Columbus, Ohio » Coach Robert Warzycha predictably returned star forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto to the lineup for the Columbus Crew in their 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake in the Major League Soccer playoffs on Thursday night.

Safe to say, he made an impression.

Schelotto scored both Columbus goals in the first 35 minutes, and dazzled RSL's Jason Kreis to no end.

"Gosh, he was good," Kreis said. "He was unbelievable. You know, sometimes coaches make interesting decisions, and I would say that [Warzycha's] decision to leave him out the other night was because they wanted to defend. His decision to insert him tonight I think lit a little fire under Schelotto's rear end, and he was fantastic."

Warzycha controversially decided to keep the reigning league most valuable player on the bench in the first leg of the series, which the Crew lost 1-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Streak snapped

The Crew had been shut out four times in their last five games, and had gone 342 minutes without a goal before Schelotto struck the first time.

Happy ending

Defender Robbie Russell made his first start in five games for RSL while Tony Beltran nursed a quadriceps injury. But he committed a grievous mistake by allowing Schelotto to read his pass and turn it into a give-and-go with teammate Emmanuel Ekpo that resulted in the second Columbus goal.

"I was so down after that play," Russell said. "But then the guys around me were like, 'You know what? It's all right. Let's go, pick it up. Let's go.' And they brought me back up, and I felt fine in the second half."

Perfect aim

Forward Robbie Findley converted only his second career penalty-kick attempt, after midfielder Javier Morales encouraged him to take it to even the score at 2-2 in first-half stoppage time.

"I was just focused and I had my spot picked out," Findley said. "I just had to bury it."

Findley has scored four goals in the last three games, and 14 this season. His only other penalty kick came in the 4-2 comeback victory over FC Dallas on Pioneer Day.