Dylan Chambost Sets Up Two as Columbus Crew Beat D.C. United 3-0 for Fifth Straight Win

In August, the Columbus Crew were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. On Halloween, they looked like the scariest team in it.

Dylan Chambost set up both first-half goals, Patrick Schulte held firm when D.C. United had its chances, and Columbus rolled to a 3-0 win on Saturday afternoon at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. It was the Crew's fifth straight victory and their seventh in eight league matches, and it lifted them past Orlando City into eighth place in the East, according to MLS. D.C. United, meanwhile, lost for the fifth match in a row.

Chambost Runs the Show

Columbus had the ball and the initiative from the opening whistle. Chambost forced an early save from Alex Bono in the fifth minute, and Anass Zaroury and Malte Amundsen both let fly from distance before the breakthrough. It arrived in the 16th minute, when Chambost whipped in a set-piece cross and Sean Zawadzki headed it home from point-blank range.

D.C. responded with its best spell of the afternoon. Sékou Bangoura was penalized for a handball in the box in the 21st minute, and after a VAR review the visitors were awarded a penalty and a golden chance to level. Keisuke Kurokawa stepped up in the 24th minute and dragged his left-footed attempt just wide to the right. João Peglow and Andre Dozzell then forced Schulte into back-to-back saves in the 28th and 29th minutes, but the scoreline did not budge.

Columbus made D.C. pay just before the break. In the 41st minute, Chambost found Zaroury on the left side of the box, and Zaroury picked out the top right corner with his right foot. Two goals, two Chambost assists, and a 2-0 lead at halftime.

D.C. sent on Oscar Avilez for Jared Stroud at halftime, and the homegrown forward put a shot on target within two minutes. Schulte saved that one too. Then the third goal arrived in the 60th minute, a cruel one for the visitors: Bono saved Santiago Rodríguez's shot from the middle of the box, and the ball ended up in the D.C. net off Kimito Nono for an own goal. From there, Columbus managed the game, made five substitutions and coasted home in front of 20,024 fans. Late cameos from Josef Martínez and Lautaro Giaccone produced two more blocked shots in stoppage time, and that was that.

Chambost, Zaroury and a Clean Sheet

Chambost was the engine. Two assists Saturday followed a three-assist game in last weekend's 4-2 win over Toronto FC, a performance that earned him MLS Player of the Matchday honors. His interim coach, Laurent Courtois, needed one word to start.

"Huge," Courtois said of the Frenchman's afternoon. "He can elevate his level and be more impactful on both sides of the game. Really impressive."

Zaroury led Columbus with four shots and finished the prettiest goal of the day. Zawadzki, a center back, scored with his only attempt. Rodríguez, who per MLS scored in Wednesday's 2-0 win at FC Dallas, was in the middle of everything again, drawing five fouls and forcing the save that led to the third goal.

Schulte made four saves and benefited from Kurokawa's miss to keep the clean sheet. For D.C., Peglow was the most persistent threat with three shots, two of them on target. Matti Peltola, who also had two shots blocked from distance, was credited by the club with six defensive contributions, and Kye Rowles had seven before he came off in the 70th minute, a booking in first-half stoppage time already on his record. The effort was there. The final ball, and the penalty, were not.

The Penalty That Got Away

The penalty miss changed the afternoon. At 1-0 in the 24th minute, a Kurokawa conversion would have leveled the game and given D.C. real momentum on the road. Instead, his shot slid wide, and within 17 minutes Columbus had doubled its lead. In a game where both sides put four shots on target, the difference was finishing, and Columbus did the finishing.

Courtois framed it as a mental test passed. "Nothing but praise for this group for what they were able to do again," he said. "It's tough to approach this kind of game. The guys responded really well."

Columbus by the Numbers

• Possession: Columbus 61.2 percent, D.C. United 38.8 percent.
• Passing: Columbus completed 590 of 646 passes; D.C. completed 351 of 400.
• Shots: Columbus 14, D.C. 9. On target: 4 apiece.
• Saves: Patrick Schulte 4, Alex Bono 2.
• Fouls: D.C. 20, Columbus 11, and D.C. picked up the game's only two yellow cards.

From Last Place to the Playoff Doorstep

Columbus is now 13-5-15 with 44 points and has turned a season that looked lost into a genuine playoff run. MLS notes that the Crew, depending on Sunday's results, could clinch a postseason berth before playing again. If not, they get a week to prepare for Decision Day against Chicago Fire FC on Nov. 7. The midseason additions of Designated Players Brais Méndez and Rodríguez, per MLS, have helped fuel the surge, and the recent form speaks for itself: seven wins in eight.

There was a measure of revenge in this one, too. D.C. had beaten Columbus 2-1 on Sept. 9, back when the Crew were still searching for answers. They have not lost since Oct. 10.

D.C. United fell to 7-12-14 with 33 points and sits 13th in the East in the standings ESPN showed after the match. The Black-and-Red have now lost five straight, and according to the club, they have just two road wins all season. Their regular season ends Nov. 7 against New York City FC.

Back From the Dead

It is Halloween, so the zombie comparison writes itself, but it fits. Two months ago, Columbus looked buried. Now the Crew are winning every week, their French playmaker is stacking assists, and a favorable set of Sunday results could hand them a playoff ticket. Nobody in the East should want to see this team rise from the grave in the postseason.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and match context as reported by MLSsoccer.com; club notes from D.C. United (dcunited.com).