Tai Baribo scores twice in first half as D.C. United tops Crew 2-1 to end winless streak

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Tai Baribo scored a pair of first-half goals and D.C. United held on to beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Wednesday night to end a five-match winless streak.

Baribo found the net in the 24th minute to give DC United (6-7-10) the lead then scored for the 14th this season 14 minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.

Louis Munteanu assisted on both goals, giving him four in his first 19 league appearances. João Peglow collected his career-high fifth assist on the first goal, and defender Kimito Nono notched his second in his fifth career appearance on the second.

Columbus (6-13-5) cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half when Santiago Rodríguez used assists from Josef Martínez and Mohamed Farsi to score in back-to-back matches in his first two appearances with the Crew. Rodríguez had 24 goals in 116 appearances with New York City FC from 2021-24.

It was the first assist for Martínez in his sixth appearance with Columbus. Farsi has four assists after finishing with five in each of the three previous seasons.

Sean Johnson totaled three saves for DC United, which hadn't played since a scoreless draw with Los Angeles FC on Aug. 29. The club had its previous road match at FC Cincinnati canceled due to inclement weather and player safety concerns at TQL Stadium.

Patrick Schulte saved three shots for Columbus, which snapped a five-match winless streak last time out in a 3-0 victory over the visiting Colorado Rapids.

DC United improves to 4-4-4 at home this season, while the Crew drop to 1-8-3 on the road.

Columbus leads the all-time series 36-33-14.

Columbus: Hosts New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

DC: Hosts Atlanta United on Saturday.

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