D.C. United earned a 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Audi Field, with forward Tai Baribo scoring both goals in his return to the starting lineup. The result moved the Black-and-Red to 28 points and back into 11th place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-7-10 record.
Columbus tested the Black-and-Red first. In the 11th minute, Santiago RodrÃguez struck from outside the box and forced D.C. United goalkeeper Sean Johnson into a save in the top left corner. The Black-and-Red answered with a pair of chances in quick succession, as Louis Munteanu's effort from the center of the box was turned away by Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte in the 15th minute and Kimito Nono rattled the crossbar from the right side of the box a minute later.
The pressure paid off in the 24th minute. Munteanu played Baribo in close to goal, and the forward finished from close range to put D.C. United in front.
Columbus pushed for a leveler through Taha Habroune and Dylan Chambost, but the Black-and-Red doubled the lead in the 37th minute. Nono delivered a cross into the box and Baribo swept it into the bottom left corner for his second of the night, sending D.C. United into the break with a 2-0 advantage.
The Crew came out determined to shift the momentum and cut the deficit in half in the 49th minute, when RodrÃguez collected a pass from Josef MartÃnez and curled a right-footed strike from outside the box into the bottom right corner.
D.C. United nearly restored the two-goal cushion a minute later, as Kye Rowles headed a corner off the crossbar from close range. Columbus kept coming. Johnson denied Brais Méndez from distance in the 61st minute, and Méndez clipped the bar himself in the 70th. Substitutes Nathan Ordaz and Brandon Servania both drew saves from Schulte late on, and the Black-and-Red held firm through six minutes of stoppage time to see out the result.
Baribo proved to be the difference in the attack, recording his 13th and 14th goals of the season in his return from injury. Munteanu and Nono each supplied an assist. On the other end, Johnson finished with three saves as the back line limited Columbus to a single goal despite sustained second-half pressure.
D.C. United returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 12, when the Black-and-Red host Atlanta United FC at Audi Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
D.C. United Lineup: Sean Johnson, Lucas Bartlett, Silvan Hefti, Keisuke Kurokawa, Kye Rowles, Kimito Nono, João Peglow (Sean Nealis 90'+2), Andre Dozzell, Tai Baribo (Brandon Servania 77'), Louis Munteanu (Nathan Ordaz 70'), Jackson Hopkins (Matti Peltola 46')
Unused Substitutes: Alex Bono, Jared Stroud, Nikola Markovic, Oscar Avilez, Hosei Kijima
Head Coach: René Weiler
Columbus Crew Lineup: Patrick Schulte, Malte Amundsen, Sean Zawadzki, Dylan Chambost (André Gomes 70'), Tarun Karumanchi, Santiago RodrÃguez (Jamal Thiaré 81'), Brooks Lennon, Cesar Ruvalcaba (Steven Moreira 46'), Taha Habroune (Brais Méndez 46'), Mohamed Farsi, Josef MartÃnez (Gonzalo Tapia 60')
Unused Substitutes: Nicholas Hagen, Eric Bailly, Lautaro Giaccone, Luke Pruter
Head Coach: Laurent Courtois
