Sean Zawadzki scored in the 98th minute for the host Columbus Crew, who rallied for a 1-1 draw with the short-handed New England Revolution on Saturday.
Lucas Zelarayan sent a ball into the center of the box for a snap header from Zawadzki, who had entered in the 92nd minute, for the Crew (4-2-2, 14 points).
The Crew had won three straight by a combined 12-1 score prior to Saturday’s draw.
New England (5-1-2, 17 points) took the lead in the 58th minute on an own goal by Milos Degenek and came within seconds of earning its fourth win in five matches, but instead the teams played to their fifth straight tie in the all-time series.
Columbus was under siege coming out of halftime and finally conceded.
Dylan Borrero raced down the left wing and sent a cross to the middle of the box to Giacomo Vrioni, but Degenek stuck out his leg to block the pass only to redirect it into the goal past stunned goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, who made eight saves.
In the 65th minute, Borrero was shown his second yellow card in nine minutes and was ejected. The first was for dissent, the second for a tackle from behind on Mohamed Farsi.
New England goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic came up big in the 80th minute with back-to-back saves on Alexandru Matan and Zelarayan. Soon after, a deflected Zelarayan shot went harmlessly off the crossbar.
The Crew had been 3-0-0 at home and had outscored opponents 10-1 in their last two home matches.
New England, playing without midfielder Gustavo Bou (two goals, one assist), had plenty of chances in the first half. Carles Gil was able to thread passes to Vrioni for several good looks with a 39th minute chip going off the bar.
The Crew had three shots on goal through 45 minutes with their best opportunity being a rip from the top of the box that Petrovic tipped over the bar.
–Field Level Media