Behind The Box Score

The last time the Crew lost, well, that was almost two months ago. It was June 20th, and the Crew at the time were poking along with 19 points, tied for third. “That’s a game where in the first half we did a very good job then we let it taper off at the end. It was very disappointing,” midfielder Danny O’Rourke said of the 2-1 loss. “I don’t know what it was, whether it was fatigue or lack of concentration.” But since then, times have changed. In the 7 matches since then, they are 5-0-2, and have taken control of the MLS’s Eastern Conference. Being currently 4 points ahead of Chicago, so with a win, and Chicago loss, the playoffs are almost a sure thing at this point.

The Crew are going to most likely get Guillermo Barros Schelotto back in the lineup tonight, coming back from his hamstring injury. He still leads the team with most goals (10), shots on goal (18), and shots (38). This should be a major help for the Crew’s push back to the playoffs. Head coach Robert Warzycha said,  “We won four games in a row. The question will be ‘Do we want to change it for him or not? Obviously if he is on the field it’s going to be a little bit different. We have to do what’s best for the team and for us to play against Dallas.”

Winning, tying, and not losing has become the name of the game for the Crew of this year and last. They jump on their opponents, and when scoring the first goal, have an astonishing 7-1-6 record. Midfielder Eddie Gavin said of the Crew’s dominance, “What makes this team so good is every game we seem to find a way to win. It’s not always the same way every week. One week we may have to hunker down and play really good team D and take our one chance and go home. Last week we were able to win huge. It doesn’t matter how we win. We’re trying to get points every week. We know we’re not going to play our best soccer every game. That’s just how the league goes.”