Diego Rossi recorded a hat trick to highlight Columbus’ five-goal first half, lifting the visiting Crew to a 5-4 victory over Atlanta United on Saturday.
Rossi tallied in the 14th and 16th minutes and again in the 39th to boost his team-leading goal tally to 16 on the season. He then exited the match in the 42nd minute with an apparent hamstring injury.
Andres Herrera collected a goal and two assists and Wessam Abou Ali also tallied as the Crew scored five first-half goals for the first time in franchise history.
The offensive outburst proved just enough for Columbus (13-6-10, 49 points), which snapped a four-match winless drought (0-2-2) and completed a season sweep of Atlanta. The Crew recorded a 3-1 victory over the Five Stripes on June 25.
Daniel Gazdag notched two assists and Patrick Schulte finished with five saves.
Jamal Thiare scored two goals, Miguel Almiron converted a penalty kick and Pedro Amador also tallied for Atlanta (5-13-11, 26 points), which was eliminated from postseason contention.
After recording shutout wins in each of their previous two matches, the Five Stripes quickly were undone Saturday.
A failed clearing attempt by goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert allowed Rossi to gain possession and score into the open net to stake Columbus to a 1-0 lead just 14 minutes into the match.
Rossi was far from done, however, as he converted a cross from Gazdag two minutes later.
Abou Ali scored from the middle of the box in the 25th minute and Herrera converted a one-touch shot from just inside the right goal post four minutes later.
Rossi gained inside position on his defender and chipped Rossi’s cross into the net to complete his hat trick.
Atlanta woke up as Almiron’s tally put it on the scoreboard before Amador’s header and Thiare’s sharp-angle shot trimmed its deficit to 5-3 in the 50th minute. Thiare’s header in the 88th minute brought the Five Stripes within a goal, but Columbus held on for the win.
–Field Level Media
