*NOTE: The following editorial was provided by MLSsoccer.com and edited by ColumbusCrewSC.com
A trio of second-half goals propelled Toronto FC to a 3-1 win over Columbus Crew SC on Sunday night from Rentschler Fied at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn.
Columbus (9-2-3, 30 pts.) still leads the Supporters' Shield race, as Toronto (8-2-4, 28 pts.) and Philadelphia (8-2-4, 28 pts.) remain two points back following the only regular-season meeting this season between TFC and Crew SC.
Despite a sluggish second half, the Crew totaled eight shots in the opening 45 minutes and eventually got on the board thanks to an inward-swinging ball from Pedro Santos that was meant for Gyasi Zardes, but ultimately it was TFC's Chris Mavinga shinning it home.
From there, it was all Toronto as the Reds got on the board in the 48th, 59th, and 76th minutes.
For their first tally, Richie Laryea got forward and sent a ball to Alejandro Pozuelo at the top of the box. He sent a softly-rolling ball Jozy Altidore's way, and from beyond the 18, the striker smashed it into the back of the net to equalize.
After a number of changes to go ahead, Laryea ignited the attack again in the 59th minute, with Pozuelo deftly finishing his assist, making it the third straight match he's scored in for the first time in his career. Then Laryea finally scored himself, running through three Crew defenders near the goalmouth before finishing on a tight-angle shot.
Up next, Columbus travels to FC Dallas (5-3-4) on Saturday, Oct. 3 for an 8:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
MATCH NOTES
By Crew SC Communications
- With his start in tonight’s match on the road against Toronto FC, midfielder Artur reached 100 MLS regular-season appearances for Crew SC. He joins defenders Harrison Afful, Josh Williams and Hector Jimenez as one of only four players in the Crew’s current roster to make 100 or more regular-season appearances for the Club. Tonight, Artur led the team with 81 total touches.
- During tonight’s road match against Toronto FC, defender Harrison Afful intercepted four total passes away from Toronto, leading all players, also finishing the night with 61 total touches before coming off the pitch in the 78th minute.
- Defender Jonathan Mensah completed 94 percent of his attempted passes in tonight’s road match against Toronto FC. Mensah successfully completed 51 passes throughout the entirety of the match and also recorded five clearances, leading the team tonight.
- Up next for Crew SC, the team travels south to Frisco, Texas to face FC Dallas on Saturday, October 3 [8:30 p.m. ET / SportsTime Ohio, FOX Sports GO App / 97.1 The Fan & 971TheFan.com (English), ColumbusCrewSC.com (Spanish)].
