WASHINGTON (AP) — Christian Benteke scored two goals for DC United in a 2-2 draw against Columbus Crew on Saturday night, leading the MLS with 21 this season.

Benteke redirected a short pass from Gabriel Pirani and then beat goalkeeper Patrick Schulte for a goal from the center of the box to cap the scoring in the 81st minute.

Benteke scored the first goal in the 30th minute with a one-touch shot from a pass from Ted Ku-Dipietro from the center of the box. The 33-year-old forward is only the third player in franchise history to score at least 20 goals in a season, joining Raúl Díaz Arce (23 in 1996) and Luciano Emilio (20 in 2007).

In the 54th minute, Juan “Cucho” Hernández seemingly effortlessly fired a shot from outside the penalty area under the crossbar into the left corner of the net to make it 1-1 and then played a wide, arcing pass from the right side into the center of the penalty area, in which Jacen Russell-Rowe saved a header in the 57th minute to give the Crew a 2-1 lead.

Schulte stopped five shots for Columbus (16-5-9). The crew, which had won twice in a row, has been undefeated for four years in a row.

Alex Bono had four saves for DC United (8-13-10).

___

AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or distributed.