COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted made two saves and assisted on the goal by Erik Hurtado and the Whitecaps defeated the Columbus Crew 1-0 on Saturday night.
The Whitecaps (4-2-4) have two wins and two ties in the past four games and won on the road for the first time in five road matches.
“It was a super match of football,” Vancouver coach Carl Robinson said. “It was two teams that wanted to play.”
In his 22nd game, Hurtado scored his first career goal in the 37th minute with a rising shot to the upper left corner after a long pass from Ousted.
“I just tried to put it on his chest and luckily he made some magic out it,” Ousted said.
That’s what Hurtado did.
“I chested it toward the goal,” he said. “I got a little touch that set me up for the shot and kept my eye on the ball. I connected with it smoothly.
“It hit my sweet spot right on my left foot. It felt good. When I saw it go past the keeper, I knew it was going under the crossbar.”
Ousted preserved the lead in the 48th minute with a punch save with his right hand on a Hector Jimenez strike.
“The guys in front of me did really well, especially in the second half blocking a lot of shots and clearing a lot of things,” Ousted said. “It was a really good team effort.”
Columbus (3-4-3) was shut out for the third time in seven days and has not scored in 321 minutes. The Crew is 0-4-3 in the past seven games.
“First of all, the guys were running on fumes,” Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter said. “You could see the difference, it was clear. (Vancouver) had a bunch of players running around that were fresh. We didn’t have it physically.
“One way I’m disappointed, but the guys gave everything they had and unfortunately that wasn’t enough today.”
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