D.C. United defeated Columbus Crew SC 4-2 in their 17th match of the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) Regular Season. Two goals apiece from Ola Kamara and Yordy Reyna led United to their second road victory of the season. The win moves the Black-and-Red into sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 7-7-3 (24 points).
D.C. United started with Bill Hamid in net and Tony Alfaro, Steve Birnbaum, and Frédéric Brillant as the defensive back three with Andy Najar and Julian Gressel playing as the two wingbacks. Junior Moreno and Felipe Martins were partnered in the midfield and Kevin Paredes, Yordy Reyna, and Ola Kamara started up front for the Black-and-Red.
The Black-and-Red started quickly out of the gates and their high-press resulted in an early lead and the first of three first half goals. Ola Kamara latched onto a loose ball in the 19th minute following pressure from Yordy Reyna who forced a turnover in Columbus’ defensive third and calmly slotted home for the opener. United doubled their lead in the 40th minute after some nice build-up led to Andy Najar picking out Yordy Reyna who headed home for his first D.C. United goal. On the stroke of halftime, United found themselves up 3-0 after Kevin Paredes drew a foul in the Columbus box. Kamara stepped-up for the penalty and finished into the bottom corner for his second of the night and ninth of the season.
Columbus scored in the 65th and 71st minutes to cut United’s lead to one, but the Black-and-Red responded quickly. Second half substitute, Drew Skundrich played a forward pass into Yordy Reyna, who cleverly cut onto his left foot and beat the goalkeeper into the bottom left corner from just outside the box. The assist was the first of Skundrich’s MLS career. United’s defense was able to stand strong for the remainder of the match and the game finished 4-2 in favor of the Black-and-Red.
Jon Kempin, who came on for Bill Hamid, who was forced off after picking-up an injury in the first half, made three second half saves to help United maintain the lead, including a 90th minute diving effort to deny a well-struck shot from distance that was heading to the top corner.
D.C. United’s look to build on their four-match unbeaten run when they return home on Sunday, August 8 at 8:00 PM ET to take on CF Montréal. The pre-match show begins at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Washington and dcunited.com and you can also watch the match live in Spanish on TeleXitos.
