CHESTER, Pa. (WCMH) — A last-gasp goal from Columbus Crew midfielder Sean Zawadzki saved the team from suffering a second loss and snatch a 2-2 tie with the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night.
Down 2-1 in second half stoppage time, the Black & Gold earned a corner kick with roughly one minute left in the game. A near post cross was flicked on by Diego Rossi with a backwards header towards the far post, where Zawadzki made a perfect run and slotted home the equalizer.
A scoreless first 44 minutes ended just before halftime when the Union’s star striker Tai Baribo opened the scoring. The Israeli is the joint top goal scorer in MLS with eight goals thus far. With the better edge in possession, Columbus got a 61st minute equalizer from Max Arfsten before Philly’s Francis Westfield gave the Union the lead back just three minutes later.
Zawadzki’s stoppage time equalizer keeps the Crew’s record at just one loss this season, a mark only matched by Western Conference leaders the Vancouver Whitecaps. Saturday’s game was also a homecoming for Crew midfielder Daniel Gazdag, who was traded by Philadelphia in April. Gazdag played 78 minutes.
The Black & Gold enter a two-match week which begins Wednesday in Canada against CF Montreal at 7:30 p.m. Columbus returns home on Saturday to host rivals FC Cincinnati in the first “Hell is Real” derby match of the season.
Cincinnati and Columbus sit as the top two teams in the Eastern Conference table with the same amount of points. Cincy sits in first thanks to one more win than the Crew.