The Columbus Crew beat FC Dallas 2-0 on Wednesday for their fourth straight MLS victory. The road win moved them into ninth place, the final playoff spot, in the league’s Eastern Conference. With two matches left in the regular season, the Black & Gold now control their destiny to qualify for the postseason. Here are our three takeaways from Wednesday’s match:

1.    The Crew have won six of their last MLS seven outings. What are the reasons for the success as the season winds down? Interim head coach Laurent Courtois said, “Yes, we know internally that we were doing something interesting regardless of being able to win every game. Lately, it’s been more on our side and we were able to get continuity in results. We also know the accumulation of games that nobody had except us the last few weeks.”

2.   Gonzalo Tapia scored first for Columbus, taking a pass from Anass Zaroury in the 18th minute and chipping in a shot at the back post. Santiago Rodríguez, who had the secondary assist on Tapia’s goal, added a tally in the 70th minute. Rodríguez joined the team midway through the season. He noted, “I would have liked to arrive earlier because I feel comfortable and happy playing for the Columbus Crew. It is a pleasure to play with the teammates that I have here. We are very motivated.”

3.   The Black & Gold’s defense has come together once again after struggling in the middle part of the campaign. In the last four MLS matches, the Crew have allowed only three goals total. The shutout Wednesday in Texas was goalkeeper Patrick Schulte’s seventh clean sheet of the season. With 27 career regular season shutouts, Schulte has registered the second-most in Crew history.