Why Patrick Schulte's availability for Crew vs LAFC is more important than realized
For the past 15 games, Patrick Schulte has played every minute in goal for the Crew. Recording five clean sheets during that stretch, Schulte helped hold Columbus' most recent two opponents scoreless before heading into the 2023 MLS Cup rematch against Los Angeles FC on Saturday.
Schulte was the starting goalkeeper for the Crew in their 2-1 victory over LAFC on Dec. 9 that won the club its third league title and is likely be in that same role for the rematch, as he will be available on for Columbus' upcoming game. His availability was put into question in the leadup to the LAFC game when Schulte was officially selected for the United States men's Olympic roster due to the national team's training game starting earlier this week.
After Crew coach Wilfried Nancy made a phone call to the US U-23 coach Marko Mitrovic about keeping Schulte with the club for one last game before departing for the Olympics, the 23-year-old was able to make the trip to Los Angeles.
US Olympic team: Columbus Crew goalie Patrick Schulte looks to 'create history'
"He (Schulte) us an important player for us, and he is an important player also for the national team," Nancy said. "Obviously he wanted Pat earlier, but we have an issue with the goalkeeper."
The Crew have been down a goalkeeper since Evan Bush broke his arm back in April. Bush was on track to return before Schulte's departure but hit a setback when he reinjured his arm in June, restarting his recovery process and deeming him unavailable during Schulte's Olympic run.
Nicholas Hagen, the Guatemala national team goalkeeper that Columbus signed as a free agent in the offseason, is now the Crew's first option to play while Schulte is gone. Nancy has previously expressed trust in Hagen taking over the role, but the Crew coach's issue going into this stretch is the backup for Hagen.
3 takeaways: Columbus Crew have 15 goals in 4 games after defeating Toronto FC 4-0
"There is a rule that you can call up a maximum of four times players from the reserve team," Nancy said. "Pat's going to go away, hopefully, for a long time. So, we're going to have to figure it out."
When a player from an MLS NEXT Pro team is called up to the first team, they are given a short-term contract that runs up to four days. This season, the Crew have already given Crew 2 goalkeeper Stanislav Lapkes three short-term contracts.
Having just one more opportunity to call Lapkes up, the Crew have lucked out with MLS All-Star week taking place during the expected four weeks Schulte will be with the national team, but still has two regular season games (which are within three days of each other) and possibly two rounds of Leagues Cup without Schulte.
Paris 2024: Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte makes United States men's Olympic team
Realizing the Crew will have to make a decision, either sign Lapkes to a full first team contract or sign a goalkeeper from outside the club, to ensure Hagen will have a backup every match, Nancy wanted to prolong that decision.
"That's why it was important for us to keep Pat," Nancy said. "After that, we'll see what we're going to do."
Get more Columbus Crew content by listening to our podcast
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Crew vs LAFC: Patrick Schulte set for one more game before Olympics
