The Crew will see the new MLS playoff format firsthand starting Wednesday against Atlanta United.
Instead of a a single-elimination first round where the top seed in both the Eastern and Western conferences get byes, MLS added two seeds and a wild card game to each conference, while making the first round a best-of-three series in 2023.
The conference semifinals, conference finals and MLS Cup will remain single-elimination games.
And while Crew coach Wilfried Nancy is not saying whether the format changes are a good or bad thing for the sport, he did say the changes are “not easy.”
“I am a little bit surprised by this format,” Nancy said. “Again, I’m not saying it’s bad or it’s good. I’m saying that we want to promote a lot of actions, a lot of goals and so on. … We’re going to have more games, and it’s normal. I understand that and I’m happy for that because what does it mean? It means we’re going to have more visibility. But the last call like this is not easy, both mentally and in terms of fitness.”
It’s a format Crew midfielder and captain Darlington Nagbe admittedly didn’t understand at first.
“It’s a bit confusing,” Nagbe said. “It’s good there’s more games for the league, I guess. But as a player, it’s kind of strange. … But it’s the new format. Hopefully it does well and hopefully the fans like it.”
For Crew defender Rudy Camacho, all the team can do is adapt.
“Now it’s just three games,” he said. “It’s not bad. It gives you a chance to show who is the best in three games. It’s not like one game where you can miss this game and be out. After, it’s going to be one game. We don’t know why, but it’s like this. We don’t think too much, and we try to go far.”
Extra time rules change in 2023 MLS playoffs
The changes do not stop at the amount of games for MLS playoff teams.
If a first-round match is tied at the end of regulation, no extra time will be played. Instead, teams will participate in a penalty shootout to determine the winner.
This changes in the conference semifinals, conference finals and MLS Cup where, if the game is tied at the end of regulation, two 15-minute extra-time periods will be played in their entirety with penalty kicks ensuing if a result is still not decided.
“To change between the beginning and the middle and the end, it’s difficult,” Nancy said. “It’s difficult. Now this is the way it is.”
While the playoff format may be changing, the Crew’s approach is not.
“I think we’ll approach it the same,” Nagbe said. “I know I will. I know the team will. I think our mindset has just been a game at a time. Don’t focus on what’s ahead of ourselves.”
The Crew start their best-of-three first round against Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lower.com Field. The Crew will then take on Atlanta on the road Nov. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
If necessary, the Crew will then host a third game against Atlanta at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at Lower.com Field.
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