By Zac Lee Rigg

Robbie Rogers was the most fouled player in the MLS regular season. Kansas City Wizards, in their first round playoff game against Columbus Crew on Saturday, set out to make sure that statistic holds true in the post-season as well.

Crew’s offensive plan is easy to understand. It’s simple: get the ball to Guillermo Barros Schelotto. It’s much harder to defend. Rogers and Eddie Gaven play high up the pitch and are encouraged to make diagonal and deep runs into the defense, and Alejandro Moreno will scrap for space with anybody in the middle. Schelotto then picks out the open one of the three in a dangerous position. At some point during the 90 minutes, one of those promising positions leads to a goal.

The tactic is perhaps most devastating when it is Rogers who receives the ball in space. He has a lightning first step to match anyone else in this league, and enough pace to embarrass many a right back. Given room, he’ll curl in a cross or drive towards the goal. Marked tightly, he’ll push the ball beyond the defender, who then has two options: bring down the former Heerenveen player or let him in behind the defense. On over 70 occasions this season, the defender has opted to foul Rogers.

For Columbus, this is an acceptable option. Schelotto’s set-piece delivery is of the highest quality, and their aerial threat is potent. For Rogers himself, however, this could prove a problem. The 21-year-old is sprightly enough that none of the oft vicious tackles have seriously injured him (he has yet to miss a game through injury this season), but that won’t be the case forever. Mostly, he is brought down by cumbersome tackles from defenders too slow to pull out or too dull to read his movements. But tackles like the one which earned Kevin Goldthwaite a straight red when Crew defeated Red Bull New York on September 18th are becoming more frequent. They are malicious and dangerous.

Kansas City frequently decided to forego waiting for Rogers to collect in the final third and would foul him as he attempted to bring the ball out of defense. It was a strategy that worked—Columbus failed to score while Rogers was on the pitch, despite right back Jonathan Leathers being outmatched. But it may have cost them. Herculez Gomez leaped up heatedly from a battle with Rogers to foul Gino Padula and earn his red card. Columbus eventually made the numbers count and equalized, away from home, through Steven Lenhart, in the 90th minute, minutes after Rogers had been withdrawn.

Though Rogers takes the abuse calmly, he’s starting to stand up for himself verbally. Instantly after Goldthwaite’s tackle, Rogers leaped up and confronted the defender, their noses millimeters apart. On Saturday, Rogers entered an extended verbal confrontation with Jimmy Conrad after a physical tussle between the pair. The moments when Rogers is animated are especially telling because he is so meek off it.

After the Crew’s 3-3 draw with LA Galaxy earlier in the season, I asked Rogers if he wanted to give me a controversial quote about David Beckham diving to earn a penalty. “No, that’s OK,” he said. “I’m too young for that.”

Such a level head, combined with his obvious talent and pace, will assure him a rewarding career in this league and abroad. That the youngster is drawing lines and standing up for his health, will extend that career by avoiding a couple injuries.

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