Yordy Reyna scored his first career MLS brace — and his first goals of any sort for his current club — to lift visiting D.C. United to a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Wednesday night at Lower.com Field.
Ola Kamara also added a brace of his own to bring his team-leading total to nine goals and add his name to an increasingly crowded race for the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi.
Reyna assisted Kamara's first goal in his 12th appearance for D.C. since he was acquired from Vancouver in a trade last season.
Kamara's second came from the penalty spot as a result of the relentless pressure that D.C. applied to Columbus throughout the first half, on a night they eventually ran their modest unbeaten run to four matches.
Kevin Molino and Lucas Zelarayan scored second-half goals for Columbus, who have now conceded four goals in back-to-back games after letting in eight in their previous 10 matches.
Zelarayan's sixth goal of the season had briefly cut the deficit to a single goal, before Reyna answered with an exceptional curling finish inside the left post after cutting inside from the right flank.
Reyna scored his first on a corner kick header to make it 2-0 in the 40th minute. Kamara opened the scoring 21 minutes earlier, and moments after starting goalkeeper Bill Hamid exited the match with an apparent hamstring injury.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: It took some time, but Hernan Losada's high-risk, high-reward style of managing D.C. has revealed itself over the Black-and-Red's last seven games. There have been at least three goals in five of those games, including at least four goals on three occasions and at least six goals twice. Wednesday marked the seventh time this year Columbus scored at least twice, and the first time that wasn't enough to earn at least a point.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It sure looked like the Crew might be able to steal at least a draw after Molino and Zelarayan struck six minutes apart to make it 3-2. Instead, Reyna made his final and most important contribution of the evening with a sumptuous left-footed finish.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Yordy Reyna. Even before completing his brace, Reyna was on track for the honor for his excellent two-way play upfront on a team that needed it. His 80-minute shift allowed Losada to leave Paul Arriola back in D.C. to recover from his role in the US men's national team's recent Concacaf Gold Cup triumph. Take a look at how Reyna helped create Kamara's opener below:
Up Next
- CLB: Saturday, Aug. 7 vs. Atlanta United | 7:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
- DC: Sunday, Aug. 8 vs. CF Montreal | 8 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
