MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Former University of Dayton men's soccer standout Lalas Abubakar made his MLS debut for the Columbus Crew on July 4 against the Minnesota United FC.

The Ghana native and 2016 Dayton team MVP started and played all 90 minutes for the Crew in their 1-0 victory over Minnesota. It was Columbus' first shutout since May as the Crew fight to remain in playoff picture.

I'm really happy," Abubakar told Crew reporter Alex Stec after the game. "I feel like all the patience that I've had, it has paid off today by helping the team to get a win and a shutout. So, I'm really glad that I got the opportunity to play and give everything out for the team."

Abubakar also received congratulatory messages from his teammates as well.
 
 

Abubakar led the Dayton men's soccer team to a 2015 Atlantic 10 Championship and earned Scholar All-America honors in 2016 as a senior. He was twice named First Team All-Conference and picked up A-10 Defender of the Year honors last fall as well. Abubakar was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft by the Crew, going down as the second-highest ever draft pick of any UD student-athlete.

To keep up with Lalas and the Columbus Crew, check out ColumbusCrewSC.com