Crew SC draw 2-2 with Real Salt Lake

Ola Kamara has scored five times in his last two matches against Real Salt Lake. After a hat trick en route to a 4-3 victory in Columbus in the cross-conference meeting last season, Kamara notched a brace for Crew SC in a 2-2 draw on the road Saturday evening at Rio Tinto Stadium.

The forward was assisted by rookie midfielder Connor Maloney on a goal in the 15th minute that put the Black & Gold ahead 1-0. Maloney found a rebound on an attack and sent it toward the center of the box to Kamara, who slotted it near the top of the net perfectly.

The assist was the first of Maloney’s Major League Soccer career. The Penn State product also made his first career start in the match against R.

Kamara struck again with the Black & Gold under fire later in the match and down 2-1. In the 60th minute Kamara found a rebound after a shot by Crew SC midfielder Ethan Finlay and scored it himself with a bounding strike that RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando was unable to track.

Kamara’s team-leading 10th and 11th goals of the season snapped a four-match goalless streak for the forward dating back to June 24 against the Montreal Impact in Columbus.

The 50th minute saw the whistle blow with RSL in the penalty box. Crew SC defender Josh Williams was called for a hand ball after Real Salt Lake forward Luis Silva fired a ball in his direction.

The penalty kick was converted by Real midfielder Joao Plata and equalized the score at 1-1 midway through the match.

Salt Lake scored again just three minutes later when midfielder Jefferson Savarino received a long ball from Silva and scored far-post on Crew SC goalkeeper Zack Steffen to push RSL ahead 2-1 in the 53rd minute.

The defensive stat sheet showed in favor of the Black & Gold. Crew SC recorded more saves (3-0), clearances (22-16) and won more tackles (14-7) than RSL in the match.

Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter was a bit restricted in his choices for his matchday 18 during the match out west. The Black & Gold were without veteran midfielder Federico Higuain due to a right knee sprain and center backs Jonathan Mensah and Lalas Abubakar were out due to red card suspensions.

Columbus (10-11-2, 32 points), remained in playoff position in the MLS Eastern Conference with only their second draw of the season while Salt Lake (7-12-4, 25 points) remained on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture.