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On Sunday, September 9, Columbus Crew SC fought a hard battle ending in a 1-1 draw against Sporting Kansas City at MAPFRE Stadium, the home field for Columbus.
Both teams had many opportunities to score, but each was only able to net one goal. In the nineteenth minute, Kansas City’s Matt Besler slotted a free kick through Columbus’ defense for Cristian Lobato to place behind goalkeeper Zack Steffen, giving Lobato his first MLS goal. In the first half added time, Crew SC designated player Pedro Santo curved a corner kick into the box where his teammate, forward Ola Kamara, headed the ball past Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia to tie the game.
While there was only one goal scored by each team in the match, there were many missed opportunities. Crew SC’s Pedro Sando shot a ball that flew just over the crossbar, while his teammate, Higuain kicked a ball that Melia to tipped over. The closest chance for Crew SC to score occurred in the fifty-fifth minute, when Meram dribbled beyond Kansas City’s last line of defense and slotted the ball to Kamara, who was six yards from the goal. However, Melia successfully blocked the nearly game-winning goal. Kansas City also missed a clear shot in the thirty-first minute, when Crew SC’s Zack Steffen passed a ball that was intercepted by Kansas City’s Roger Espinoza. Espinoza passed the to teammate Diego Rubio, but Rubio’s shot was denied. Additionally, Espinoza made another two strong play attempts in the second half. He shot a strong ball from twenty-five yards out, dribbled through the defense, and sent the ball back to his teammate, Feilhaber, who shot just wide of the goal.
Following the one-to-one tie, the Crew SC moved to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. It holds a record of thirteen wins, thirteen losses, four ties, and forty-three points. Comparatively, Kansas City is tied for third in the Western Conference with a record of ten wins, six losses, eleven ties, and forty-three points.