Crew’s MLS Cup championship proves one for the history books
COLUMBUS — Going into the MLS Cup Final, Malte Amundsen’s goal was pretty simple: Give this Crew fairy tale a “beautiful ending.”
One championship match and two goals later, the Crew have finished the story of their 2023 MLS Cup run exactly the way they wanted.
“We had to overcome obstacles, villains, everything in this story,” Amundsen said. “But now the fairy tale ends in a good way.”
The Crew’s 2-1 victory over Los Angeles FC at Lower.com Field earned the franchise its third MLS Cup, but getting to that point was far from an easy journey. A battle-tested club under first-year coach Wilfried Nancy, the Crew had fair share their struggles throughout the season.
The team found itself having difficulties recording wins on the road and holding late-game leads, both weaknesses that were exposed in Orlando on Sept. 16. That game marked a turning point for the club in Nancy’s opinion.
Learning from the errors of their ways, the Crew turned things around picked up two overtime victories on the road to advance to the MLS Cup Final.
“We lost at many points this year, but I knew that we were able to win games because of that,” Nancy said. “So, for me it’s trust the process, and that’s why I can see my team improving like this.”
There was a lot of adjusting to new elements for the Crew this season that went beyond Nancy’s unique style of play. Losing one of their star players, Lucas Zelarayan, the Crew also added new talent, acquiring players such as Diego Rossi, Rudy Camacho and Amundsen.
Mixing the veteran talent with a handful of homegrown players and having them play with the mindset and fearlessness that Nancy’s system calls for worked out in the end, as championship glory returned to Columbus.
Wilfried Nancy makes history with Columbus Crew
In his first season in Columbus, Nancy was able to accomplish something that some coaches who spend years with the club were never able to do — win a championship.
The importance of Nancy bringing home an MLS Cup goes deeper than what this means for the franchise and the city it plays in. The Crew winning the title under Nancy makes him the first Black head coach to win an MLS Cup in the league’s 28-year history.
“Obviously I’m happy,” Nancy said. “I’m so proud of that because there was a lot of work behind that. There’s a lot of courage behind that. But I’m not happy at the same time.”
Being the first championship Black coach left him with mixed feelings.
“This is something that has to change,” Nancy said. “I know that MLS tried to do that. This is not only in MLS, this is everywhere. ... So, I’m not happy with that.”
Resilient, young champion goalie Patrick Schulte
If learning from past errors and coming together at the right time were keys to the Crew’s success, no one exemplifies that more than goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
After spending last year with Crew 2, he learned days before the first game of the regular season that he would be starting in his debut match on the firstteam level. Conceding four goals that match started a rollercoaster journey of a season that ended with him being the youngest goalkeeper to win an MLS Cup.
“Pat is always ready when his name is called,” the Crew’s Aidan Morris said. “It’s not easy stepping into the role he was put in at the beginning of the year and he accepted it and just balled out every day.”*
Throughout the season, the 22-year-old sometimes failed to finish his job by giving-up late-game goals.
But in the postseason, it seemed the fruits of his labor where finally paying off. Schulte had clutch performances in the playoffs, making key saves in overtime against Orlando and Cincinnati, but no performance was as big as he had in the championship.
Looking like he could possibly be done for the game the 74th minute of the game, Schulte was face-down on the field with what seemed to be an injury from blocking a shot with his face prior to giving up LAFC’s first and only goal. The goalkeeper got himself back up, and after pumping up the Nordecke fans behind him, went on to the record the last of his four saves in the match.
“I knew it was ‘Do ‘do or die’ at the end of the year,” Schulte said. “I wanted to put my best foot forward each and every game, and I think I continued to grow and that’s a standard I hold for myself. And there’s nothing better than a championship at the end.”