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Union get goals from Ilsinho, Sapong, and Epps in 3-0 victory over Columbus Crew

The hosts came out firing and prevailed on goals by Ilsinho, C.J. Sapong, and Marcus Epps.

Union midfielder Ilsinho, shown in a May game, scored the first goal Wednesday night.
Union midfielder Ilsinho, shown in a May game, scored the first goal Wednesday night.Read moreYONG KIM

After a weeks-long slump, the Union attack roared to life Wednesday in a 3-0 victory over Columbus at Talen Energy Stadium.

The game was a rematch of the team's 1-0 loss in Columbus four days before. That loss was dominated by a single statistic — the Union took only three shots, none of which were on frame. On Wednesday, the Union attacked Columbus from the first whistle.

"There was urgency from the opening whistle," coach Jim Curtin said. "They were dangerous all night. It was a good team performance, and I think we checked a lot of boxes. It was a good response to a road trip that left a bad taste in our mouth."

Alejandro Bedoya took the first shot of the night in the first minute of play. The team found a finish in the 20th minute, when a Columbus defender's touch went awry off a cross, sending the ball arcing into the air. Marcus Epps tossed himself toward the wild ball, missing the shot by inches, and it bounced back to C.J. Sapong. With a glance over his shoulder, Sapong threw himself into a bicycle kick, sending the ball across the face of the goal. Ilsinho took the pass as it skipped into the gut of the goal box, smashing the ball into the net.

In the 35th minute, that lead almost stretched to two goals when Columbus defender Jonathan Mensah slammed Sapong to the ground in the penalty box. Mensah earned a straight red card for the foul, with Lalas Abubakar picking up a yellow as he argued with the referee.

But as the Columbus back line pleaded its case to the officials, a different argument played out on the Union side. Sapong had earned the penalty, but Roland Alberg stepped up to take the kick. An argument broke out between the two until Bedoya made the captain's decision for Alberg to take the shot. Sapong ran to the bench, shouting in frustration until Haris Medunjanin guided him away.

Alberg's shot was on frame, but the Columbus keeper smacked it away. For a second there was a wild scramble to take another look at goal, but the Columbus back line cleared it quickly away.

The Union attack remained fierce in the dwindling minutes of the first half, dominating possession to carry the 1-0 lead into the break. But the first half's offensive pace wasn't fast enough for the team, which took to the field with immediate intensity in the second half.

In the first half, the Union took nine shots. In the second half, they took 18. The struggles that plagued the team in past games dissipated. The Union played with a hunger and intensity that was missing in recent games, and the front line unleashed a feverish onslaught of shots on the goal.

"It was imperative for us to win this one at home," Bedoya said. "That last game, I thought, was a boring game. There was no fluidity, we didn't create anything, any chances, nothing. You could see the difference this time."

In the 66th minute, the Columbus back line finally broke when a crossed ball rebounded off the right post. Closely guarded by a defender, Sapong flew to the goal mouth, catching the ball with his right foot to put the Union ahead, 2-0.

As the game continued, the Columbus team became even more desperate. In the 76th minute, Abubakar earned a red card for striking Ilsinho in the face, dropping the team to only nine players on the field. The Union capitalized four minutes later, with Sapong heading a deft ball toward the right post, where Epps slotted a shot past the keeper and into the left netting.

Even with a 3-0 lead and a two-man advantage, the Union didn't let up until the final whistle. With the victory, the team found revenge for Saturday's discouraging road loss and a critical three points, setting a tone that it must maintain to etch a place in the playoffs.