The Columbus Crew take on FC Cincinnati at Lower.com Field on Saturday, May 8th. This will be the 15th meeting all-time between the two Ohio clubs dating back to 2017. In that time The Crew have had its fair share of stars rise to the occasion against their rivals. Players like Pedro Santos, Gyasi Zardes, Lucas Zelarayán, and Cucho Hernández have all had man-of-the-match moments against FCC.
Today, we look back at those players coaches, and characters that have put in a yeoman’s effort in the background of these highly contested and marquee matches. They may not have known it at the time, but their contributions will not go unnoticed.
Harrison Afful
On August 11th, 2019 the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati faced off for the first time as MLS opponents. Both teams were struggling mightily at this point in the season. The match was a line-in-the-sand moment for both teams to save some dignity amid a disappointing MLS campaign.
With just under 30 minutes remaining, FCC was ahead 2-1 in Columbus. About halfway up the field and near the opposing coach’s box Crew fullback Harrison Afful drew a hard foul as he went in for an interception. Many players would have relished the contact and laid on the ground for a minute or two…not Afful. Instead, he sprung to his feet and played a pass to Wil Trapp. Trapp played a neat ball forward to Pedro Santos who unleashed one of the most amazing goals in Historic Crew Stadium history.
The goal drew the game level and despite the result, provided a thrilling conclusion to the first MLS match ended. Without Afful’s heads-up play, the first Hell is Real derby in Columbus could have ended much differently for the Black & Gold.
Neil Sika
The above commentary on Pedro Santo’s goal speaks for itself. The passion and excitement in Sika’s voice matches the intensity of that moment perfectly. the line “Where the air is crisp!” now lives on in Crew lore forever. The phrase is immediately synonymous with Pedro Santos and Hell is Real. Without that line and the passion maybe the moment doesn’t resonate to the level it does.
Neil Sika poured his heart into play by play for the Columbus Crew, and the above goal may very well be his best.
Luis Díaz
After the draw at home, the Crew traveled down I-71 to face FCC at Nippert Stadium. Much like the previous match, there wasn’t much to play for other than pride against your rival.
Luis Díaz played like it was the finals of MLS Cup.
The Costa Rican winger had himself a day. He assisted a beautiful ball to forward Gyasi Zardes for the first Crew goal of the game and right before the half he used his world-class speed to get around the Cincinnati defense and send a missle into the net.
This was the type of Díaz goal that sent the imaginations of Crew fans wild for the next couple of months. The highlights from this game were played constantly on social media and TV through the early days of COVID-19, and Diaz’s performance stood out the most.
His blazing speed and crossing were always so alluring. Would expectations have been so high for him had it not been for such a performance on the road against FCC? We may never know, but his performance against Cincinnati on this day should never be forgotten.
Miguel Berry
There is a poetic injustice in including him in this group. His performance against Cincinnati in 2021 will always tie him to this match-up. His breathtaking form of play that season was one of the few shining moments. Nothing shines brighter than sensational moments against your rival.
Berry’s two goals at home to secure a comeback victory was one of the first highlight moments at the newly opened Lower.com Field. He sent a crowd that was in the middle of enduring a six game losing streak into delirium.
The young striker had higher aspirations for his time in Columbus than to merely be remembered as a Lion Killer, but history has a strange way of working out. His desire to ascend to a higher tier of Crew hero was not enough to counteract just how amazing his goals against Cincinnati were at the time.
Kevin Molino
Few off-season acquisitions have carried more pressure to produce than Kevin Molino. Columbus Crew General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko worked his magic in the winter of 2021 to bring the MLS star to join a Cup-winning squad in Columbus.
Unfortunately, injuries plagued Molino’s time with the Crew. He simply could not find the field consistently, and many fans were left wondering what if.
When new head coach Wilfried Nancy entered in 2023 it wasn’t clear what role Molino would have, if any, in the Nancy system. The new coach eventually called on Molino to help possess the ball in the late stages of games. The results were less than ideal though, and fans turned on both Molino and the decisions of the new coach.
Outside noise did not matter. In the most important moment of the season, extra time of the Eastern Conference Final, Kevin Molino entered to help earn the winning goal.
Everyone knows what happened next, against a heavy-legged Cincinnati Molino’s lofted pass found Cucho in front of the goal, Cucho headed it across to Christian Ramirez who buried the goal that sent The Crew to MLS Cup.
It cannot be overstated how important Molino was at this moment. When Cincinnati had no one left on the bench, Columbus had a man known across the league for his playoff prowess. His pass-in is up there in Crew history with Schelotto’s flick on to Frankie Hejduk in the 2008 MLS Cup, it was that momentous.
Whether this one moment makes the Molino acquisition worth it is a question for a different day. What we do know, is this play makes him a hero in Columbus.
MASSIVE REPORT 
What a fantastic story. Thank you for reminding me of some of those great moments from this rivalry we love so much.
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