By ADAM SERRANO

It was a back and forth affair between the Columbus Crew and Chivas USA as the two clubs battled to a 3-3 draw. 

The Crew was able to battle back from three decifits as forward Andres Mendoza tallied a pair of goals in the high-octane match. 

The Rojiblancos took the lead just four minutes in when midfielder Simon Elliott sent in a throughball to Justin Braun that was crossed across the goal mouth to Nick LaBrocca, who easily finished his second goal of the season. 

The Crew nearly evened up the score in the 13th minute when a Tommy Heinemann shot beat Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy but was cleared off the line by Ante Jazic.   

Columbus found their equalizer in the 17th minute when midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo sent in a pass to Mendoza. The Designated Player was able to beat Kennedy and give the Crew their first goal in 220 minutes. 

Chivas took the lead again off a corner kick in the 37th minute of play, when defender Andrew Boyens leapt over Chad Marshall and headed in a shot past Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer.

In the second half, the action picked up as the Crew was able to quickly level when a turnover by Elliott directly to Mendoza gave the Peruvian his second goal of the game. The Rojiblancos were able to take the lead for the third time as Jorge Flores scored his first goal of the season.

The Crew broke through for its third time in the 64th minute of play when Ekpo sent in a classy finish that was too much for Kennedy. The goal was the Nigerian's first goal since 2009.  

After giving up the lead for a third time, Chivas USA went down to 10 men after Flores was sent off picking up his second yellow after a foul on Eddie Gaven. In the last 20 minutes of play, the Crew dominated the possession and nearly found the go-ahead goal before Jazic once again cleared a Columbus shot off the line. 

The Rojiblancos (3-4-4) finish the month of May with a 1-2-2 record after facing several of the league's top squads. Columbus remains unbeaten at home with an overall record of 3-3-5.