Five matches into the 2025 MLS season and the Columbus Crew are still undefeated. On the flip side, the Crew only have two wins and have scored just six goals in those five matches, with four coming in a single match. The season is early but there is a lot to like and dislike so far, so let’s get into three things I liked and three things I didn’t like from Saturday’s match against New York City FC.

Three things I liked:
1. Wilfried Nancy’s System
Rudy Camacho hasn’t played a single minute for Columbus this season, Steven Moreira has been out injured for multiple matches, and the Black & Gold have only played the same starting lineup twice in five matches. Still, the Crew continues to dominate possession and has limited opponents to just three goals in the season so far. Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew has looked like Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew no matter who takes the field or where they line up. Watching the team continue this ball-dominant, defensively stout, play after losing Cucho Hernandez suggests that the team can return to its status near the top of the league should they replace Hernandez’s departure with a new scoring threat (and potentially add some reinforcements during the remaining transfer windows).

In Saturday’s match, the short-staffed Columbus side deployed 2025 MLS Super Draft second-round selection Cesar Ruvalcaba, who had not played in an official competitive match since last taking the field for Southern Methodist University on November 30, 2024. Ruvalcaba played in one of the vital back-three positions and completed 35 passes while looking comfortable with his role. Educating and slotting in a young player like this is a testament to Nancy’s coaching abilities.

The dropped home points are less than ideal at this point in the season but the framework still exists for this team to be near the top in MLS.

2. Build-up on called-back goal
We’ll touch on the decision to call this goal back for offside in other half of this article but for now, let’s focus on the excellent build-up that led to this chance. The Black & Gold dominated possession for the entire match but really exerted their will over the ball in the second half despite subbing in youngsters Cole Mrowka and Tristan Brown.

Jacen Russell-Rowe’s called-back goal begins from a throw-in that follows a long spell of Crew possession. From the throw-in, Columbus attacks up their right flank where NYCFC can clear the ball from danger. The Black & Gold recover the ball and recirculate possession to Yevhen Cheberko who then drops the ball to Sean Zawadzki.

Zawadzki carries the ball forward where he finds Darlington Nagbe. At this point, the Crew has dropped the ball back to the center-backs and then played forward to the midfield. New York City pushed forward on the initial dropback and had not yet recovered when Nagbe received the ball. This City high-line sets DeJuan Jones off on a run in behind the defense where Nagbe finds him with a long ball.

Jones recovers the ball at the end line before crossing back across the goal toward Brown. Brown then plays an awkward but effective pass toward Mrowka who makes a quick touch before slotting a fantastic pass into right to Russell-Rowe. Russell-Rowe then ably finishes the play.

Obviously, this goal did not end up counting (though perhaps it should have) but it shows exactly how effective Columbus can be at playing their game. Three current non-starters combined to set up an excellent look at goal.

3. The Columbus Crew are undefeated
The Black & Gold have dropped points at home in consecutive home matches but the fact remains that they are still undefeated five matches into the season. Yes, they likely should have grabbed a win in one of those matches which would have them at first in the standings, but they’ve at least given us all a reason to be patient as the front office looks to bring in reinforcements. If we get to the end of the spring window and there isn’t any news about an additional attacking option then I’ll be concerned; for now, I’m trusting the process.

Three things I didn’t like:
1. “Clear and Obvious Error”
Lack of goals aside, we’ll get to that…don’t worry, there was not much to dislike from Saturday’s game. Our first two points here will focus on some more administrative issues.

By now we are all more than aware of the standard by which the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) sends a play to the on-field referee for review: the call must represent a “clear and obvious error.” Clear and obvious error means that the call on the field is clearly wrong.

Russell-Rowe’s goal was called back due to a VAR-reviewed offside call against DeJuan Jones in the lead-up to the play. On the field, there was no offside call. So, to overturn this play, the VAR must identify the call on the field as being a “clear and obvious error.” Below is the image that was utilized in the VAR review.

MLS does not add any offside lines to the review like other leagues do, but the VAR does discuss the play with the on-field referee during the review.

I’m not going to make the argument that Jones was onside. Honestly, I have no clue if he was onside based on the image above. If he’s on, it is by just a few inches. If he’s off, it is also by just a few inches. What I do take issue with is the VAR deciding that this image shows that the official on the field, who you can see has an excellent view of the play, made a clear and obvious error. Based on the above image, the call on the field should have stood no matter if it was offside or onside.

Offside via review is already done subjectively (the VAR makes the decision on which specific frame of the ball leaving the attacker’s foot they will use) so to suggest that the decision in the above image is a clear and obvious error is absurd. The call on the field should have stood (no matter what the call was).

2. Playing through the FIFA window
There is no good reason that the Crew and 27 other MLS teams played through a FIFA window let alone one where their home federation had the semifinals and finals of a competitive tournament. Columbus lost two starters, Patrick Schulte and Max Arfsten, to the US Men’s National Team and was lucky to escape with a point at home due to the thinly stretched roster.

Inter Miami and the New England Revolution were the only two teams that didn’t play (shocker for Miami), but with San Diego entering the league as the 30th team there is no reason any team would need to play a game during a competitive FIFA window. MLS has always done this but it is high time to stop playing during these windows

3. Where will goals come from?
At this point in the season, the Black & Gold are a very good team. They dominate possession and they limit opponents chances. The connection between the defense and midfield is a work in progress, but that progress has started to show over the last few weeks. None of this matters if they can’t score goals.

The early season hope was that Diego Rossi and Jacen Russell-Rowe would be able to pick up some of the scoring burden after the departure of Hernandez. In the first match against Chicago, a four-goal outing, they seemed up to the task. Since that match, the team has only scored two total goals in four league matches. The lack of goals has resulted in at least two points dropped if not more.

I have been willing to give the front office the benefit of the doubt here but five games, while not a large sample size, is enough to see that the attack needs support. Rossi and Russell-Rowe need a creative spark plug that can provide them with more opportunities to score.

Maybe the team can make it to the summer window before bringing on additional attacking help, but doing so will almost certainly result in fewer home playoff games. The front office needs to move and they need to move quickly.