Columbus Crew SC: Three Takeaways from the DC United match

Columbus Crew SC had an impressive road shut-out in Week 3. What can we take away from the 2-0 win in the Nation’s Capital?

Two winless clubs faced of on Saturday when D.C. United hosted Columbus Crew SC. DC United couldn’t seem to find a remedy for their early season struggles, and leave RFK Stadium still-scoreless and still-winless.

Meanwhile, the Black & Gold return home with a much needed three points. The Crew SC gave fans a reason to get excited in Week 3, as they made some much needed changes that led to the first win for the Ohio club.

Here’s three takeaways from the Eastern Conference matchup in Washington, D.C.

1. Welcome back, Pipa

After Federico Higuain returned from missing most of 2016 with injury, the designated player has struggled to return to being the asset he had previously been for the Black & Gold. Some fans have been screaming “injury-prone!” or “too old!”.

Higuain took a huge first step in silencing those claims on Saturday. We didn’t suffer through the same poor decision making that we had suffered through in the first two weeks of the season that had led to lost possessions, and we saw a more dynamic Pipa that we hadn’t seen since early 2016 (unless you watched the preseason).

Pipa also sank his 40th career goal with the Black & Gold when Ola Kamara diverted one of his two penalty kicks of the match to the designated player.

Higuain still has some work ahead of him to restore his full value in the eyes of some fans, but Saturday was a solid start.

2. Gregg Berhalter actually made some changes (and they paid off)

If there has been any fan cries louder than those criticizing Pipa, they were directed at head coach Gregg Berhalter. After leading the Black & Gold to the MLS Cup in 2015, Berhalter seemed content with leaving well enough alone and sticking to the same exact game plan that worked in 2015 for the next year.

After matches one and two looked alarmingly like 2016, fans jaws hit the floor when it was announced the Crew SC would hit in a 3-4-2-1 formation.

Harrison Afful pushed into the midfield, as Josh Willaims and Alex Crognale made their debuts for Columbus. The changes paid off, and most noteworthy was defender Alex Crognale. Crognale turned a whole lot of heads with a defensive player of the week-worthy performance.

3. Zack Steffen redeems himself

It’s a tough order to replace a staple of any club, and that’s the order Zack Steffen has been asked to fill in 2017. Replacing fan favorite goalkeeper Steve Clark, the young Steffen came into the season with a fair amount of proving himself to do.

Steffen looked great in the preseason, and held his own against Chicago in the season opener; however, Week 2 was not so kind to the new keeper. Steffen was trampled in Houston with 3 of 4 shots on goal being converted into points. One of those goals came from an interception off of an awful pass from the keeper himself.

Zack Steffen was looking for redemption in D.C., and it is without a doubt that he found it. Columbus very well could have left RFK with a draw or perhaps even a loss, had it not been for Steffen’s athleticism.

The keeper receives 100% credit for the shut out, as he dove around the goal with the prowess of a veteran. Steffen came up with three huge saves for three huge points on the road for the Black & Gold.

https://twitter.com/ColumbusCrewSC/status/843283705930092544

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