Columbus Crew Match Preview: Columbus Crew at New England Revolution

Photo by Joel Speyer

The Columbus Crew have their hands full when they take on the New England Revolution tonight in Foxborough, Mass. Three points would resurrect hopes the Crew can climb into the top four in the Eastern Conference standings, earning home field-advantage for the first round of the playoffs. After tonight’s match there are only two games remaining in the regular season for the Crew.

Home Cookin’

The Revolution haven’t yet lost at home during the 2023 regular season with a record of 11-0-4, earning 37 of a possible 45 points. The fans are turning up for Major League Soccer in New England, which is a tremendous home-field advantage. The Revs were backed by over 37,000 supporters for the match on September 30^th against Charlotte FC, a game the Revs won 2-1. The Crew dodged a bullet in one respect, visiting New England for a Wednesday match. The Revs draw between 15,000-17,000 during the week.

The 3 points enabled New England to leapfrog Philadelphia into 3^rd place with 52 points. New England has a game in hand over Philadelphia and Columbus, solidifying their position. The Crew missed an opportunity when they drew with Philadelphia 11-1 this past Saturday at Lower.com Field. With a win, the Crew would have kept pace with New England but instead are in fifth place with 50 points.

Goalkeeping

One question Crew fans might be asking themselves is can goalkeeper Patrick Schulte deliver in crunch time? Schulte has had one save in each of the previous three matches. The match prior against Orlando City, Schulte had three saves but gave up four goals. Can Schulte come up with some big saves in October and November?

The Crew attack has been among the best in Major League Soccer, led by star forward Cucho Hernández and midfielder Darlington Nagbe. Nagbe signed with Columbus in 2020 along with Lucas Zelarayán, and they teamed up with Pedro Santos, Gyasi Zardes, and company to win the 2020 MLS Cup. Of these players, Nagbe is the only one left and rightfully wears the captain “C” on his jersey.

Columbus is a different team in 2023, almost the entire roster has changed over from 2020, and this year’s team has a chance to accomplish something special. But the road to a Crew championship is a lot easier playing on home turf, in front of 20,000 fervid supporters at Lower.com Field. The Crew comes up big tonight with a 2-1 road victory, handing New England their first home loss of the season. And the drama continues…