Crew Can Take League Lead with Win Saturday

Saturday is a big day for football in Columbus. Not only are the city’s beloved Buckeyes taking on Miami in the biggest game of the college football season, but the red-headed step children of Columbus sports, The Crew, are poised to take over the top spot in MLS with a win against Los Angeles later that night.

The game in LA tomorrow night has one thing written all over it: Supporters Shield. LA’s Landon Donovan is trying to win his first shield, while The Crew are hot on the heels of a  league record third-straight.

The Galaxy started the year on righteous tear, streaking out to a 10-0-2 record behind Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan, something that surprised nearly everyone, or no one, due to the absence of David Beckham. Beckham, who has had an on-again/off-again relationship with both his team and the league, has missed the entirety of this season with an Achilles tendon injury. The Galaxy have seemed to thrive in the absence of the Beckham-induced media frenzy.

But after that sprinting start LA has slowed down, winning only one of it’s last five games and conceding goals as though they felt bad for their hot start.

And that brings us to this weekend. The Columbus Crew have been consistently accumulating points and are now tied for the league lead at 44. Wins at home and ties on the road have been the secret to the Crew’s success, and after winning three of their last five, they have proven that they are a team built for the stretch run.

Columbus has been battling schedule congestion due to CONCACAF Champions league and U.S. Open Cup, as well as MLS regular season games, but have had the entire past week to rest and get healthy after playing four games in 12 days. Only two of the Crew regulars – Robbie Rogers and Danny O’Rourke – won’t be available for the game, but coach Warzycha’s bench is plenty deep enough to compensate.

There are rumors about Mr. Beckham returning for this game, and it would make sense that he would come back for his teams most important game of the year, but nothing has been made official yet. Beckham Watch 2010 continues.

Saturday’s matchup also has playoff implications, though they are much stronger for LA. After last night’s 0-0 draw with Seattle, Real Salt Lake has inserted itself into the Shield race by pulling even with the Crew and LA at 44 points. The Crew are not bothered by this, as they sit comfortably atop the Eastern Conference. However, Real has taken over the Western conference lead on goal differential.

A win for the Crew tomorrow would put some much needed space between themselves and the rest of the pack. If the season ended right now, Salt Lake would win the Shield on goal differential.

LA needs a win to retake the top spot in the West and overall. Columbus needs a win to maintain their lead in the East and claim the league lead. And Salt Lake needs both teams to forfeit.

With three teams tied for the league lead, and FC Dallas only four points behind and coming on strong, the race for the shield is really heating up.

Category: Team News