The Columbus Crew (1-0-0, 3 points) opened its 19th season in Major League Soccer with a commanding 3-0 victory over D.C. United (0-0-0, 0 points) on Saturday night at RFK Stadium. Behind a tally from Jairo Arrieta and a pair of strikes from Federico Higuain, the Black & Gold helped give Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter his first win in his inaugural match as Crew boss.
“It was a great way to get started,” Berhalter stated. “The emphasis was on starting and playing our game from minute one. I think we did that. We went out there and we were brave and wanted to play.”
Arrieta opened the Crew’s scoring account for 2014 in the 18th minute with his one-time strike inside the box after a cross from Josh Williams after Hector Jimenez got the scoring sequence started near midfield. Less than 10 minutes later, the Crew earned a chance to double its lead after captain Michael Parkhurst was taken down inside the box leading to a penalty kick for the Designated Player Federico Higuain. It was Higuain – who set a club record for penalty kick goals in a single season in 2013 with six – who buried into the upper-right-hand corner of the net for his first goal of the night. Higuain would put the finishing touches on the match with his second goal of the night – his fifth career brace since 2012 – following a cross from Justin Meram that landed for the Argentine near the top of the six-yard-box.
After a bye weekend, the Black & Gold return to action in the Crew’s opening match at Crew Stadium when the Philadelphia Union comes to town on Saturday, March 22 (6:00 p.m. ET / Time Warner Cable SportsChannel).