The Columbus Crew moved into the final playoff spot in the MLS Eastern Conference on Wednesday night, October 28, beating FC Dallas 2-0 in Frisco, Texas, behind goals from Gonzalo Tapia and Santi Rodriguez and a seven-save shutout from goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. The win, Columbus’ fourth straight, gave the Crew (12-15-5) 41 points and ninth place in the East with two matches remaining, according to the MLS match recap and reporting by The Columbus Dispatch.
Tapia opened the scoring in the 18th minute, finishing a fast counterattack. Deadspin’s match report described the move as starting with an outlet pass from Schulte to Steven Moreira, with Rodriguez finding Anass Zaroury down the left flank and Zaroury crossing for Tapia’s sliding redirect. It was Tapia’s third goal in as many league matches, according to Deadspin, and he started only because Brais Mendez was unavailable.
Dallas thought it had tied the match in the 60th minute, but Shaq Moore’s apparent equalizer was overturned after video review determined that Dallas forward Petar Musa was offside in the buildup, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Ten minutes later Rodriguez made it 2-0, scoring off the rebound after Dallas goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Britto saved a Tapia header; a further review confirmed the ball had fully crossed the goal line, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Columbus now sits two points ahead of the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC, both on 39 points after New York lost to New England on Wednesday, and trails seventh-place Orlando City and eighth-place FC Cincinnati by two points, The Columbus Dispatch reported. It is the first time the Crew have occupied a playoff spot since May 10, and they have won six of their past seven league matches.
The turnaround follows a steep midseason decline that led to interim coach Laurent Courtois replacing Henrik Rydstrom and general manager Issa Tall reworking the roster in the summer transfer window, according to The Columbus Dispatch. “We never gave up on the objective to earn a spot in the playoffs and we need to keep with that mentality,” Rodriguez told The Columbus Dispatch, speaking through a translation provided by Crew communications coordinator Esteban Osegueda.
Schulte told The Columbus Dispatch: “The belief within the team is incredible right now.” Courtois told The Columbus Dispatch the group believed in its direction even during the losing stretches: “We [knew] internally that we were doing something interesting regardless of being able to win every game.” Columbus won without Mendez, who missed a second straight game with a leg injury; Courtois told The Columbus Dispatch Mendez is expected to return soon.
What happens next will decide whether Wednesday’s climb becomes a postseason berth. Columbus closes its home schedule on Saturday, October 31, against D.C. United, then finishes at Chicago on November 7, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The Crew hold only a two-point cushion, so the D.C. United match is the chance to protect that spot — and extend a winning streak that has revived a season that looked lost in the spring.
Photo: Nova Crystallis, CC BY-SA 4.0