COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Malte Amundsen scored two goals. his first career multi-goal game in MLS, Gonzalo Tapia and Brooks Lennon each added a goal, and the Columbus Crew beat Toronto FC 4-1 on Saturday.
The Crew (11-15-5), who have won three consecutive games and five of their last six, have 38 points this season, two ahead of Toronto and the New York Red Bulls (who host Miami later Saturday) for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot.
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Toronto FC's Josh Sargent, left, kicks the ball away from Columbus Crew's Malte Amundsen during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Columbus Crew's Sekou Bangoura, center, keeps the ball away from Toronto FC's Jonathan Osorio, left, and Josh Sargent during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Toronto FC's Lewis Morgan, right, looks for an open shot as Columbus Crew's Mohamed Farsi defends during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Columbus Crew players celebrate their goal against Toronto FC during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Dylan Chambost had three assists for Columbus. Patrick Schulte had five saves.
Sekou Bangoura was shown his second yellow card in the 70th minute and the Crew played a man down the rest of the way.
Dániel Sallói scored in the 69th minute and Josh Sargent added a goal in the 81st for Toronto (8-10-12).
Mohamed Farsi ran onto a ball, played ahead by Santiago Rodriguez, and tapped a first-touch cross to Tapia for the tap-in finish into a wide-open net in the 16th minute.
Amundsen headed home a corner kick played into the area by Chambost to make it 2-0 in the 21st and then redirected a cross played by Chambost into the net to give the Crew a 3-0 lead in the 48th.
Luka Gavran had two saves for Toronto.
Nashville: Hosts Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Montreal: Plays Wednesday at Charlotte.
See AP’s full MLS coverage here
Toronto FC's Josh Sargent, left, kicks the ball away from Columbus Crew's Malte Amundsen during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Columbus Crew's Sekou Bangoura, center, keeps the ball away from Toronto FC's Jonathan Osorio, left, and Josh Sargent during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Toronto FC's Lewis Morgan, right, looks for an open shot as Columbus Crew's Mohamed Farsi defends during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Columbus Crew players celebrate their goal against Toronto FC during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Former President Barack Obama on Saturday seized on what he described as cruelty and indecency coming from President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, stepping into one of the nation's ugliest midterm fights as he worked to rally Democratic voters in battleground Ohio.
Obama took specific aim at Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has doubled down on an advertising campaign featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. Amy Acton. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have also defended the ad, even as Republican leaders across Ohio, including Gov. Mike DeWine, have called for its removal.
“In recent days, we’ve seen there is no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to,” Obama said of Ramaswamy, noting that Acton has “spoken movingly about her painful childhood and all she’s experienced: abuse, neglect and homelessness.”
“There’s a decency we should expect out of our public officials,” Obama continued. “And I don’t know what’s happened where the standards of behavior are so low that somebody could run an ad like that.”
Obama, 65, remains the Democratic Party’s best motivator nearly a decade after leaving the White House. He was set to campaign in Michigan later Saturday night, lending the Democratic Party his star power in midwestern battlegrounds that will help determine the balance of power in American politics next week.
Obama shared the stage with Acton and former three-term Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is looking to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted.
Although Ohio has become more reliably Republican, it's been a hotly contested battleground this year. Trump and Vance have both visited the state in recent weeks to drum up support for Husted and Ramaswamy. And the controversy over Ramaswamy's ad has ratcheted up the already high temperature.
Ramaswamy has defended his decision to press ahead with the ad as fair game. Trump aggressively defended the ad, which has emerged as a national flashpoint in the midterms' final days, as he voted in West Palm Beach on Saturday.
“This is a disgrace," Trump said. “The mother said that Amy Acton is a liar and she’s no good. And you know what? I don’t think you can get a better reference on that.” He added that if his own mother had said anything bad about him, it would be front and center.
The Ramaswamy campaign video features Acton’s birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her “a liar” and insinuating she has mental health issues.
Acton, Ohio’s COVID-19-era health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child. Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather, Arthur’s husband, was indicted on a charge of rape involving Acton.
The abuse allegedly happened from December 1976 to April 1978. Cledith Arthur failed to show for a court appearance and became a fugitive. Donna Arthur remained married to him until his death in 2004.
Appearing before Obama, Acton spoke as if addressing Ramaswamy directly.
“My opponent has chosen to exploit, intentionally, my childhood to save his stumbling campaign, but it’s not going to work," she said. “Decency still matters.” She added: “Mr. Ramaswamy, you are not just out of touch, you are out for yourself and you are a danger to my state. Apparently there is no low to which you won’t stoop.”
After wrapping up in Ohio, Obama was heading to a rally in Detroit for Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official who is working to unite the Democratic base in Michigan after winning a divisive primary by less than a percentage point. El-Sayed is running against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican.
Obama’s appearance in the city, which is three-quarters Black, could bolster support for El-Sayed among Black voters. In the primary, his opponent Haley Stevens won Wayne County, which includes Detroit, by about 6 percentage points. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian vice president, campaigned for El-Sayed in September.
El-Sayed criticized Obama after his 2012 reelection for not following through on all of his progressive campaign promises, writing that Obama “was not the right choice — he just wasn’t the wrong one.”
El-Sayed told reporters earlier this month he appreciated the former president, calling him “foundational” to his ability to run for office, but there were still elements of Obama's presidency he disagreed with.
Michigan also has open races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee for governor, is slated to appear along with others down the ballot. Benson is running against Republican Rep. John James.
Obama will headline a rally in Georgia next week with Sen. Jon Ossoff and candidate for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Trump is slated to speak in Georgia Saturday.
In Ohio, Obama also called out Trump's inability to lower costs, a key campaign promise, noting that the president has instead focused on building a new White House ballroom and helipad on the South Lawn.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovation," he quipped. “He should be on HGTV.” He went on: “There's gold everywhere. He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
The former Democratic president acknowledged that the nation has Trump for another two years, until his term ends. But voters are not stuck with Trump’s allies, he said.
“We’re not stuck with a spineless Congress and Republican governors who are handling lawlessness and carelessness and cruelty and indifference for working people,” Obama said. “After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence … you get a chance to say enough is enough.”
Peoples reported from New York. AP writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed. GaNun is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Former President Barack Obama greets the crowd during a campaign rally, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, attends a campaign rally before Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Sharonville Convention Center, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Sharonville, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
