Crew hang on late to hand Whitecaps rare loss

Diego Rossi scored the go-ahead goal in the 21st minute and the Columbus Crew held on for a 2-1 victory over visiting Vancouver to hand the Whitecaps their first defeat in 12 matches.

The Whitecaps (10-2-5, 38 points) had six wins and five ties since their only loss on March 22 to the Chicago Fire. Vancouver fell to 4-1-3 on the road.

Columbus (8-3-7, 31 points) ended a 0-2-4 streak with their first victory since May 3 vs. Charlotte FC.

Ibrahim Aliyu gave Columbus the lead in the 2nd minute before Jean Claude Ngando tied it.

Vancouver's Yohei Takaoka made a sensational save on Jacen Russell-Rowe in the 90+4 minute to keep the Whitecaps' hopes alive, but they did not take advantage of it.

The Crew got the start they needed but it didn't last long.

Aliyu made a run through the middle of the box and was in position at the 6-yard box to convert the cross by Lassi Lappalainen, who made his first start for the Crew after six seasons at CF Montreal.

The Whitecaps were not fazed, and a midfield takeaway resulted in a counter on the right flank with Pedro Vito spotting Mathias Laborda. He laid the ball back to Daniel Rios for a strike from the top of the box which Ngando lightly deflected, but it was enough to change direction.

Columbus went ahead 2-1 when Daniel Gazdag pressured Tristan Blackmon into a turnover in the final third and passed to Rossi for his team-best ninth goal. Gazdag earned his first goal contribution for the Crew in 10 matches since being acquired from the Philadelphia Union.

The Crew has a third goal wiped off the board in the 64th, 76th and 80th minutes for being offside. They were offside seven times.

The Whitecaps have five players at the CONCACAF Gold Cup including Sebastian Berhalter and Brian White for the U.S. national team as is Crew midfielder Max Arfsten.

Crew third-string goalkeeper Evan Bush made his second start this season in the absence of the injured Patrick Schulte and understudy Nicholas Hagen (Guatemala).