If the first round of the MLS playoffs were a fairy tale, Malte Amundsen knows where the Crew are in the story.
“Sometimes, in the story, it goes down a little bit. Some villain comes in or something,” Amundsen said. “But after, it ends in a nice way. This is the story I hope we can create.”
After a win at home against Atlanta United Nov. 1 and a loss on the road Tuesday, the Crew are approaching their climatic finale: the winner-take-all third match of the best-of-three first-round series 7 p.m. Sunday at Lower.com Field to decide which team faces Orlando City SC in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“We start off at zero now,” Amundsen said.
Here are three questions the Crew will face in Sunday’s match against Atlanta:
Can Crew stop Atlanta United offense?
Looking back at Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to Atlanta, Crew coach Wilfried Nancy did not mince words when talking about his team’s defensive mindset.
“Usually all my players are brave on the pitch,” Nancy said. “And we didn’t have enough bravery, courage to do what we usually do.”
While possession was close to equal, Atlanta found more opportunities near goal, posting a 7-4 advantage in shots-on-target, which turned into goals for Giorgos Giakoumakis, Xande Silva, Edwin Mosquera and Thiago Almada.
Tuesday was the third time in 2023 the Crew allowed four goals in a game, as they opened the season with a 4-1 loss to Philadelphia Feb. 25 and a 4-3 loss to Orlando Sept. 16.
“It’s not us,” Nancy said, saying the Crew “didn’t have the right mindset to compete a little bit more” in “this battle of power” for possession.
For Amundsen, the Crew found difficulties pressing defensively. And when the defense found success, Amundsen said, the Crew won the ball in different areas of the pitch than usual, usually coming further away from goal.
Amundsen expects a similar offensive look from Atlanta on Sunday.
“We knew in game two that they were probably going to come out more aggressive than in game one,” Amundsen said. “And that’s when we didn’t succeed with pressing them the way we spoke about doing that.”
Defender Sean Zawadzki exited Tuesday’s match after a collision with an Atlanta player in the 64th minute. Nancy said he hopes Zawadzki will be back Sunday.
But after Tuesday’s two-goal loss, Nancy said he’s still confident about the Crew’s defensive game plan. To him, it’s all about execution.
“If we have to defend for a long time because the opposition is better than us for the moment, no problem with that. But the idea is to get back, to get the ball and play our game.
Can Cucho Hernandez’s growth continue to lead the Crew’s offense?
Recently, the Crew’s offense has primarily been a one-man show.
Cucho Hernandez has scored 13 of the Crew’s 21 goals in the past 10 games, including three of the team’s four playoff goals against Atlanta.
In the past 10 games, five Crew players share six goals: Max Arfsten, Darlington Nagbe, Julian Gressel, Amundsen and Diego Rossi, who has two. The Crew also have two own-goal scores.
“I think he has grown, simple as that,” Nancy said, crediting Hernandez’s maturity, competitive spirit and his ability to accept failure “a little bit more” as aspects of his growth.
This stretch of offensive success is due to his continued comfort in finding room to work offensively.
“Since the beginning, with Wilfried’s style of play, it has helped me generate more space, and to score goals,” Hernandez said through a translator. “I am happy to have helped the team with those goals.”
Can the Crew capitalize on home-field advantage against Atlanta United?
Home-field advantage was on the Crew’s mind heading into the final stretch of the regular season. And after their 4-3 road loss to Orlando Sept. 16, the Crew were able to use a six-game unbeaten streak to secure a No. 3 seed.
And heading into the third match of their best-of-three series against Atlanta, there’s no place Amundsen would rather be.
“It is amazing. I don’t know how to describe it,” Amundsen said. “For nothing in the world where I change that. I want to play at home in front of our fans here where we feel confident, where we feel good. Even though we come off a loss, it’s like we can wipe this away. Now we have a different scenario. Like it’s going to be a different game.”
The Crew scored 41 goals in 17 regular season matches, adding two more against Atlanta Nov. 1. The Crew have the best home goal differential in MLS at +27, which is also the best home goal differential in club history.
The Crew have a 13-game unbeaten streak at Lower.com Field.
For Nancy, there is no separation between the Crew’s tactical game plan against Atlanta and the weight of the deciding game in the series, saying “emotion equals what we do and who we are.”
And for a team that he’s built to face challenges like Sunday at home, Nancy said the Crew’s success comes down to one question.
“Can we be strong when it is difficult?” Nancy asked.
To Amundsen, home-field advantage is the only advantage the Crew needs.
“We’re strong at home and we should not be scared at all,” Amundsen said. “We should approach it with a smile and just go and enjoy.”
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