Columbus Crew holds on to first-ever win at new stadium, Zelarayan scores free-kick winner

All the ceremonial grandeur had dissipated from when Lower.com Field was ordained as the permanent, new home of the Crew two weeks ago. A new normal began, with the spectacle of a new downtown stadium counting on those on the field to give fans a reason to come back again and again. 

Normally no one thinks of the second game at a brand-new stadium the way the first game becomes canonized in history. 

But people remember the first win in a new stadium. And they’ll remember Lucas Zelarayan. 

The Crew topped New York City FC, 2-1, with the winning-goal coming off the right foot of Zelarayan in the 62nd minute.

NYCFC pushed forward and had the ball in front of goal multiple times. In the final minutes of stoppage time, Anton Tinnerholm’s cross from the right was perfectly on target to Vallentin Castellanos about 8 yards from goal. But center back Aboubacar Keita came through and cleared away.

A few minutes later, midfielder Thiago and goalkeeper Eloy Room went up for the ball at nearly the same time. Room just got a hand on the ball before it went past him and toward the net with no defenders behind him.

"Wasn't perfect. Wasn't completely our front-half control way of playing," coach Caleb Porter said. "Some games in MLS aren't going to be that way and you got to find a way, be organized, grind and dig in. I thought we did that today." 

The Crew (5-3-5, 20 pts.) had lost just one game in its last seven, starting with a win at NYCFC (5-5-2, 17pts.) on May 22 that was the result of two sensational free-kick goals from Zelarayan. He apparently had a third in him.

After NYCFC midfielder Jesus Medina had tied the game at one in the 48th minute, Pedro Santos drew a foul in the dead center of the field just outside the semi-circle atop the box. That’s when Zelarayan stepped up and lifted the ball over the wall of defenders in front of him and past goalkeeper Luis Barraza. 

The south stands erupted and the stadium came to life as the team swarmed Zelarayan at the corner flag.

"I wasn't thinking about anything in particular (standing over the ball)," Zelarayan said through a club translator. "I just knew that I had to convert it because it's important for the team to get three points at home. Just happy I scored the goal and happy for the team."

As clutch as Zelarayan was, goalkeeper Eloy Room kept the Crew alive as NYCFC continued to find space on the outside against the Crew outside backs. 

Room made seven saves, including two huge back-to-back stops in the 55th minute against Thiago Andrade and Castellanos from close range. 

Conceding first — and early — had been a point of emphasis from Porter heading into Saturday night, following back-to-back games in which New England and FC Cincinnati was up two goals before 30 minutes had passed. It hadn’t been since the final game at the old stadium on June 19 that the Crew scored the first goal. 

After some solid goalkeeping by Room, the Crew found the opening goal right before halftime. 

On a little give-and-go, Pedro Santos passed across the midfield line to Nagbe who was jostling for position against Alexander Callens. Nagbe received the ball and blew by beat Callens as he fell over. 

The Crew midfielder ran about 40-plus yards into the box where he calmly chipped the ball over NYCFC goalkeeper Luis Barraza. 

NYCFC wasted no time in getting the equalizer in the second half. The Crew had the chance to clear the ball several times before it wound up in the back of the net. 

Right back Saad Abdul-Salaam's header went directly to Castellanos, who had the ball tackled away from him by Keita. Medina then stepped up and rammed that loose ball past Room. 

Even in front of a crowd at an announced capacity of 19,113, it wasn’t a given the Crew would find another goal. NYCFC had the majority of possession and forced the Crew to scramble for a clearance close to goal. 

What they needed — especially with 11 players out with injury or on international duty — was their best players to make the most of the moments they had. 

Nagbe and Zelarayan did exactly that.

"I love the hunger in the group right now, and the fight," Porter said. "Hopefully people will acknowledge the result and have perspective on the result against a very good team with a lot of guys out that are really, really good players for us."

jmyers@dispatch.com

@_jcmyers