Dante Vanzeir stood alone when it truly counted late in the match. (Photo courtesy of the Red Bulls)

Coming off the bench for the third consecutive game as he tries to regain his form and fitness, Dante Vanzeir demonstrated that he still had the scoring touch in a dramatic situation.

The 24-year-old Belgian striker volleyed home a John Tolkin cross from four yards in the 86th minute to boost the Red Bulls to a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Crew at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Saturday night.

Tenth-place New York (1-1-2, 5 points) recorded its first win of the season while 12th-place Columbus (4) dropped to 1-2-1.

Vanzeir, who replaced Cameron Harper in the 75th minute, has played only 54 minutes in a reserve role this MLS season. The last five have been worth it.

Alexandru Matan had given the Crew the lead in the 33rd minute, but the hosts equalized on Luquinhas’ first goal and the Red Bulls’ second score of the young season in the 58th minute. The goal was the Brazilian midfielder’s first since a 3-0 win over New York City FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on June 22, 2022 and the first in league play since a 2-0 triumph over Toronto FC four days prior.

 

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.