Just when you count them out, the Crew pulls you right back in.

After losing five consecutive matches amid a summer in which the Black & Gold’s squad overhaul has created a revolving door of incomings and outgoings in the transfer window, all of a sudden, everything clicked.

The Columbus Crew comfortably put three past the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night, growing in confidence as the match went on. New signings made it count, with Santiago Rodriguez scoring the opener and Gonzalo Tapia being involved in the second and third goals.

Josef Martinez nearly got the Black & Gold off to an early start in the 2nd minute. The Venezuelan international pounced on a poor back pass from Josh Atencio, which left the ball rolling toward the 18-yard box. He took a touch before striking the ball low toward the left post, but it lacked power, and Adam Beaudry assuredly collected it.

In the 9th minute, Patrick Schulte was called into action. Georgi Minoungou carried the ball from the left flank to the edge of the 18-yard box, where he fired a low strike toward the bottom left corner. Schulte got down and quickly blocked it before Sean Zawadzki cleared the ensuing rebound out of play.

The Black & Gold’s newest Designated Player, Rodriguez, broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute of his debut. A left-footed corner from Brais Mendez curled into the six-yard box, where it was headed away from goal by Rob Holding. The ball sailed toward the penalty area with Rodriguez waiting to receive it, uncontested. Before the Rapids’ backline could reset, he drove a quick, powerful header through the crowd and into the middle of the open net to give the Crew a 1-0 lead.

Tidy defensive work from the likes of Steven Moreira and Brooks Lennon helped the Black & Gold shore up further dangerous forays into the penalty area by Darren Yapi and Paxton Aaronson for the visitors and end the first 45′ on the front foot.

In the second half, the Crew came out firing. In the 50th minute, Lennon crashed into the 18-yard box to control a wayward clearance with his chest and push forward. He launched a shot toward Beaudry with the laces of his left boot, but his rising shot was caught.

Just a minute later, two back-to-back chances from Martinez got the Black & Gold faithful out of their seats. Chasing a lofted through ball into his path, Martinez drove toward the 18-yard box. Once he reached it, he took aim with his left; his driven shot aimed toward the middle of the left post was blocked by Beaudry. To Martinez’s luck, the rebound fell right to him. He once again struck the ball with his left, this time harder and higher, but his effort ricocheted off the crossbar.

In the 56th minute, Schulte was alert to save another shot from distance by Minoungou, with the left midfielder again attempting to beat the keeper from the left flank, but to no avail.

Second-half substitutes Tapia and Taha Habroune wasted no time impacting the match, as the two combined to double, and then triple, the Black & Gold’s lead.

In the 81st minute, Tarun Karumanchi won the ball at the edge of the 18-yard box, quickly playing it short to Habroune. Habroune smartly controlled the ball in the tight space, cutting outside and playing the ball wide to Tapia. After two quick touches to settle the ball, Tapia hit a trivela shot, guiding the ball sharply with the outside of his right boot from the right side of the box to swerve it into the bottom left corner of the net. The goal marks Tapia’s first with the Crew since joining on loan from Sao Paulo in Brazil.

The nail in the coffin came in the 90+4th minute. Brais Mendez played Tapia through with space to roam but three defenders on his back. Bursting with speed, Tapia elected to play the ball left to an open Habroune, who controlled the ball with his right before slotting it low into the right corner of the net past a sliding Beaudry.

With the win, the Black & Gold move from 15th to 13th place in the Eastern Conference with 23 points, four shy of 9th-place Philadelphia Union. Head Coach Laurent Courtois’ side takes one step forward in realigning its path toward the playoffs and forging a new identity that blends its new talent with that of the veterans who have brought the Black & Gold so much success in recent years.

Next up, the Black & Gold goes on the road to face D.C. United on Wednesday, September 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Audi Field. The match will be available to stream on Apple TV.