By MIKE GRAMAJO

ORLANDO, Fla. — After a winless month of July, Cyle Larin’s brace sealed Orlando City SC’s path to winning ways, as Adrian Heath’s men rallied from one goal down to defeat the Columbus Crew, 5-2, on Saturday night in front of 26,586 at the Citrus Bowl.

Federico Higuain’s opener in the first five minutes of the game put Gregg Berhalter’s men on the scoresheet first, but Cyle Larin’s equalizer in the 18th minute and Darwin Ceren’s go-ahead goal in the 38th gave the Lions the lead before heading into halftime.

Corey Ashe connected with Larin in the 54th minute to bag his brace, before Aurelien Collin scored Orlando’s fourth goal of the game in the 76th minute.

“It was an incredible performance from our boys,” the Orlando City boss told reporters on his team’s victory. “If you look at the table, it’s getting closer by the week, as I said before, every game in the Eastern Conference is going to be huge, it’s going to go down to the wire. Goals change games, and more importantly for us tonight, we scored at really good times.”

Kaka earned his second assist of the game when the Brazilian star connected with Cristian Higuita to cap the Lions’ first win over Columbus this season when he headed in the captain’s cross past goalkeeper Steve Clark in the 84th minute.

Larin, who missed two games earlier this season with Orlando because of Gold Cup duties with Canada, also tied the MLS record for most goals scored in a single season by a rookie, when his 11th goal of the season equalized Damani’s Ralph’s feat in 2003 with the Chicago Fire.

Tally Hall’s fingertip save in the 22nd minute denied Columbus from retaking the lead, after Ethan Finlay connected with Kei Kamara, who headed the ball towards goal.

“We have somebody that’s on a hot streak,” Heath said of Larin’s previous two games. “His confidence is up. He has all the tools to be a top-line striker. People don’t realize how strong and quick he is; we do because we see it every day, and if he keeps it up, God-willing, he has a bright future.”

Collin’s own-goal in the dying minutes of the game gifted the Crew a second goal.

With the victory, it snaps Orlando City’s four-game winless run and first victory since June 24, when it topped the Colorado Rapids, 2-0, at home. Columbus, on the other hand, end their three-game unbeaten run.

Orlando City moves on to 27 points in the Eastern Conference, sitting just outside playoff contention and looks to build momentum when they visit Toronto FC at BMO Field on Wednesday. The Crew visit the Colorado Rapids next week at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.