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Wil Trapp Mega Strike Completes Comeback Win for Columbus Crew SC

Wil Trapp's second-half stoppage time golazo gave his Columbus Crew SC side a resilient come-from-behind victory on Saturday against Orlando City SC.
Wil Trapp

Wil Trapp doesn’t score very often. But when he does, it’s usually a long-range stunner.

The Columbus Crew SC captain’s blast from outside the box in second-half stoppage time gave his team a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Orlando City SC on Saturday. It marked just his second goal in Black and Gold and first since September 13, 2014. That strike, against the Houston Dynamo, also came from outside the box.

Gyasi Zardes also returned to goal-scoring form in the win. The 26-year-old striker tallied his third brace of 2018 and moved into a tie for second in the Golden Boot race with 13 goals.

Wil Trapp Mega Strike Gives Columbus Crew SC 3-2 Comeback Win Over Orlando City SC

The absence of Federico Higuain combined with Eduardo Sosa serving a red card suspension meant Gregg Berhalter inserted Luis Argudo into the number 10 role. It was the second time this year that Berhalter deployed the rookie out of Wake Forest in such a manner. Other than that, it was a fairly straight-forward starting XI for the home side.

Crew SC Struggle to Create Quality Service in First Half

Both clubs traded forays near the opposition’s goal during the first 15 minutes. But the visitors inevitably drew first blood. In the 16th minute, Sacha Kljestan exhibited good spacing and movement in the box to come onto a cross from Chris Mueller that originated from the right-hand side. The experienced 32-year-old made no mistake with the finish to put Orlando up 1-0.

32 minutes into the game, injury cut short the game of Orlando City goalkeeper Earl Edwards, Jr. He appeared to hurt his lower body in a collision with Pedro Santos as the two were contesting a ball in the box. In his place came Joe Bendik who, until last week’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC, had started every game for Orlando this year.

The overarching story of the first half for Columbus centered around a multitude of opportunities from the corner flag. All in all, the Black and Gold took a total of 10 corner kicks during the opening 45, nine of which came off Santos’ foot. The fact none resulted in an equalizer spoke to a combination of the service not being there and Crew SC players not getting into good spots in the box to receive said service.

A Wild and Crazy Second Half That Showcased Resiliency for Crew SC

It didn’t take long after the two sides came out for the second half for that to change. In the 51st minute, Niko Hansen got in behind Tony Rocha and dribbled towards goal. The second-year winger then squared the ball inside towards Gyasi Zardes who redirected it of the post and into the net for his 12th of the season.

https://twitter.com/ColumbusCrewSC/status/1020843795108151296

The deadlock was short-lived, though. A mere seven minutes after Zardes’ tally, Orlando City retook the lead. This time, Kljestan turned provider after opening the scoring in the first half. The former New York Red Bulls stalwart dribbled past Artur and centered the ball to Stefano Pinho. The former two-time NASL MVP struck it past Zack Steffen to put the Lions ahead once more.

Orlando likely took that advantage into the final 15 minutes of the second half well-aware of their vulnerability during that part of the game. The club has conceded a league-leading 18 goals between minutes 76 and 90 in 2018. And sure enough, those issues reared their ugly head once more.

First came referee Silviu Petrescu pointing to the spot after second-half sub Patrick Mullins was taken down in the box. Zardes subsequently stepped up to the spot and slotted the ball past Bendik to tie things up in the 88th minute.

Not content to sit on salvaging a point, Crew SC continued to march forward. That sense of urgency was rewarded two minutes into second-half stoppage time when Trapp collected a pass from Mike Grella, himself a former New York Red Bulls player like Kljestan. The resulting incendiary strike proved too much for Bendik to keep out of his net and sealed a result that proves how resilient this Columbus squad is.

Columbus returns to the road once again next Saturday as they face the New York Red Bulls for the second time in 2018. It will mark the club’s fourth away game over their last six contests. MSG will provide national television coverage for the match which kicks off at 7 p.m. ET.

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