent. This is something that he's doing now.”
Columbus Crew preparing for excessive heat in Houston
After beating Toronto on Saturday, the Crew will play its next two games during the span of four days away from Lower.com Field. The Crew plays at Houston at 8:30 on Wednesday night and will travel on from there to Montreal for a 7:30 game this Saturday.
It’s expected to be quite warm in Houston on Wednesday. The forecasted high temperature is 101 degrees, with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 90s expected around kickoff at Shell Energy Stadium. Nancy said that while the heat will obviously affect both teams, the key for the Crew will be to keep as much possession and control of the game as possible to avoid being forced to exert too much energy in the heat.
“It’s all about what we want to do with the ball,” he said. “If in Houston we are not able to control the game, we’re going to do the ping-pong game, and usually when you play over there, the first 10 minutes could be OK but after that you have a crash until the last 10-15 minutes of the half.”
In order to prepare for the conditions, Nancy told a joke that had him belly laughing for several seconds.
“What we decided to do, we invited all the players to the jacuzzi of Bez (Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko) just to get used to the hot weather,” he said.
Can the Crew replicate its Lower.com Field success on the road?
Since the resumption of MLS play following the Leagues Cup, the Crew has continued its run of success at home with consecutive shutout wins. Wins against Cincinnati and Toronto came by a combined margin of 5-0, moving the Crew to plus-17 in goal differential this season. That is the best mark through 25 games in club history.
But while the Crew is 10-1-3 at home, it is only 2-6-3 on the road with just one win in its last seven such games. During that stretch, which dates back to a 1-0 loss at Charlotte on April 22, the Crew has been outscored 14-10 on the road.
“We focus on ourselves, making sure everyone is good,” Crew left wingback Yaw Yeboah said. “We don’t see home game or away game. We just have to go there, do our best and get the result that we need. We’re going to go in there for a win.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jacen Russell-Rowe's production growing as Crew goes to Houston
