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There weren't many Akron players that shrouded themselves in glory this week, but one player who performed exceptionally well was Chris Korb of D.C. United.
Despite having less possession in both halves, United looked dominant for much of the game. That confidence was solidified in the 15th minute when D.C. took the lead off a failed Crew SC corner kick.
Federico Higuain saw his corner deflected upfield and from then it was a foot race between Chris Rolfe and Fabian Espindola and Columbus' Mohammed Saeid. Rolfe flicked it ahead for Espindola and the Argentine made no mistake, putting away the chance for the opening goal of the game.
After that United saw fit to sit back and soak up pressure, which they did very well.
Crew SC came into the game on a four-game winning streak and having outscored their last two opponents 7-1, so it looked to be a long night of defending for United. But a second goal in the 41st put D.C. firmly ahead and Crew SC just didn't look confident on the ball from that point on.
Columbus lacked attacking impetus on the night, as a few half chances went begging with its first shot on target being recorded in the 72nd minute. And even that shot, a weak effort by Higuain with his left, didn't really trouble Bill Hamid.
Much of the reason Hamid didn't have a problem was because Korb rarely left his center backs hanging and tracked back well. He also had help from Perry Kitchen, another former Zip who plays in defensive midfield for United.
The tag team really limited Columbus' chances to a few snapshots that went just wide, and it should be noted that Kitchen was the one who headed Higuain's corner away to help set up United's first goal.
#MACtion may not have been in full swing last week but Korb and Kitchen represented Akron well.