COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Crew has once again made it to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The team is looking for a back-to-back title after winning the cup in 2023 over the Los Angeles FC. They won the cup two other times — in 2008 and 2020.
In the opening round on Tuesday, the Crew will host the New York Red Bulls at Lower.com Field. The match kicks off at 6:45 p.m.
This is the first of three matches to get to the next round.
The Crew are 16-5-5 in Eastern Conference matches and have a 13-0-0 record in matches where they score at least three goals. The Red Bulls are 9-9-8 against Eastern Conference opponents and rank seventh in the Eastern Conference allowing 50 goals.
The matchup Tuesday is the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The Crew won the last match 3-0.
Top performers
Cucho Hernandez has scored 19 goals with nine assists for the Crew. Diego Rossi has three goals and one assist over the last 10 matches.
Lewis Morgan has scored 13 goals and added six assists for the Red Bulls. Dante Vanzeir has two goals and two assists over the last 10 matches.
Last 10 matches
Crew: 6-2-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 5.4 shots on goal and 4.5 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.8 goals per match.
Red Bulls: 2-5-3, averaging 1.6 goals, 5.3 shots on goal and 6.3 corner kicks per game while allowing 2.0 goals per match.
Who’s sitting out?
For the Crew, Sean Zawadzki, Mohamed Farsi, Steven Moreira and Evan Bush are all injured and will be sitting out.
The Red Bulls will be without Roald Mitchell, Wikelman Carmona and Kyle Duncan.
