The Columbus Crew returned to the pitch at Lower.com Field for its second leg matchup with the Houston Dynamo in the Concacaf Champions Cup. With a 1-0 aggregate lead and the road goal advantage, the Black & Gold needed to take care of business to punch a ticket into the quarterfinals.

Columbus nearly opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Cucho Hernandez sent a cross in from the right side to the far post. The cross found Yaw Yeboah who returned a cross aimed for Mohamed Farsi, but would be deflected out for a corner kick.

The Dynamo answered with a good opportunity of their own in the 15th minute. Aliyu Ibrahim dribbled in on goal from the left side, but the attempt was blocked by Sean Zawadzki and off Aliyu for a goal kick.

Farsi would attempt a shot on goal from distance but would go wide of the frame and not threaten Houston goalkeeper Steve Clark. Moments later, Steven Moreira came close to finding Farsi again with a pass over the top of the Dynamo backline, but Clark came off of his line to collect the ball with ease and regain possession for the visitors.

In the 36th minute, Amine Bassi collected a pass from Griffin Dorsey inside of the penalty box and get around Schulte. The shot went on to hit the outside netting, but Bassi was flagged for offside.

Columbus found a breakthrough tally in the 40th minute when Christian Ramirez was gifted a free pass from Adalberto Carrasquilla to start a Crew attack. Ramirez picked out Cucho on the opposite side, and the Colombian forward started his run toward goal. With one touch outside, Hernandez struck the ball across his body to the near post sliding it past Clark to give Columbus a 1-0 lead, and a 2-0 lead on aggregate.

Columbus took that advantage heading into the locker room for the intermission, with their spot in the quarterfinals all but clinched.

Houston came out on the front foot in the second half, with their best chance of the night coming in the 53rd minute. Bassi unleashed a shot from distance, forcing Schulte to make a save but the opportunity would be negated by the offside flag.

The Crew nearly doubled its lead when Hernandez ran onto a through ball in space on the right wing, centering the pass back towards the penalty spot. Jacen Russell-Rowe uncorked a shot on goal but missed the mark, leaving the score 1-0.

In the 67th minute, Marino Hinestroza was able to get a shot on goal after dribbling through multiple Houston defenders, but Clark made the easy save.

Late in the second half, Houston was awarded a penalty following a handball by Steven Moreira who was whistled for a handball as he tried to clear a dangerous Houston attack away from the penalty area. Griffin Dorsey stepped to the penalty spot and converted, making the score 1-1 with Columbus still leading on aggregate.

The game ended in a 1-1 tie, but Columbus would see themselves through in the tournament with an aggregate score of 2-1.

Columbus keeps scoring

The Black & Gold just keep scoring goals. With a goal tonight, the Crew have scored in 19 consecutive matches across all competitions, and 34 of its last 35 matches.

Columbus advances

With the 2-1 aggregate score, the Columbus Crew advances to the Quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup where it awaits the winner of Tigres and Orlando City.

What’s next?

The Columbus Crew are back in action Saturday to take on the New York Red Bulls. Kickoff from Lower.com Field is set for 7:30 p.m. You can watch the match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.