Columbus Crew SC scored a goal 30 seconds after kickoff, but yielded the equalizer in the second half, settling for a 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls in the Visit Tucson Sun Cup preseason tournament.
Derek Etienne Jr. found a quick opener for Columbus against his former team, but Brian White struck back for RBNY to salvage the draw minutes after Crew SC's Sebastian Berhalter was sent off with a straight red card.
Etienne Jr. gave Columbus the lead almost immediately after the match got underway, slotting home a feed from Chris Cadden past RBNY goalkeeper David Jensen, giving Crew SC a 1-0 lead they would take into halftime.
RBNY nearly equalized four minutes after second-half kickoff from a free kick sent into the penalty box that resulted in a pair of shots on goal. But new Columbus goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell, who subbed on at halftime, was up for task, making back-to-back reaction saves.
Columbus went down a man in the 61st minute after Berhalter was issued a straight red card for a tackle on RBNY's Omir Fernandez, who was helped off the field by the training staff.
RBNY would find the equalizer shortly thereafter, with White cashing home a point-blank finish to level the score following a botched clearance attempt by Hector Jimenez.
RBNY had one last good look at the winner near the final whistle off a rocket shot off the boot of Jared Stroud, but Tarbell made the denial to preserve the 1-1 result.
Crew SC move to 4W-0L-2D through six preseason matches with one more exhibition match to go for Caleb Porter's side against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. RBNY (3W-2L-2D) will also close out their preseason on Saturday with a matchup against Sporting Kansas City.
Goals
- 1' - CLB - Derrick Etienne
- 68' - RBNY - Brian White
Lineups
Columbus Crew SC: Jon Kempin (46' Andrew Tarbell) – Chris Cadden, Josh Williams, Aboubacar Keita, Hector Jimenez – Darlington Nagbe (46' Artur), Sebastian Berhalter – Derrick Etienne, Pedro Santos (46' Aidan Morris), Youness Mokhtar (72' Luis Diaz) – Fanendo Adi (75' Miguel Berry)
New York Red Bulls: David Jensen – John Tolkin, Amro Tarek (Kyle Zajec), Sean Nealis, Rece Buckmaster – Marc Rzatowksi, Chris Lema (Kaku) – Josh Sims (Jared Stroud), Ben Mines (Alex Muyl), Omir Fernandez – Tom Barlow (Mathias Jorgensen)
