The Columbus Crew beat Pumas UNAM in penalties Tuesday at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field to capture their third win in as many matches in the first phase of Leagues Cup play. The Black & Gold now have to wait for the opening round to be completed Wednesday to see if they earn a berth in the knockout round, where the top four teams from both the MLS and Liga MX play for the Cup. Here are our three takeaways from Tuesday’s match:

1.    The Crew had seen an uptick in their offensive play in the first two games of Phase One, but not enough to build up a scoring differential that would have put them in a better position to move forward since that metric is used first to break ties in the standings. They beat Atlas 3-1 and Pachuca 2-1 last week. Tuesday’s tie after regulation did not add anything to their +3 status.

2.   The defense continues to be solid for Columbus, allowing only a single goal in each of the team’s three matches in the opening round. The Crew had possession of the ball Tuesday for a dominating 61% of the time and allowed only three shots on goal. Goalkeeper Nicho Hagen had a huge save in the 58th minute on a point blank attempt and another in penalties.

3.   After the match, interim head coach Laurent Courtois talked about building not only the roster, but also the support staff. “First off because we integrated a lot of new staff members, too, the way we’re able to synchronize the scouting, the strategy and the new players to adapt those. I’m really pleased with a lot of aspects of new people integrated and the formula.”