Lucas Zelarayanwas the hero for the Columbus Crew (2-2-2, 8 pts.) on Saturday, scoring two stunning late free-kicks to give Columbus a dramatic 2-1 win over New York City FC at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ.
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Zelarayan struck first in the 82nd minute, with a free-kick blasted past NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson as Columbus drew level to potentially record the Club's second draw of the regular season.
WATCH | Lucas Zelarayan drills it from deep to equalize
The Argentine midfielder delivered once more in stoppage time to seal a valuable second win of the season for the defending MLS Cup champs.
WATCH | Lucas Zelarayan does it again, this time with a game-winner in stoppage time
NYCFC looked the aggressors throughout the first 15 minutes, however, and finally did find the back of the net through a bottom-corner finish by Ismael Tajouri-Shradi to open his account in 2021.
Not long after, Jesús Medina nearly made it 2-0 on a well-placed pass in the box from Valentin Castellanos but was denied by a brilliant save from The Crew's Eloy Room.
WATCH | Eloy Room comes up big in the first half vs. NYCFC
Castellanos later made his own bid to double the margin in the 33rd from a pass from Tajouri-Shradi but missed the target by mere inches. Columbus did find the net in the 51st minute as Jonathan Mensah fired it home but saw it immediately waved off on a straightforward offside call.
For much of the match, Sean Johnson did not face many threats outside of deep tries from Pedro Santos in the 40th and Darlington Nagbe in the 66th that didn't miss by much.
But Zelarayan would once again prove the difference, scoring his second and third goals of the season, all of which have come from free-kicks.
Up next, The Crew returns home on Saturday, May 29 vs. Toronto FC at 3 p.m. ET. | PURCHASE TICKETS
*Note: This editorial was provided by MLSsoccer.com and edited by ColumbusCrew.com
CREW SC MATCH NOTES
Midfielder Lucas Zelarayan scored two free-kick goals during tonight’s 2-1 road victory over New York City FC. The Argentine player scored his first goal in the 82nd minute to tie the match 1-1 before converting another free kick in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to net the game-winning goal. Zelarayan became the first player to score two free-kick goals in one match for the Crew since Federico Higuain achieved this feat during a 2012 match against the New England Revolution (August 25). The midfielder is currently The Crew’s leading goal scorer for the 2021 MLS season with three tallies, having previously converted a free kick goal in the Black & Gold’s 3-1 win against D.C. United earlier this year (May 8).
During tonight’s match, midfielder Darlington Nagbe led The Crew in pass completion accuracy with 98.2%, completing 55 of his 56 passes. The midfielder had 71 total touches and added one clearance and one interception against New York City FC. Overall, the Club had an 86.6% pass completion accuracy with 499 total passes Saturday night.
Defender Jonathan Mensah had three interceptions and three blocks for The Crew during tonight’s 2-1 win over New York City FC. The defender also won eight duels, made four clearances, blocked one shot, and made three interceptions. Notably, Mensah registered 94 touches – more than any other player for either team on the night.
Tonight’s victory marks the first time Columbus Crew has defeated New York City FC on the road in regular-season action since a 2-1 victory at Yankee Stadium in 2015 (August 29).
Next up the Black & Gold face off against Toronto FC on Saturday, May 29 [3:00 p.m. ET / Bally Sports Ohio (English), Bally Sports App (Stream) / 97.1 The Fan (English), ColumbusCrew.com (Spanish)].
