Eddie Gaven scored on a penalty kick in the first minute of second-half stoppage time to give the Columbus Crew a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo at Crew Stadium Sunday. The match between the top two teams in the league and the winners of the past three MLS Cups, had all the makings (and drama) of a playoff encounter. With three points from the victory, the Crew move two clear of Houston for the Supporters’ Shield trophy. Robert Warzycha’s men expand their lead in the Eastern Conference to three points after the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake played to a 1-1 draw Saturday night.

Taylor Birkos was at Crew Stadium and snapped the following photos:

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Match Facts

Houston Dynamo (11-8-7) vs. Columbus Crew (11-4-9)
September 13, 2009 — Columbus Crew Stadium

Scoring Summary:
CLB — Frankie Hejduk 1 (unassisted) 34
HOU — Cam Weaver 4 (Brian Ching 3, Geoff Cameron 4) 80
CLB — Eddie Gaven 5 (penalty kick) 91+

Lineups:
Houston Dynamo — Pat Onstad, Andrew Hainault (Craig Waibel 46), Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Mike Chabala, Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, Corey Ashe (Cam Weaver 76), Luis Angel Landin (Dominic Oduro 58), Brian Ching.

Substitutes Not Used: Wade Barrett, Ryan Cochrane, Tally Hall, Erik Ustruck

Columbus Crew — William Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Eric Brunner, Chad Marshall, Gino Padula (Adam Moffat 72), Eddie Gaven, Brian Carroll, Danny O’Rourke, Robbie Rogers (Emmanuel Ekpo 76), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Steven Lenhart 88), Alejandro Moreno.

Substitutes Not Used: Jason Garey, Andy Gruenebaum, Andy Iro, Duncan Oughton

Misconduct Summary:
CLB — Adam Moffat (ejection; Serious Foul Play) 82
HOU — Ricardo Clark (ejection; Violent Conduct) 82
HOU — Brian Ching (caution; Reckless Tackle) 87
CLB — William Hesmer (caution; Dissent) 87

Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Referee’s Assistants: Jason Cullum; James Conlee
4th official: Mikael Lundqvist
time of game: 1:53
attendance: 14,306
weather: Sunny -and- 77 degrees