Columbus Crew make early exit in MLS Cup playoffs, swept by NY Red Bulls: 3 takeaways
Prior to the MLS playoffs, the Crew experienced one of the most successful years in franchise history, reaching consecutive tournament finals and breaking multiple regular-season records.
But the start of the postseason marked where Columbus' 2024 success ended.
The Crew were knocked out of this year's postseason in the first round Sunday, being swept by the New York Red Bulls in a best-of-three series.
Game 1 was an uncharacteristic loss for the Crew, with offensive struggles leading to their downfall at Lower.com Field. All New York needed to win was one goal off a corner kick.
In Game 2, mistakes on defense kept the Crew from winning in regulation and forced a penalty kick shootout Columbus would lose 5-4.
Replay: Columbus Crew eliminated from MLS Cup playoffs by Red Bulls following PK shootout
For the first half of Game 2, both teams went scoreless, despite the Crew taking nine shots compared to Red Bulls' two.
The Crew scored with a goal from Max Arfsten at the 55-minute mark to pull ahead 1-0. New York scored nine minutes later. On the scoring play, the Crew stopped defending for a few second when they thought went out of bounds.
The Red Bulls pulled ahead on a penalty kick off a foul from defender Rudy Camacho inside Columbus' box.
"I don't know what happened on the (first) goal that they scored," Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. "We stopped. Ball out or not out, it was not out. And after that, the second goal, we got punished with a counter."
A header goal from Christian Ramirez six minutes into stoppage time tied the game 2-2.
In the shootout, the Crew made their first four penalty kicks. Those were followed by three straight misses, allowing New York to pull out the victory on their seventh attempt.
With the Crew being the higher seed in the series and the 2023 MLS Cup champions, an early exit from the playoffs is being regarded as an upset.
"It is difficult to talk because we wanted to do and to go as far as possible," Nancy said. "But we have to respect the defeat and respect the fact that we lost. New York Red Bulls, they beat us twice, so they deserve to go through, simple as that."
Columbus Crew make critical mistake in first conceded goal vs New York Red Bulls
After another frustrating half against the Red Bulls, Arfsten's goal and the Crew's ability to stop the Red Bulls' attempts to score in transition put Columbus in a solid position with a 1-0 lead.
That was until defender Steven Moreira was battling for a lose ball with Red Bulls' Lewis Morgan near midfield. On the play, Moreira stopped and gave up the on the play when he thought Morgan went out of bounds.
Without a whistle, Morgan pushed upfield and sent a pass to Emil Forsberg, who found Dante Vanzeir making a run inside the Crew's box. Vanzeir needed just one touch on the ball to score.
"I think we all thought the ball was out of bounds," Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe said. "But that's why you play to the whistle and play until the referee tells you it’s out of bounds. I think that was just it. We tried to recover after that, but the play happened quick.”
While Columbus Crew's offense struggled in the series, New York Red Bull's defense thrived
While the Crew's mistakes played a role in costing them in Game 2, New York's consistency on defense made matters harder for Columbus throughout the whole series.
In the two regular-season games between the teams, New York allowed six goals. The Red Bulls gave up only two goals in the first round despite the Crew taking 34 shots, with 12 on goal.
Goalkeeper Carlos Coronel's career performance in Game 1 continued in Game 2, specifically during the shootout, where he made three saves.
"Everybody seems to have great games against us this year," Ramirez said. "It's just the nature of it, the nature of football. All credit to Coronel. He had a great series."
MLS Cup first round formatting leave Columbus Crew feeling there was more game to be played
The formatting for the first round is different from every other round of the MLS Cup playoffs. In addition to the best-of-three series instead of a single-game elimination, games that end regulation in a tie go straight to penalty kicks, rather than two periods of overtime.
When Ramirez scored in stoppage time, it solidified Game 2's shootout. With the momentum back in their favor, the Crew would have preferred to play an overtime period to keep the game going.
"It's just the feeling that you had in the game," Ramirez said. "I’m sure that they felt it because they were itching to get to PKs because they were essentially playing with house money, knowing that they had another game at their disposal if they lost. ... But this is the format and this is what drives the emotions that the league has wanted.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew eliminated from MLS Cup playoffs by Red Bulls: Takeaways
