Teams work all year to position themselves for an MLS playoff berth. After 34 games Columbus Crew SC sits in fifth in the Eastern Conference and earned itself an opening-round knockout game on the road at Atlanta United.
It was one of the worst potential tactical matchups for the Black & Gold, and it only gets trickier in light of the fact that this is it — you win or you go home.
The option for a draw isn’t there in the one-game knockout round. Columbus will have to find a way to prevail against the Five Stripes, or there will be no more soccer for Crew SC in 2017.