The Columbus Crew had 10 days off after beating Vancouver at home on June 14. That win was the first for the Black & Gold since May 3. Wednesday’s match against Atlanta United FC saw the Crew’s Jacen Russell-Rowe score two goals, the first brace of his career, to lead Columbus to a 3-1 home victory.

The Crew were without some key players coming into Wednesday’s action. Max Arfsten, who was just named to the MLS All-Star team along with Diego Rossi, is still with the USMNT at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Keeper Patrick Schulte remains out with an injury and backup keeper Nicholas Hagen is with Guatemala’s national squad.

The Crew got on the board first Wednesday when Dylan Chambost lobbed a pass over Atlanta’s back line to a streaking Andres Herrera who laced a shot from the right side of the box to the left side of the net. It was Herrera’s first goal of the season. He is on loan to the Crew from Argentina’s River Plate until June 30.

Russell-Rowe then scored twice to put his team up 3-0. In the 32nd minute, he battled with Atlanta’s Efraín Morales down to the right end line. A spin and a sharp angle shot went past goalkeeper Brad Guzen before he could react. Russell-Rowe scored in the 43rd minute off a pass from Rossi. The shot hit off Guzen’s arm and found the net.

“Jacen knows what I think about him. I was a bit hard on him recently because he has so much quality and he has a lot of talent,” said Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy after the match. “When he’s on the right track, this is what you see. This is what you saw today, too. Now, this is all about consistency.”

Atlanta was able to avoid the shutout, scoring in the 60th minute. Black & Gold keeper Evan Bush had a solid outing but was a bit bothered by the goal. “I mean, it’s frustrating conceding, keeping a clean sheet or not, I mean, the most important thing is winning the game, and honestly, it’s probably something we can learn from.”

The Crew are back in action Sunday at Lower.com Field. It is a key match against Eastern Conference leader Philadelphia. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.