COLUMBUS — The Crew have done enough over the past few weeks to keep their season alive.
But now comes the question of whether they can continue to grow and keep things rolling.
Columbus enters the final stretch of the MLS regular season with 29 points through 27 matches, sitting four points behind the Eastern Conference play-in line. Seven league matches remain, which means there is still time for the Crew to climb into the postseason picture, but there is almost no margin left for another stumble.
Recent results have at least given Columbus a chance. The Crew followed a 2-0 win at Montréal with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Inter Miami, giving a season that had begun to drift away some badly needed life.
Those victories did not fix everything. They did, however, change the math enough to make the final month interesting.
Four points is hardly an impossible gap, especially with seven matches remaining, but Columbus is not simply chasing one team. There are multiple clubs between the Crew and the postseason line, which means winning their own matches may not always be enough. They may need some help elsewhere, but they also have to keep pressure on the teams above them by continuing to collect points.
The easiest way to make all of that less complicated is obvious: keep winning.
The next opportunity comes Saturday at Orlando City. Four days later, Columbus returns home to face Charlotte before traveling to Cincinnati for Hell is Real on Oct. 18. That is three league matches in eight days against teams with plenty of their own reasons to need points.
Three days after facing FC Cincinnati, the Crew host St. Louis CITY SC in the U.S. Open Cup Final. Columbus has an opportunity to win a trophy in the middle of a stretch where its MLS postseason hopes may be decided.
That is a good problem to have, but it is still a challenge Laurent Courtois and his staff will have to manage. Players will need rest, the lineup may need to rotate, and every decision becomes more important when one competition offers a trophy while the other determines whether the league season continues beyond Decision Day.
The Crew have at least given themselves the opportunity to worry about all of it. A few weeks ago, that was not the case, as Columbus looked dead in the water.
There were stretches this season when the Crew looked like a team running out of time. The roster changed significantly, consistency was difficult to find, and points disappeared in matches they desperately needed.
The past couple of performances have looked different. Columbus has appeared more organized, more confident, and more capable of staying in matches long enough to find the moment that decides them.
That is exactly what happened against Miami. The Crew did not dominate every minute, but they stayed in the match, gave themselves a chance late, and Jamal Thiaré delivered the stoppage-time winner.
At this point in the season, style points do not matter. Actual points do.
The encouraging part is that Columbus still controls the most important thing: how it plays. The Crew cannot control what happens elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, but they can make sure every team above them continues to feel pressure.
They can turn Saturday in Orlando into three points, protect home field against Charlotte, and make Hell is Real matter for more than bragging rights.
They have seven matches to do it. The season is still alive, but there just is not much room left to waste.
