After showcasing a revolutionary 5-1 win over the New England Revolution last Saturday, the Columbus Crew were back on home soil to take on Nashville SC in their midweek matchup. Columbus, who led the Eastern Conference in goals scored for the month of June with 13, were aiming to extend their win streak to three matches. Cucho Hernandez led the Eastern Conference in goals scored for the Black & Gold, recording six in four games in the month of June, heading into this matchup against their Tennessee counterparts. Nashville, on the other end, were coming into this match after conceding a late goal to Jordi Alba and Inter Miami CF at home.

It wouldn’t be a summer Crew game without severe weather, as just an hour before kickoff fans were told to make their way to the concourse to seek shelter. Fans were finally allowed back into the stands with kickoff coming at 8:45 p.m.

Columbus started the match on the frontfoot like always, attacking the Nashville defensive end on multiple occasions. Within just the first 30 seconds, Mohamed Farsi dribbled in on goal and was taken down inside of the box. Referee Joe Dickerson wasn’t buying the action and allowed play to continue. Columbus were able to regain possession just seconds later, and the shot from Cucho Hernandez would be saved by Joe Willis.

All of Lower.com Field let out an audible gasp in the 14th minute when Sean Zawadzki went up to challenge for a ball, and came down hard on his right knee. After receving on-field treatment, Zawadzki was able to finish out the first half and play all of the second half.

“I asked him twice ‘Are you ok?’ He said ‘Yeah, I’m okay’ and he was able to keep going,” said head coach Wilfried Nancy.

“I want to be out there and fight for the guys. Everyone wants to do what they can for the team. And for me personally, if I know I’m gonna be detrimental, if I know I’m gonna let the team down, then I’ll step out,” said Zawadzki to the media.

“I’ll raise my hand, I’ll step out right away and let someone else come in and fight for the team because I know that’s what everyone wants to do, but I felt good enough to keep going and keep fighting for the guys.”

The Crew were able to break the deadlock first in the 30th minute, when Christian Ramirez was able to get on the end of a clipped back from Hernandez and head it into the net. There was a bit of controversy, however, as the play would be subject to a video review to see if the ball went out of play.

Video Assistant Referee Jose Carlos Rivero saw nothing wrong, and the goal was allowed to stand.

“I saw he [Cucho Hernández] was trying to shoot the first one that came back to him that got stuck underneath his foot, so my initial thought was just to get to the back post for something that snuck through, and then when I saw that he was sort of facing away, I knew he was just going to clip the ball,” Ramirez said.

“It’s just an understanding that we have. We work on things like that, different body positions, where the ball is gonna go, so I put myself in the middle of the goal where it was coming.”

Columbus would enter the break up 1-0, and looking to close out Nashville in the second half.

When the second half began, Nashville poured on pressure.

Within the first five minutes, Tyler Boyd was able to level the match with his header that found its way into the net. However, the goal was overturned by VAR for a handball offense. This would give Columbus momentum, knowing that they still had a chance to fight for the win.

“Yeah, it’s important. I don’t like to tell my players, ‘Don’t concede.’ I like to tell them a different way,” said Nancy.

“I think that they defended well, but to be honest with you, the dishonored goal that we conceded was a joke – I’m not talking about Nashville; I’m talking about us because we could have stopped the action earlier.”

The Crew were able to close out Nashville when Diego Rossi doubled the score, after just five passes from the Crew ensuring all three points and extending their win streak to three games.

Red hot Crew

The Columbus Crew are heating up at the right moment. In their last three games, the Club has outscored their opponents 11-1 in that time span, improving their position in the Eastern Conference to third place.

Christian Ramirez is back

With forward Jacen Russell-Rowe out with the Canadian Men’s National Team, Christian Ramirez has found himself back in the starting lineup and making great use of his playing time. In the last five games, Ramirez has registered three goals and two assists.

What’s next?

The Columbus Crew host Trillium Cup rival Toronto FC this Saturday, for their first confrontation of the season. Kickoff from Lower.com Field is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT. You can watch the match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.