Third-place Columbus Crew SC lost a 1-0 decision to D.C. United on Wednesday night at Audi Field, marking the fourth consecutive regular-season road loss in the District.
Following Orlando City SC's 4-1 win over Atlanta United, the Crew (10-5-5, 35 pts.) stands tied with Orlando on total points, but Columbus technically still leads the Lions due to one more total victory (10).
Against D.C. (5-10-6, 21 pts.), the Crew knew the home side's recent success – having gone 3-0-1 in their last four – was based on some efficient goal scoring, and that's exactly what they got with one goal on one shot on target.
In fact, Columbus also totaled just one shot on goal, with both team's respective chance coming in the first half.
For Columbus, it was Jonathan Mensah getting a quality header on target in the 22nd minute, only to be cleared at the goal line by Júnior Moreno.
For D.C., it was Julian Gressel capitalizing on an open shooting pocket and a fortunate deflection inside the box following a cut-back pass from Yamil Asad in the 32nd minute.
Luis Diazhad a solid chance at an early second-half equalizer in the 56th minute, but it drifted just over the crossbar. Meanwhile, midfielders Darlington Nagbeand Lucas Zelarayan came on just afterwards to get 33 minutes of playing time in their return to full strength.
In the 73rd minute, Chris Cadden helped set up one of the Crew's best opportunities all night, with KrisztianNemeth stretching for a header to only to land just above the target.
With the loss, the Crew remains winless on the road this season in non-MLS is Back Tournament matches. The Black & Gold return home on Sunday, Nov. 1 to host the Philadelphia Union (13-3-5, 44 pts.).
Kickoff on Sunday is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN Deportes.
MATCH NOTES
By Crew SC Communications
- Defender Waylon Francis made his first regular-season appearance and start in 2020 at D.C. United. Francis saw 82 minutes of on-the-pitch action, making three clearances and three interceptions. His start in tonight’s match was his first since the 2019 regular-season home match against the Montreal Impact (July 20). The defender has now made 112 regular-season appearances (97 starts) for the Black & Gold since arriving in Columbus in 2014.
- Crew SC defender Jonathan Mensah lead the team in completed passes against D.C. United with 80 successful passes. Mensah also finished the night with four clearances and is currently first in MLS with 97 total clearances following tonight’s match. Fellow defender Aboubacar Keita led the team in clearances tonight with six total.
- Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter lead the team in interceptions in tonight’s match on the road against D.C. United. Berhalter had four interceptions on the night along with one recorded tackle and 47 touches. The midfielder notably made his ninth appearance (fourth start) in 2020 MLS regular-season action during tonight’s match.
- Up next for Crew SC, the team returns home to face the Philadelphia Union Sunday, November 1 [3:30 p.m. ET / ABC, ESPN Deportes / 97.1 The Fan & 971TheFan.com (English), ColumbusCrewSC.com (Spanish)].
