Christian Ramírez scored three minutes into the first half of two 15-minute extra periods and the Columbus Crew advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with a 2-0 victory over Orlando City on Saturday night.
Columbus (17-9-9) snapped a league-record streak of 16 straight playoff road matches without a victory. The third-seeded Crew will now hit the road to play FC Cincinnati, the No. 1 overall seed and winners of the Supporter’s Shield this season for most points.
Neither team scored until Ramírez found the net unassisted. It was the second career playoff goal for Ramírez, who subbed in for Alexandru Matan two minutes before scoring. Ramirez, who had eight goals for the Crew during the regular season, scored a goal in his only appearance for Los Angeles FC in the 2018 postseason.