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The Crew followed that up by winning the Supporters' Shield in 2009. But after taking Quinton off at halftime, Nancy inserted Zawadzki, a central midfielder on the right side of the back three, giving the Crew zero traditional center backs for the final 45 minutes of the game. Zawadzki adapted almost immediately, stabilizing the back line defensively and bringing his offensive instincts as a midfielder to the role Moreira usually plays, which has freedom to push up the field when the Crew are in possession. In the 56th minute, Charlotte forward Karol Swiderski worked around Moreira inside the penalty area and created space to shoot past Schulte for Charlotte's first goal of the game. And the mistakes kept coming for the Crew after that. Two minutes after Swiderski's goal, Meram took advantage of a misplayed ball by the Crew and immediately scored, putting Charlotte within one goal of the Crew.
Great time
The Crew regained control of the game from there, and while Charlotte kept the pressure on when they were able, the Crew's control of the ball prevented Charlotte from generating many dangerous looks. On the pitch, the team's first trophy came in 2002, when the Black & Gold won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Crew's first MLS Cup trophy came in 2008 with the team also securing the Supporters' Shield that season led by Argentine midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The midfielder won the league's MVP award in 2008, and he wrapped things up that season by assisting on all three of the Crew's goals in their victory over the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup final.
Columbus Crew soar to historic Champions Cup final berth: "One more game to go"
PHOTOS: Best of Charlotte FC vs Columbus Crew - Charlotte FC
PHOTOS: Best of Charlotte FC vs Columbus Crew.
Posted: Mon, 25 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
It should be noted that this is the first time the Crew have had a full week to prepare for a road opponent since entering Matchday 2 at Minnesota United FC on March 2. With more time to prepare – and recover – it’ll be interesting to see head coach Wilfried Nancy’s starting lineup. Zelarayan, who had been named the 2020 MLS Newcomer of the Year, registered two goals and one assist against Seattle Sounders FC 3-0, also securing 2020 MLS Cup MVP honors.
Your Thursday Kickoff: Giant killers! Are the 2024 Columbus Crew the best MLS team ever?
The Revolution led until the final seconds of the game, and the Crew were facing the probability of their first home loss under coach Wilfried Nancy until midfielder Sean Zawadzki's header found the back of the net in the 98th minute. Benjamin Bender (Charlotte FC) left footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Ashley Westwood with a cross following a corner. Because the Crew had the majority of the possession, Zawadzki didn't need to do a lot of defending on Wednesday, though he handled himself well when he had to. "Sean, when he came in, as you know, this is not a center back," Nancy said. FBref is the most complete sources for women's football data on the internet.
CONCESSIONS SPECIALS: MARCH 23, 2024
The All Star Game will be held at Lower.com Field July 24 as part of the league's All-Star week, which also includes the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge. Chris Doran will continue to serve as the play-by-play announcer during the broadcasts. Here's what you need to know ahead of the season's start Saturday. The Crew will try to become the first team to win back-to-back MLS Cups since L.A. After finishing the 2023 season as MLS Cup champions, the Crew will begin their quest for another championship Saturday afternoon.
The Full Time Clip: Charlotte FC Lose at Home for the First Time in 2024
Assisted by Lucas Zelarayán with a cross. Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lucas Zelarayán with a through ball.
MLS Regular Season: Schedule construction
Arfsten, starting at wingback in place of defender Mo Farsi, who was injured during warmups, doubled the Crew's lead in the 21st minute. Ramírez spotted Arfsten isolated on the right wing, and as a natural forward who has converted to wingback with the Crew, beating his defender one-on-one is a comfortable position for Arfsten. Playing on the right side allowed him to cut inside to shoot on his favored left foot, and he found a lane between two Charlotte defenders to shoot the ball into the far corner. To begin the Crew's eighth game in the last 25 days, kickoff was delayed for 30 minutes due to severe weather in the area, but once the game began, the Crew were in control from the first kick.
Earlier this week, CIES Football Observatory ranked the Black & Gold sixth in the world for highest ball retention percentage under high-intensity pressure. For comparison, Bayern München has a 79.9% rate, Arsenal FC’s is 80.8% and Manchester City leads all teams at 84.2%. Talk about solid – and deserving – company.
New head coach Dean Smith is still settling in, and this is a club in transition. Other than a 1-0 win in the season opener, Charlotte has been winless in the month of March. The club’s two most-recent results were a 2-1 loss at Nashville SC and a 1-0 loss at Toronto FC.
The Crew's goal will be to keep the ball as much as possible and use it to control the game, in a way they struggled to against New England last week. Perhaps surprisingly, given their disparate places in the standings, both the Crew and Charlotte have been two of the top teams in possession this season. According to FBref, the two teams are tied for third in MLS with 56.3% possession through eight games. Karol Swiderski (Charlotte FC) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Eliminating Monterrey is far easier said than done, of course. They’re five-time CCC champions and have already sent FC Cincinnati (Round of 16) and Inter Miami CF (quarterfinals) packing in this year’s competition, finding another gear in Leg 2 of those series. However, after Maxi Meza snagged an all-crucial away goal, the Crew are hardly assured of a spot in the June 2 final vs. Pachuca. There’s still a job to do at Estadio BBVA, and a massive one at that.
The Crew will first face Inter Miami CF on the road June 19 before Messi and Inter Miami CF come to Columbus Oct. 2 for the Crew's second-to-last home game of the regular season. MLS is Back continues with 14 matches on the impending Saturday (Feb. 24) and Sunday (Feb. 25), highlighted by reigning Leagues Cup champions Inter Miami CF visiting five-time MLS Cup winners LA Galaxy. The 2023 MLS Cup champions hold a 2-1 aggregate lead after goals from Cucho Hernández and Jacen Russell-Rowe paced last week’s Leg 1 victory at home. The Columbus Crew have a rich history as one of the founding ten members of Major League Soccer. They would go on to make playoffs in their first three seasons in the league, but they weren’t a team that would ever come close to contending MLS Cup in their initial years. Ten different goal-scorers have combined to score the Crew's 18 goals this season, so from a scoring standpoint, the Crew have the most balanced attack in MLS.
Diego Rossi (49') put the Crew ahead on the night, and 4-2 on aggregate, with a tidy finish after being slipped through by second-half substitute Alex Matan. Then Jacen Russell-Rowe (89') put the finishing touches on the win with a breakaway finish, sending the 2023 MLS Cup champions past the five-time CCC winners and into their first-ever CCC final. Columbus Crew games will be broadcast on WXZX-FM (105.7) and the iHeart Radio app this season. Their second trophy would come in the form of the Supporter’s Shield in 2004, which is awarded to the team with the points in regular season. But arguably the Crew’s best season came in 2008. Nancy has reiterated throughout the season that how the Crew play is at least as important as, if not more important than, the end result of the game.
The Crew's biggest weaknesses — maintaining possession under pressure and defending the counter-attack — were exposed in last week's draw with New England. The first half was particularly challenging for the Crew, though they started to play more of their style early in the second half before a 65th minute red card to Revolution forward Dylan Borrero, which put the Crew on the front foot for the rest of the game. In the 43rd minute, linking up with midfielder Lucas Zelarayán for the second consecutive game, Hernandez scored on an audacious volley to put the Crew up 3-0. Zelarayán found Hernandez running through a gap in Charlotte's back line and lofted a pass into Hernandez's stride.
The Crew won, 4-2, in the last meeting on June 3, 2023, at Lower.com Field. Christian Ramirez opened the scoring in the fifth minute before adding a second just before the hour mark. Between those two goals, Max Arfsten and Cucho Hernández also added tallies to the scoreboard. Charlotte won the last meeting at Bank of America Stadium, 1-0, on Apr. 22, 2023. The Crew's first Concacaf Champions Cup game will be on the road March 6.
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