Crew counts on boost from rowdy crowd
When Crew SC takes the field Tuesday night at Mapfre Stadium, it will do so in front of a sellout crowd, against a Toronto FC team considered one of the best in Major League Soccer history and with the lingering thought of the Crew’s potential relocation to Austin, Texas, after the 2018 season.
There will be more emotion and intensity attached to Mapfre Stadium as the first leg of the Eastern Conference finals kicks off, but it’s emotion perhaps the Crew can use as it looks to set the tone early.
“I think the emotion in this case is a good thing,” coach Gregg Berhalter said Monday. “We’ve been off for 16 days, we want to come out fired up. We don’t want to show any sluggishness, we want to get after it right from the beginning and that crowd is gonna help us for sure.”
The thought of a lively crowd has helped players push through the slog of 16 days — 10 training days with a few off days mixed in — between playoff games.
“There’s more buzz, I think, in the locker room for it. We’re excited,” midfielder Wil Trapp said. “We know that the atmosphere’s going to be excellent and it does add some pressure, but I think the pressure’s good.”
The Crew also hosted the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals and overcame periodic sloppy play to take advantage of a New York City FC red card and take a 4-1 lead into the second leg on the road.
A strong first five minutes and a sixth minute goal from Ola Kamara helped feed the crowd and set the tone. The Crew hopes to convey similar poise in the opening moments against Toronto.
“I think there’s a lot to be said for coming out and stamping your authority on the match and dictating to your opponent what type of match it’s going to be, and we can do that tomorrow,” Berhalter said.
A team can stamp its authority on a match in a number of ways, Berhalter said, from the offensive chances it creates to how it presses once it loses the ball. Those small elements will help determine whether the Crew is able to embrace an emotional atmosphere without being overwhelmed by it.
“We’re only (focused on) the energy the crowd’s going to provide us and it’s hard not to feed off that when you’ve got that type of energy and home crowd environment,” defender Josh Williams said. “At the end of the day we’re not worried about the negative stuff, we’re strictly focused on the task at hand and putting on a good show for everyone that’s going to show up.”
The Crew has been considered the underdog on a few occasions this postseason, starting with a visit to Atlanta for the knockout round and continuing on into the Eastern Conference semifinals, in which Crew SC played in front of an announced crowd of 14,416 in leg 1.
“I didn’t think it was 14,000. Actually,
Crew 16-12-6, Toronto 20-5-9
Crew — GK Steffen; D Jimenez, Mensah, Williams, Afful; MF Trapp, Artur, Meram, Higuain, Santos; F Kamara; Toronto — GK Bono; D Mavinga, Moor, Zavaleta; MF Morrow, Vazquez, Bradley, Delgado, Beitashour; F Ricketts, Osorio.
The team will be without designated players Sebastian Giovinco (yellow-card accumulation) and Jozy Altidore (redcard suspension). … Two of Tosaint Ricketts’ seven goals this season have
I’m pretty confident it wasn’t, just being here for so long and just how loud they were,” midfielder Justin Meram said.
Meram expects a sellout crowd Tuesday to turn back the clock and have the feel of the 2015
Crew SC is unbeaten in its last eight home games, including the playoffs. Its last home loss came July 1 against Atlanta United. … The Crew is 14-2-1 in club playoff history when scoring the first goal. … Crew SC is 2-1-1 this season after a layoff of 10 or more days.
The Crew will have everything it needs to win Tuesday: Toronto’s two stars out, enough rest and a sellout home crowd. It’s an environment that will pump up Crew SC, but perhaps too much. Crew SC exits Mapfre Stadium with a lead, but allows an away goal in the process. MLS Cup final. How well the Crew channels that noise and energy could play a key role in determining whether the Crew will return two years later.