Crew looking for right blend of players
Supporters' Shield winners focusing on retaining MLS Cup
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The team has been blanked two consecutive games at home and its top scorer has one goal from the run of play -- and two total -- since June 14.
Discounting a pair of penalty kicks, the club has scored more than one goal only once in the past eight games and has a 3-4-1 record to show for it.
The top defender has not played in six weeks and the starting goalkeeper missed Sunday's match with flu-like symptoms, meaning over the past four matches, all 11 positions have had at least two different starters involving 18 players.
This is the repeat winner of the Supporters' Shield? The defending MLS Cup champions?
Yes and yes, if you're the Columbus Crew, who open a two-leg, aggregate goal series at Real Salt Lake on Saturday. The return match is Nov. 5 in Crew Stadium.
Nobody said replicating both honors would be easy but the recent lack of results has the Crew looking for the right blend of players from a deep and talented squad.
"There are few different roads to win the championship," coach Robert Warzycha said. "There's not only one road that you can put out the same team and be consistent like last year and put out exactly the same team every single game and you win the championship.
"I'm trying to find the best combination. Yeah, I would like to score three goals a game, no question. It's not easy."
The Crew finished the regular season with a 13-7-10 record after losing 1-0 to New England on Sunday. The 49 points are eight fewer than last season but good enough by one to win the Supporters' Shield over Houston and Los Angeles.
Columbus beat both teams at home during a stretch of five games (two in the Champions League) in 13 days last month. That appears to be the high mark of the season.
Since then the Crew lost a stoppage time lead at home against Saprissa and had to settle for a tie instead of clinching a spot in the Champions League and lost to Seattle Sounders FC for their first Crew Stadium defeat in 24 MLS matches, including the playoffs.
The Crew rebounded for a 1-0 win at New England thanks to Gino Padula's long restart goal but a defeat at D.C. United followed before a 1-1 tie at the Puerto Rico Islanders secured passage into the next round of the Champions League.
Sunday, the Crew played a Revolution side needing a point to earn the final playoff spot while the Crew had already wrapped up the Supporters' Shield and were without goalkeeper William Hesmer (ill) and 2008 MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall (knee) as well as several other regulars.
"It's not panic mode or anything," forward Steven Lenhart said. "We have a ton of experienced guys. It's good to get it out of our system now."
The Crew prefer to look at the whole body of work, not just the recent rules.
"This is a 30-game season. It's a long, long season. It's grueling. You throw in the Champions League on it. The last couple of months we put a lot of effort into that. Our form in the league has suffered a little lately but now it's a new focus, a new slate," Hesmer said. "These next four games are what it's all about."
A postgame Supporters' Shield celebration with the fans Sunday was muted compared to last season because of the loss but Warzycha said finishing with the most points should not diminished.
"I'm extremely happy the way the season went," he said. "We are in first place. We won the Supporters' Shield so that's a huge accomplishment. Over 30 games, over a long season, we were the best team in the league. Until we lose a series against somebody in the playoffs we're still the best."
Besides, he pointed out, "It's not like we're playing bad."
In fact, its four MLS losses over the past two months have been by a 1-0 count.
A lack of firepower is surprising considering the cast of forwards starting with Guillermo Barros Schelotto. He led the team with 12 goals, although his two since mid-June came Sept. 20 at Chicago (one on a penalty kick).
The reigning league MVP has been in and out of the lineup because of injuries and Warzycha's desire to rest him has given more opportunities to Lenhart, Jason Garey, Alejandro Moreno and Emilio Renteria.
One reason the Crew have trouble scoring is that Warzycha has used more combinations up top than found on a Master Lock.
"Between the five guys we have to choose the right mix and see what happens," he said.
The strength of the Crew is their resiliency. They started 0-2-5 but used a 10-1-4 mark over the next 15 games to take control of the Eastern Conference.
"We believe in each other. We have a great locker room. Everyone here has the same goal," Hesmer said.
The concern is that the players don't feel a sense of urgency after being so successful for so long. Warzycha mentioned after Sunday's game that the team played far from its capability against the Revolution.
"You can never turn it off and turn it on. It never works that way," midfielder Brian Carroll said. "There's nothing you can do about the lineup. Some people are sick, some are hurt. We had a lot of games and we needed everybody to contribute in order to do the things we did. We did some good things -- we won the Supporters' Shield and advanced in the Champions League.
"All that's great but we need to get sharper and get our real group prepared for this away leg in Salt Lake."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
