Coming off a 1-1 draw at the Houston Dynamo, Columbus Crew SC (10-4-5, 35 pts.) heads to D.C. United (4-10-6, 18 pts.) for the Club's second road match in five days on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
D.C. United has one win at Audi Field this season but heads into Wednesday's game with seven points (2-0-1) in their last three matches thanks to six total goals from five different goal scorers. Meanwhile, Columbus Crew SC heads to the District winless away from MAPFRE Stadium in non-MLS is Back Tournament matches.
The key to United's recent trending? Efficiency, wrote Steve Zakuani on MLSsoccer.com.
"They have managed just 11 shots on goal in the past three games combined but still scored six times and picked up seven points. That’s a tremendous ratio," said Zakuani in his Week 20 Takeaways column.
D.C. United fired former head coach Ben Olsen on Oct. 8, who was the longest-tenured head coach in Major League Soccer prior to his firing. Since Oct. 8, D.C. has gone 2-1-1, highlighted by a 2-2 home draw vs. the Philadelphia Union.
Olsen's long-time assistant, Chad Ashton, has taken over the Club on an interim basis for the remainder of the season, and Crew coach Caleb Porter spoke on Ashton and the team's recent success.
“Yeah, I think they've been much better recently. You look at the two wins in a row that they had – I think that’s the first time this season they’ve had two wins in a row – even the Philly [match] was a gutsy draw," Porter said.
"With Chad Ashton, Ben’s [Olsen] long-time assistant, it’s not major changes, but it seems like there’s an uptick which usually happens when a team’s been struggling and they change the coach."
Porter compared D.C.'s current temperament to that of Houston's -- a hungry team that's on the outside looking in -- but said D.C. is a team with a more direct style of play.
"They get a lot of crosses in and their structure is a little more simple as well. They’ve got good players and they’ve been pretty impressive with their performances, their mentality and their results in recent weeks. They’re always good at home."
Perhaps historically, D.C. is consistent at home, but this year United is one of two teams with just one home win (New England). Additionally, the Black-and-Red have the third-fewest home goals (8) on the second-fewest shots on target (26), and have totaled just one home shutout, which came on Sept. 6 vs. New York City FC.
HIGHLIGHTS: Crew draw Dynamo 1-1 in Houston on Saturday
Meanwhile, the Crew welcomed Darlington Nagbe, Lucas Zelarayan, and Eloy Roomback into the Matchday 18 last weekend for a Black & Gold side that has just eight road goals this season on 26 shots, though Crew SC's 1.3 road goals scored average still ranks higher than United's 0.9 home goals scored average.
It'll be a tough showcase for Columbus, nonetheless, with D.C. heading into Wednesday's match as the winner of the last three regular-season meetings between the two sides, including the most recent match at Audi Field on April 24, 2019.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on FOX Sports Ohio.
