The Columbus Crew triumphed 2-1 on Wednesday evening over USL PRO side Dayton Dutch Lions in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The win comes exactly one year to the day that the Black & Gold fell to their in-state counterpart by the same scoreline, with Eddie Gaven and Justin Meram supplying the goals on this occasion to move the Crew into the Fourth Round of the centennial edition of U.S. Soccer’s premier club tournament.
The Crew took advantage of a Dayton red card, as Brock Granger was sent off in the 14th-minute for bringing down Gaven during a Crew counterattack. The Black & Gold wore down their opponents with a man-advantage, finally breaking through with a 52nd-minute strike from Gaven to take the lead. Dayton pulled a goal back through Shane Smith in the 78th-minute, but Justin Meram curled a shot past Dutch Lions goalkeeper Matthew Williams six minutes later.
With the win, the Crew advances to face MLS rival Chicago in Fourth Round action on June 12 at Toyota Park. In the interim, Robert Warzycha’s side turns its attention to League play on Saturday, June 1, when the Black & Gold host the visiting Houston Dynamo (7:30 p.m. ET / FOX Sports Ohio).
