Columbus Crew SC Eliminated from Playoff Contention

Before Thursday’s match, the Columbus Crew SC (35) sat in 8^th place in the Eastern Conference sitting two spots out of the 6^th place final playoff spot currently occupied by the Union of Philadelphia (42).  

As for the second-to-last game of the regular season for the Crew SC, Adam Jahn would start things off for Columbus in the 13’.  Justin Meram would carry the ball the length of the neutral third and thanks to the poor defensive recognition by the Chicago back line, Meram would find a wide open Jahn who would fire a shot near side post which would ricochet off the Fire net minder Sean Johnson. The Crew Sc would enter the locker room at the half with a 1-point lead.

In the 53’, Chicago would catch a break when Michael Parkhurst scored on own-goal over the head of Steve Clark.  And once again, the lack of a timely second goal throughout the season has plagued them. Chicago’s Michael de Leeuw would finish a short cross into the net after sneaking behind the Crew SC defense in the 57’. It had been approximately 300 minutes since a Chicago Fire player had scored a goal.  That goal would give Chicago the 1-point lead.  But with 10 minutes left the Crew SC would answer back again with another goal from Adam Jahn.  The goal happen near the top of the box where Jahn would turn and volley a shot on goal into the net to tie the game at 2 apiece.  Mohammed Saeid would get the assist.  The game would end in exciting fashion with the score tied at 2.  

And now, Crew SC is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs seeing as how Columbus can’t make wins or draws worth more points than they already are. Even two more wins would not make us eligible for the last playoff spot, so now it is merely as race to the finish line to see who cannot come in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference.  The Crew SC will miss out on November MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2013.

The Crew SC now has an overall record of 8 wins, 12 losses, and 12 draws; Home (6-3-8), Away (2-9-4). Next up for Columbus is an away match against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, October 16^th, kick-off at 3:00 PM ET.  Sunday, October 23^rd, will be the final regular season game for the Crew SC at 4:00PM ET against New York City FC.