A four game Lions losing streak snapped Saturday night when Orlando City dominated the visiting Columbus Crew Soccer Club 5-2.
Columbus Crew opened the scoring run with a goal scored in the 5th minute, as Justin Meram took to open territory and passed the ball to Federico Higuian for an easy shot in.
At the 12th minute, Orlando City’s Luke Boden set a up a seamless play in response to Crew’s goal, receiving a pass and quickly sending one to forward Cyle Larin who struck the ball down the middle lane. Larin’s shot would be caught by a diving goalkeeper Steve Clark.
Cyle Larin soon broke through in the 18th minute of play for Orlando City on an assist by newly signed Lions defender Corey Ashe. A series of passes between Orlando and Columbus in Crew territory led to an opening for Larin to send the ball center goal. Ashe gained two assists in Saturday’s match.
“The credit goes to the team coming out with the right mentality and knowing we needed to win. We knew this was going to be a big game – here on out everything is big – and a good three points tonight was definitely needed,” said Ashe.
After a blocked first attempt by a Columbus defender at the face of the goal, Darwin Cerén connected on his second shot attempt, reaching the back corner of the visiting Crew team’s net. The goal at the 38th minute brought Orlando to lead Columbus Crew through the game’s end.
Cyle Larin again would score, this time in the 54th minute, to bring the game to 3-1, while tying the MLS all-time rookie scoring record with his 11th goal this season.
For a fourth Orlando City goal, in the 77th minute of play, Aurélien Collin scored off a corner kick from Luke Boden with an airborne head-in. Collin’s ball flew over goalkeeper Steve Clark and brought the crowd to their feet following the score.
“I’m very proud of the team. We showed a lot of commitment,” said Collin after the match. “I think Columbus is a great offense. Every game is different. In this game anyone can win against anyone, we did the right job and that’s what I’m proud about.”
Midfielder Christian Higuita’s first MLS goal brought the Lions to a 5-1 lead against the second highest ranked team in the MLS East Conference. A corner kick from Kaká made its way to Higuita who found an opening and scored with a head-in.
At the 90th minute, as Columbus Crew gained the upper hand on a fast-break, Aurélien Collin ran alongside the Crew SC offense when a passed ball deflected off Collins’ head and into the Orlando City goal, bringing the final score to 5-2.
“A really good night’s work. The players got a lot of reward for a lot of effort,” said head coach Adrian Heath. “Everybody’s worked so hard for the result tonight… If you look at the table [the end of the season] is getting closer by the week. Every game against an Eastern conference, which every one is until the end of the season is going to be huge. I think it’s going to go down to the wire and this is another big win for us.”
