‘Saved’ Crew SC also saves playoff hopes on Decision Day
Photo credit: Nipun Chopra/Soc Takes
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Just like the club itself, Columbus Crew SC‘s playoffs hopes have been saved.
Crew SC punched its ticket to the postseason on Decision Day with a 3-2 downing of Minnesota United FC on Sunday afternoon at MAPFRE Stadium. Only two players scored, with Crew forward Gyasi Zardes recording his first-career hat trick as a professional and MNUFC defender Francisco Calvo notching a brace.
“College, four goals against Seattle University, in Seattle,” Zardes recalled of his last three-or-more-goal outing. “That’s the only one I remember.”
It was Columbus’ first home match at MAPFRE Stadium since the announcement that Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam — and other investors — are set to save the Crew by purchasing the franchise from current owner Anthony Precourt.
A simple task awaited Crew SC coming in: make the playoffs with a win, or be left at the mercy of the Montreal Impact with a draw or loss. The Impact played at the New England Revolution on Saturday at the same time. Because an Impact win and a Crew draw or loss would’ve given Montreal more wins than Columbus — which is the first tiebreaker, ahead of goal differential — the hosts needed to win to be on the safe side, though it was literally a must-win situation for Montreal, which trailed by two points in the Eastern Conference table.
Neither Crew SC manager Gregg Berhalter nor MNUFC head coach Adrian Heath threw too many unusual wrinkles in their starting XIs. But most notable was the omission of DP Pedro Santos from the Crew SC lineup. For the visitors, Ibson remained in the doghouse — on the bench — but that came as little surprise. The veteran CDM hasn’t started a match since August after having been a staple in the lineup.
A lightning delay about 10 minutes into the match halted the festivities for nearly an hour. It turned out to be somewhat of a blessing for Crew SC.
For one, Columbus opened the scoring just moments after play resumed when left back Milton Valenzuela found the head of Zardes. Moreover, the delay allowed the Crew to see the Impact’s score before their very eyes. When the Revolution took out Montreal 1-0 before halftime had even arrived in Crew-MNUFC, it meant a massive reduction in pressure on Columbus; a spot in the playoffs was secured.
“There’s a weight off you, for sure,” said Crew SC captain Wil Trapp. “But we still knew that — what do we want? Do we want to push for something more than just a game away at New York City? It’s probably going to be a game away, but still. Winning the game was important for the psyche as well.”
Photo credit: Nipun Chopra/Soc Takes
Crew SC still had seeding to compete for, as holding onto the win would’ve earned the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, while a draw or worse would’ve elevated the Philadelphia Union from sixth to fifth. The latter situation nearly occurred.
Zardes provided additional cushion in the 49th minute by scoring after a Federico Higuain shot forced a rebound, but back-to-back late strikes by Calvo suddenly had the scoreboard reading 2-2.
With the Crew staring at the sixth seed, Zardes again put his team on his shoulders with a third, and Columbus escaped 3-2. The win sets up a date with D.C. United in the first round of the MLS playoffs at Audi Field.
“I’m excited to see the stadium,” Berhalter said. “We haven’t played there yet, so I think that’s a positive. D.C.’s a good team. I think they have good players. We’ll be prepared though.”
After recently saving the club’s very existence in Columbus, it was only fitting for the Crew to salvage their playoffs hopes on Decision Day with the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.
Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to exclusive content and supporter benefits. Click here to become a patron today.
