Audi MLS Cup Playoffs | Eastern Conference Final
New England Revolution at Columbus Crew SC
Sunday, December 6 | 3 p.m. ET
MAPFRE Stadium | Columbus, Ohio
Watch: ABC (English), ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Listen: 92.9 FM WBOS (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA (Portuguese)
Revolution Pregame Live presented by Dan O’Brien Automotive Group (2:15 p.m. ET)
- Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, revolutionsoccer.net
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
8th in Eastern Conference (8-7-8, 32 pts., 1.39 ppg)
Last Result | 3-1 win at Orlando City SC
New England’s electrifying playoff run rolled onwards with another win over one of the East’s top seeds last weekend, as the Revs raced out to an early two-goal lead en route to an eventual 3-1 win over Orlando City SC. Carles Gil opened the scoring from the penalty spot, Gustavo Bou added a pair of goals, and Matt Turner saved a late penalty kick to earn the Revs a third straight victory after triumphs over Montreal and Philadelphia.
That trio of wins – the Revs’ first three-game winning streak of the season – has sent New England to their eighth Eastern Conference Final in the club’s 25-year history, and their first since 2014. In five of their previous seven trips to the conference final, the Revs have claimed the crown as Eastern Conference champions.
Sunday’s winner will advance to MLS Cup, set for Saturday, December 12. Should the Revs’ playoff run continue, they would visit the Western Conference champion – either Seattle Sounders FC or Minnesota United FC – in the league’s title match.
Columbus Crew SC
3rd in Eastern Conference (12-6-5, 41 pts., 1.78 ppg)
Last Result | 2-0 win vs. Nashville SC (AET)
Expansion side Nashville SC pushed Columbus to the brink last weekend, battling through 90 scoreless minutes to force extra time at MAPFRE Stadium. Gyasi Zardes eventually took over, however, assisting Pedro Santos in the 99th minute before sealing a 2-0 win with a goal of his own four minutes later.
Crew SC have also now won three straight, including a Decision Day victory over Atlanta and a 3-2 triumph over the New York Red Bulls in Round One of this year’s playoffs. All of those wins were at MAPFRE Stadium, where Columbus have gone 11-1-0 in all competitions this season.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution midfielder Carles Gil
Several others have played key roles throughout these playoffs – Bou, Turner, and Tajon Buchanan have all put together standout performances – but Carles Gil continues to be the driving force behind the Revolution attack since returning to the fold a little more than one month ago.
Gil has registered two goals and three assists in a trio of playoff appearances, while he was also integral in the buildup to Bou’s game-winner this past Sunday in Orlando. The club captain provides much more than goals and assists, however, as he’s also the focal point of New England’s possession game and works tirelessly on the defensive side of the ball, leading the Revs with six possessions gained in Orlando.
Crew SC forward Gyasi Zardes
The midfield trio of Lucas Zelarayán, Darlington Nagbe, and Pedro Santos have plenty of influence for Columbus, but Gyasi Zardes has been as lethal as any striker in MLS this season. Zardes has bagged 15 goals and five assists in all competitions, including goals in three straight games.
Revolution head coach Bruce Arena knows Zardes as well as anyone having signed him to a Homegrown deal and coaching him for four years with the LA Galaxy, and said this week that Zardes “lives in the six-yard box,” noting that the Revs can’t afford to make any mistakes in their own penalty area.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
Brandon Bye missed the first two games of the playoffs with a minor injury but returned to the fold last weekend in Orlando with a 23-minute appearance off the bench, helping the Revs close out their 3-1 win. With Bye back in the mix, Arena said the coaching staff “have some decisions to make in terms of our lineup.”
That applies, as well, to veteran left back Alex Büttner, who made 17 appearances in the regular season and who recently returned to full training after missing the first three games of the playoffs.
Crew SC
Columbus list six players as “not medically cleared” for Sunday’s game: Sebastian Berhalter, Miguel Berry, Chris Cadden, Derrick Etienne Jr., Jon Kempin, and Vito Wormgoor. Of those six players, only Etienne (21 appearances, eight starts) made more than nine appearances in the regular season.
Starting goalkeeper Eloy Room missed Crew SC’s 2-0 win over Nashville SC – backup Andrew Tarbell stepping in to keep a clean sheet with four saves – but Room, who finished third in Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year voting behind Andre Blake and Matt Turner, has been upgraded to questionable ahead of Sunday.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena
“All the pieces of the puzzle are working together, so that’s why we’re more effective. It’s not attributed to necessarily one player, although a lot of people would say that Carles is the one that makes us tick. It’s a combination of all the players and all the players on the field understanding their roles, their responsibilities. I think basically we’ve played most of the year with a couple of players not always on the same page as the whole group. Now, we’re getting closer to having that, and I think that’s the reason why we’re more successful.”
New England Revolution defender DeJuan Jones
“Right now, we’re like an underdog team. Every game we go to we’re on the road. Everyone’s kind of going against us, so it’s definitely nice to have our community behind us. We’re an exciting team. We’re never going to give up. We’re going to play until the final whistle, and right now we’re scoring goals so it’s exciting football that we’re playing right now. We just have to keep going and bring a trophy to Boston.”
Columbus Crew SC head coach Caleb Porter
“You have to peak at the right time. You peak too early, you peak too late, you’re not going to do it. There are a lot of similarities, actually, in us peaking and them peaking at the right time, because I think we’re a hot team, too. But those three guys (Gil, Bou, Buksa) are key. They’re very dangerous. And you can’t forget about – you only mention Gil and Buksa and Bou, but Bunbury is their leading scorer. Their front four is, I think, one of the best front fours in the league. We’re going to have our hands full, obviously, defending those guys. They’re extremely talented. They’ll definitely ask some more questions of our defenders than the first two games.”
