Columbus Crew earns draw at Nashville SC behind Lucas Zelarayan goal
Jacob MyersThe Crew had the second-place team in the East on the ropes away from home with a 1-0 lead — and without their head coach — only to cough it up two minutes later.
But behind a couple crucial saves from goalkeeper Eloy Room, the Crew escaped Nashville with a 1-1 draw and an important point in its pursuit of a comeback to make the playoffs, now with just four games remaining in the regular season.
"We're happy. We're not satisfied, but we're happy," said Ezra Hendrickson, who was acting head coach in place of Caleb Porter. "We keep ourselves right in the thick of things where we need to be for these last four games."
For just the third time in 16 road games this season, the Crew (10-12-8, 38 points) grabbed the first goal and looked capable of taking home a signature win. Attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan struck a low shot past goalkeeper Joe Willis in the 75th minute for what looked like a breakthrough.
But just off the kickoff, and just as center back Jonathan Mensah was closing in on a tackle, Nashville's (11-3-16, 49 points) leading scorer Hany Mukhtar finished a pass from Daniel Rios past Room for the equalizer.
Early Wednesday morning, the Crew announced coach Caleb Porter would not be on the sidelines after entering the league’s health and safety protocol for testing positive for COVID-19 after Tuesday’s training, with Hendrickson taking over his duties against Nashville.
On the surface, it seemed like a significant hit. But beginning the night four points out of the final playoff spot with five games remaining, the Crew had enough pressure on them already. In one of the final two road games of the season, the Crew had to get at least one win to give themselves a considerable shot at making the playoffs.
Road performances have been notorious for the Crew the past couple years, with just two wins since the start of 2020, and 0-6-1 in their last seven road games entering Wednesday night. In the first 20 minutes, the Crew were sluggish out of the gate again. But they began to gain a little more control on the game and looked to be in position to grab all three points.
In the 13th minute, Room needed a quick reaction to make a big save on center back Walker Zimmerman’s snap header in the middle of the box. Six minutes later, midfielder Anibal Godoy had a dangerous shot at the top of the box that was deflected out of play by Crew center backs Josh Williams and Jonthan Mensah.
From there, the Crew had more dangerous chances in the attack while the defense remained compact and poised. Attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and winger Pedro Santos cracked shots from distance that forced goalkeeper Joe Willis to make plays to keep the score tied.
The first 20 minutes of the second half went by without many dangerous moments for either team in the attack, before it all opened up.
The Crew goal started with a header from Darlington Nagbe in the Crew’s half to Waylon Francis, who passed up the left sideline toward Zelarayan. The Argentine walked over the ball, leaving it for forward Miguel Berry who brought the ball into the attack. As Santos received a pass, Zelarayan ran behind him and down the right side of the box where he ripped the pass from Santos past Willis.
Once Mukhtar tied it, each team had a dangerous chance. Mensah had a header off a corner that went right at Willis on the goal line in the 81st minute. On the next possession, Room made a miraculous save on a shot from Rios after a turnover from Marlon Hairston.
With the draw, the Crew gained a point on the final playoff spot, now just three points back of the seventh spot. But the opportunity to get closer was right there in one of their better road performances of the season.
"We’re sad about the tie because we thought we could win," Zelarayan said. "We’re content that we played a good match and deserved more, but at least we are able to take a point."
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