The Columbus Crew continued the team’s road trip with a visit to conference foe Orlando City SC. This was the team’s first visit since its disaster finish on Decision Day 2022, and the Crew was hoping to banish old demons, coming off a strong performance in Montreal.

The team started off on the right foot with a goal by Julian Gressel and headed into halftime with a 1-0 lead. However, Orlando came out of halftime locked in and equalized in the 48th minute. The Black & Gold seemed to have regained the momentum, scoring two wonderful goals and were up 3-1 in the 68th minute, but Orlando would go on to equalize in the 86th minute, and in the 97th minute, on essentially the last kick of the game, Orlando found success with a free kick, burying the ball into the back of the net, and leaving the Crew wondering at opportunities lost once again in the dying moments of games.

Here’s how we evaluated the individual player’s performances in this week’s Game Grades.

Starters 

Patrick Schulte (5.0) – Anytime you let four goals into the back of the net, it’s hard to say you had a good day as a goalkeeper, which holds true for Schulte. Despite some truly incredible saves, including one in the 26th minute, Schulte made several key errors, most notably coming out on the final Orlando free kick and missing the ball entirely, leaving an open net for Enrique. Schulte struggled to organize the back line and two goals off set pieces doomed the Crew.

Steven Moreira (5.0) – Moreira anchored the backline and brought experience and organization that should have solidified a rotating cast of players, none of whom were on the Crew’s defensive depth chart to start the season. However, in part due to that rotating player pool, Moreira struggled to lead and organize the back line, particularly as it shifted to a back five as the Crew tried to play defensively over the final 15 minutes of the match. Confusion on man coverage responsibilities led to Orlando’s third goal. Similarly, it was organization on set pieces, where Moreira should be working with Schulte to lead the organization of the Crew’s line, that led to both the second and fourth goals for the Lions. While individually Moreira wasn’t poor for the Crew, he must play a bigger role leadership-wise for the defensive shape.

Rudy Camacho (6.0) – Camacho played well for the Crew before his 79^th minute substitution, leading the team with five clearances and contributing two interceptions, a tackle and a blocked shot as well. He fit well on the backline, sometimes playing a two-man backline which allowed others to push up into the attack.

Malte Amundsen (5.5) – Amundsen didn’t make any obvious mistakes on the night, and in fact, for the most part, he balanced his responsibilities well between defensive coverage and playing a high line. Amundsen made a key pass that led to a shot on goal in the 42^nd minute while also contributing a tackle, two interceptions, and a clearance. However, when the Crew tried to sit back Amundsen struggled to keep organized with the rest of the backline.

Julian Gressel (7.0) – Gressel’s goal in the 16^th minute not only opened up the scoring on the day for the Black & Gold, but was also his first goal for Columbus. However, Gressel was partially to blame on Orlando’s first goal, as he was late to cover Martín Ojeda and gave him just enough space to volley the pass from Iván Angulo into the back of the net. For the most part, Gressel was good, and his two blocked shots and two clearances were both impactful for the Crew before his 80^th minute substitution.

Yaw Yeboah (7.0) – Yeboah played an excellent game for the crew before his 72^nd minute substitution, acting as a dynamic attacking threat on the wing. He nearly opened the scoring in the 6th minute with a rocket that forced a difficult save and should have scored in the 42nd after a brilliant run put him in on goal. His assist in the 56th minute was a beautifully weighted ball, showcasing the skill Yeboah has shown flashes of throughout the season.

Darlington Nagbe (6.5) – Nagbe was mostly effective for Columbus, and his control of the midfield helped the Crew keep 52 percent possession despite Orlando having to chase the game for the most part. Nagbe had a 97.6 percent passing accuracy, completing 40 of 41 passes and helping the Black & Gold settle down the tempo of what was frequently a high-speed game.

Aidan Morris (6.5) – Morris was similarly effective in the midfield completing 46 of 51 passes, seven of which were progressive passes into the final third, the most on the team. Morris more directly set up the Crew’s high-powered attack, with two key passes leading to scoring opportunities, however, Morris struggled to make an impact defensively on the game, as he has throughout the season, failing to record a tackle.

Alexandru Matan (7.5) – Matan was the Crew’s most dynamic player during his 72 minutes of play, recording an assist and constantly challenging the Orlando backline. He finished the game with 1.7 expected assists, twice as high as any other player and his secondary assist was a brilliant ball over the top of the defenders, perfectly weighted to fall right for the Crew attacker. Matan also had two tackles and an interception to assist defensively as part of the Crew’s effective pressing.

Cucho Hernandez (7.5) – Hernandez was excellent offensively for the Crew, recording his 10^th goal of the season and his 11^th assist. His vision to help open the scoring was superb and he was able to tap home the pass for his goal was a direct result of making the hard run in between the Orlando backline. Hernandez consistently contributed in the attacking third but struggled to press defensively over the final 15 minutes of the game, as he was clearly tired from the frenetic pace of the match.

Diego Rossi (7.0) – Rossi played well for the Crew before his late substitution, finishing with six shots, four of which were on target and scoring his 50^th goal in the MLS. Rossi’s movement was consistently strong, and he had an excellent secondary assist on the Crew’s third goal with a perfectly timed pass. He was clearly exhausted at the end of the game, limiting his impact over the final 15 minutes of play.

Substitutes 

Sean Zawadzki (5.5) – Zawadzki came on to provide stability and while he didn’t make any significant errors, and contributed two clearances and a tackle, he also wasn’t able to make an impact defensively to prevent the Crew’s late game collapse.

Yevhen Cheberko (4.0) – Cheberko’s 72nd minute substitution was supposed to help the Crew solidify defensively after taking a 3-1 lead. Instead, it saw the beginning of a complete breakdown of the Black & Gold Backline defensively. It started in the 73rd minute, when Cheberko completely whiffed on an opportunity to break up the pass that led to the Orlando goal. Then in the 85th minute, a sloppy challenge from Cheberko led to a dangerous free kick for Orlando. That free kick went straight to the head of Cheberko, who made a poor clearance straight to Orlando’s Enrique who leveled the match for Orlando.

Mohamed Farsi (5.0) – After his 80^th minute substitution, Farsi failed to impact the game or stabilize the Crew’s shaky defensive formation. While he did make some good runs on the right wing, he struggled to find the right pass in the final third.

Kevin Molino (5.0) – Molino has played inconsistently this season in his limited outings and ultimately did little to contribute offensively over the final 20 minutes of game action he saw. His crosses were ineffective and lacked the dynamic threat.

Christian Ramírez (N/A) – Ramirez came on in the 93rd and didn’t record a single touch over the final 5 minutes of stoppage time.

Head coach 

Wilfried Nancy (5.0) – Nancy plays a fun, open style that, when it clicks, is the most dynamic tactical system in the league. However, his commitment to this style and his substitution tactics, which have been puzzling throughout the season, caused the Crew to drop points late. The Black & Gold have rotated through players and formations, and despite all the changes in personnel and responsibilities, the team has struggled to find the composure necessary to close out matches. Despite all of the exciting and entertaining soccer that Nancy has brought to this team, Columbus will need to fix the team’s defensive lapses in order to be competitive in the MLS Cup playoffs.