The moon rises over Lower.com Field following the Columbus Crew’s 4-3 victory over Orlando City SC Saturday night. Credit: Jack Macey | Lantern Reporter
Aziel Jackson scored his first goal in a Crew uniform at Saturday night’s game, capping off a stellar performance for Columbus.
Jackson, a 22-year-old midfielder who formerly played for St. Louis CITY SC, was overcome with relief as he celebrated his score.
“The whole transition of getting traded — it’s just good to get the first goal,” Jackson said. “Having the confidence of my teammates as well has been pushing me. I give credit to the organization for believing in me.”
The Columbus Crew (16-5-8) defeated Orlando City SC (12-11-7) 4-3 in an action-packed affair, with Jackson leading the charge Saturday at Lower.com Field.
Coming into the match, Orlando had scored eight goals in its last three games, led by forwards Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire.
Crew goalie Patrick Schulte was tested early by Orlando’s stars.
A ricochet off the post set up Torres for a rebound opportunity that was narrowly saved by Schulte in the eighth minute.
One minute later, McGuire failed to capitalize on a scoring opportunity, sending a shot over the net.
Despite controlling time of possession for the majority of the first 25 minutes, the Crew’s offense could not create any scoring threats.
A quick pause in the game due to a handball review gave Columbus a much-needed boost.
In the 30th minute, Crew attacker Diego Rossi netted the first goal of the game from the right side of the box, assisted by attacker Christian Ramírez and defender Mohamed Farsi.
The goal was Rossi’s 11th of the season.
Just three minutes later, Ramirez took an opportunity to get a goal of his own, sending a shot wide left of the net.
The Crew looked to make one last scoring effort as the half came to a close.
However, the attack opportunity was dismantled when Columbus midfielder Alexandru Mățan received a yellow card for poor sportsmanship.
The Crew accumulated 66% of ball possession through the first 45 minutes of play, taking five shots to Orlando’s four.
Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy said he believed the team missed a few opportunities to score in the first half by overcomplicating things.
“Play a common sense play. We had a few two-versus-one, and we didn’t play the two,” Nancy said. “We just needed to stay in position to receive the ball between the lines.”
It took just six minutes into the second half for Columbus to build on its lead.
Assisted by forward Max Arfsten, Ramirez blasted a header into the net from the center of the box.
With a two score lead, the Crew controlled the pace of the game, keeping the ball on Orlando’s side of the field.
In the 59th minute, Columbus attacker Cucho Hernández continued to apply pressure on Orlando’s defense, booting a shot over the net.
Hernandez would make up for his miss by scoring 12 minutes later, via his left foot, sending the ball past Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
Both Arfsten and Jackson tallied their second assists of the game with the score.
Hernandez’s goal marked his 15th of the year, which is the most of all Crew players, while also tying him for fifth on the leaderboard of top scorers in the MLS.
It seemed like the Crew was coasting to a big victory, but Orlando wouldn’t fade away.
Attacker Ramiro Enrique got Orlando on the board in the 74th minute.
Four minutes later, a yellow card on Crew midfielder Yaw Yeboah resulted in a penalty kick for Orlando, with attacker Luis Muriel sending the shot past Schulte to the lower right side of the net.
The crowd quickly became tense, as Orlando was just one goal away from climbing out of a three-score deficit.
However, Jackson had other plans for Orlando’s comeback hopes.
In the 85th minute, Jackson scored to the bottom left corner of the net, assisted by Hernandez.
In the dying moments, Muriel scored his second goal for Orlando in stoppage time with an assist provided by Torres.
Fortunately for the Crew, the final whistle was blown a minute later.
Afrsten said he felt the Crew showed strong composure during Orlando’s late push.
“I think it shows our resiliency as a team,” Arfsten said. “We’ve been in kind of sticky situations this year, so we’re used to having our backs against the wall. It’s just about continuing to play our game no matter what the score is.”
The Crew will take a brief break from regular-season matchups to play for hardware next.
Columbus will host Club América in the Campeones Cup final Wednesday at Lower.com Field.
