Columbus Crew, Dayton Dutch Lions Friendly / Scrimmage / ...

The Columbus Crew traveled west down I-70 towards Dayton yesterday evening to play friendly match against their new USL Pro affiliate the Dayton Dutch Lions.

Transitional year for these two teams. Columbus has a new owner and everything that comes with that and Dayton, after operating as a distant post for Dutch side FC Twente, is now also affiliated with a MLS team in the Crew.

As for the game itself, I feel it served several purposes. First off; It got some of the Crew players caught in no-man's land some playing time... guys like Ben Speas, Eric Gehrig, Ben Sweat and Fifi Baiden. They played pretty well, but the rust was clearly there. Second; It got some folks out to watch some pro soccer in West Carrollton. Third; It sort of smooths out the player comments from camp Crew about Dayton being "purgatory." 

The Crew ended up winning by two goals scored in the first five minutes.

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Beautiful evening out in Dayton. Time sort of melts away for me on Midwestern Spring evenings like this one.