Final week massive for Crew
Columbus looks to earn Supporters' Shield, advance in Champs League
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Ever since a win against Houston on Sept. 13, the Crew were positioned to win the Supporters' Shield without aid. But that changed following the match at RFK Stadium when Chivas had the possibility of finishing at 53 points while the best the Crew can do is reach 52 with a win against New England in the last game of the regular season Sunday.
However, Chivas' tie with the Earthquakes eradicated the only scenario that could have prevented the Crew (13-6-10, 49 points) from claiming a second consecutive Supporters' Shield even if it beat the Revolution. Chivas (13-9-6, 45) now can only max out at 51 by beating Chicago on the road Thursday and Houston on Sunday.
Further helping the Columbus cause was Houston and Los Angeles (45 points each) playing to a draw last Sunday, eliminating both from passing the Crew.
"It is very important for us to win the Supporters' Shield because it means you are the best for 30 games," Crew defender Gino Padula said. "We want to win everything we play."
The Crew (13-6-10) have 49 points and have already wrapped up home field for first the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series then any potential conference championship match, leading to the MLS Cup on Nov. 22 in Seattle.
Yet, this is a key week for the club. In addition to gunning for the best record in MLS two years running -- a feat matched only by D.C. United in 2006-07 -- the Crew can advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League with a tie Tuesday at Puerto Rico.
If not for allowing a stoppage-time tying goal at home against Saprissa on Sept. 29, the Crew wouldn't need the point and might have fielded a different lineup against D.C. United.
Defender Gino Padula, midfielder Brian Carroll and forward Alejandro Moreno weren't used. Also, forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto played just 56 minutes on the soggy field and forward Emilio Renteria came off the bench in the 66th only to be sent off 17 minutes later.
The emphasis Saturday was clearly on saving some regulars for Puerto Rico. Padula, Carroll, Moreno and midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo, who served a suspension vs. D.C., could be in the starting lineup against the Islanders although, per usual, Schelotto's status is unknown because of coach Robert Warzycha's aversion to playing him on artificial turf.
Columbus should have some confidence that it can win in a foreign country after downing Saprissa 1-0 on Sept. 16 in Costa Rica.
"Playing in Saprissa with that crowd with the style of play, it will help when we play in Puerto Rico," defender Jed Zayner said.
He likens the Crew's first venture into the Champions League to a television show.
"I think of it like "Heroes" -- it's almost like adding another power to your abilities," he said. "You have that added experience to put in your repertoire. Maybe if there's a player from Costa Rica playing in MLS I'm more familiar with him because we've played against those types of teams. It makes our team that much better."
It remains to be seen how much Tuesday's match will take out of the Crew for Sunday. They are 1-2-1 after playing a midweek Champions League game. Warzycha said his team plays to win every match because thinking of less could spell trouble, especially on the road.
"You have to play away the same as you do at home. If you can accomplish that you can be very, very dangerous," he said.
In between their two matches the Crew will be eyeing closely the result from Chicago on Thursday. Anything less than a Chivas win renders Sunday's game meaningless for the Crew. A Chivas win would make for a very interesting Sunday afternoon with the Chivas-Houston match ending just as the Crew and New England kick off at 5 p.m. ET.
The Crew might like to have something to play for based on last year because after clinching the Supporters' Shield with two games left, a secondary team lost the next match at New York.
Coach Sigi Schmid went with his usual first XI in the season finale but the Crew were badly outplayed with nothing on the line against a D.C. team desperate to make the playoffs.
The Crew managed a 1-0 win but were also unimpressive in the playoff opener at Kansas City and needed a stoppage-time goal by reserve Steven Lenhart to get a tie. The team finally clicked in the return leg and downed the underdog Wizards, then beat Chicago in the Eastern Conference Championship before winning the MLS Cup against New York.
Schmid used the same starters for the final five matches. Warzycha likely won't. He has mixed and match units so often to keep them fresh while competing in two competitions he's not sure which players will be on the field when the playoffs start.
"I don't know who that 11 are going to be," he said. "Hopefully, everyone gets a chance in the playoffs but the best thing probably would be to have one team and go from game to game. Knowing life, it's not going to be possible; maybe possible but not too easy."
The juggled lineups might be a reason the Crew have one goal in the past three MLS matches.
Defender Danny O'Rourke said playing well against New England no matter what's at stake is critical to the team's postseason hopes.
"We know it's not do or die but we want to treat it that way," he said. "Now's the time we need to prepare for the playoffs."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
