*Note: This editorial was edited by ColumbusCrewSC.com and provided by MLSsoccer.com
Fatai Alashe got a second-half redirection goal to cut the deficit to one before Gyasi Zardesequalized 20 minutes later in the 88th minute to secure a road point for Columbus Crew SC (7-1-3, 24 pts.) on Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field.
The draw means Columbus moves three points ahead of Toronto FC for first place in the MLS Supporters' Shield standings, while Zardes recorded his team-high eighth goal and Alashe tallied his first goal for Crew SC.
Chicago Fire FC (2-6-3, 9 pts.) began impressively with a goal in the 11th minute. Djordje Mihailovic notched his first goal of the season for the beleaguered Fire, who have had a difficult start this year.
Less than five minutes later, his Fire teammate Robert Berić grabbed a second, after a free-kick by Mihailovic and a cross from Fabian Herbers found Berić to put the Fire up 2–0 heading into halftime.
Crew SC started brightly in the second half, forcing Bobby Shuttleworth into a few dramatic saves before Alashe scored off an assist (technically) from Zardes.
The Crew recorded 14 of its 20 total shots in the second half, and just as stoppage time was about to hit, Zardes came up with a clean finish following a fortunate deflection.
Up next, Columbus returns home to host Nashville SC (2-4-3, 9 pts.) on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
MATCH NOTES
By Crew SC Communications
- Forward Gyasi Zardes scored his eighth regular-season goal of 2020 in today's road match on against Chicago Fire FC. Zardes’ goal came in the 88th minute – a late equalizer – marking his 40th regular-season goal since joining Crew SC ahead of the 2018 MLS regular season. In addition to his equalizer, the forward also provided the assist on Fatai Alashe’s 68th-minute goal.
- Midfielder Fatai Alashe scored his first Crew SC regular-season goal in today's road contest against the Chicago Fire. Alashe’s goal came in the 68th minute when he deflected in a Gyasi Zardes’ header following a Pedro Santos corner kick. In addition to the goal, Fatai finished the night with four shots, created one goal-scoring chance and completed 33 passes during his 90 minutes of action.
- Goalkeeper Eloy Room's shutout streak came to an end in the 12th minute of today’s match. Room’s shutout streak ended at 473 consecutive minutes, making it the third-best streak in Crew SChistory behind two Zack Steffen's streaks (2018: 525 minutes, 2019: 499 minutes).
- With his 90 minutes of action in today’s contest against Chicago Fire FC, captain Jonathan Mensah has now played now played every minute of every regular-season contest for the Black & Gold, totaling 990 minutes on the pitch.
- With the 2-2 draw in today’s road match against the Chicago Fire, Crew SC extended its undefeated streak against the Fire to six matches, dating back to a 3-0 home victory in 2018 (May 12). Over that span, the Crew has posted a record of 2-0-4.
- Up next for Crew SC, the team hosts Nashville SC for the first-ever MLS regular-season meeting between the sides at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday, September 19 [7:30 p.m. ET / FOX Sports Ohio, FOX Sports GO App / 97.1 The Fan & 971TheFan.com (English), ColumbusCrewSC.com (Spanish)].
