By Daniel O'Leary
Columbus Crew 2’s 5-0 victory Thursday evening allowed the team to claim revenge over Inter Miami CF II, one of just two teams Crew 2 has been defeated by this season. Thursday evening’s match notched the ninth win in the last ten matches for the Black & Gold.
Crew 2’s relentless pressure from the initial whistle allowed the team plenty of opportunities, outshooting Miami 14 to 10. The first goal came at the feet of Noah Fuson assisted by Marco Micaletto in the ninth minute, putting the home team up 1-0.
Crew 2 leveraged this advantage to tack on four additional goals. The second goal of the match came in the 37th minute when Jacen Russell-Rowe scored his eighth goal in eight appearances assisted by Aidan Wolf.
Wolf, who was making his first MLS NEXT Pro start, not only notched an assist, but also found the back of the net himself in the 46th minute by rocketing home a bouncing ball inside the box.
Justin Malou made it 4-0 when he scored his first goal of the season in the 70th minute, as he headed in a cross from a corner kick taken by Michael Vang.
Jacen Russell-Rowe scored the fifth goal of the night for the home team. This goal earned Russell-Rowe his first brace of the season by scoring his second goal of the match in the 85th minute. Russell-Rowe now leads MLS NEXT Pro in goals, scoring nine so far this season.
Goalkeeper Brady Scott recorded his second clean sheet of the MLS NEXT Pro season, making five saves during the match.
Crew Academy players Caleb Borneo and Jackson Lindimore both made their professional debuts in the match, coming in as second half substitutes.
The Black & Gold are back in action on June 19 at 2:00 p.m. ET at Historic Crew Stadium against Orlando City B. The match will be available live via a free stream at MLSNEXTPro.com.
