COLUMBUS -- A successful 30-game regular season and one leg of the MLS Cup Playoffs comes down to this Saturday night in Crew Stadium: One-and-done.
After 90 minutes and possibly extra time and penalty kicks, either the Supporters' Shield-winning Crew or the No. 4 seed Kansas City Wizards will advance to face Chicago in the Eastern Conference Championship on Nov. 13.
The aggregate series is tied 1-1 following last Saturday's game at Kansas City. In theory, the teams should have an equal chance but the Crew hope their trump card will be their gold- and black-clad fans.
Columbus is 7-0-2 at home since a June 7 loss to San Jose and has won six in a row there after tying the Wizards 3-3 on July 17.
"This is our reward for having a good season. We get to come home and do it in front of our fans. Now is why the home-field advantage matters," goalkeeper William Hesmer said. "We've been talking since February about making our home a fortress. Our fans have rallied behind that and we've rallied behind or fans."
The Crew made it a point to improve on their five home wins last season and as this season progressed so did their confidence -- witness their 11-2-2 record.
"As we gained momentum at the start of the season we really started to believe nobody is going to come in here and beat us and we took a lot of pride in that," forward Alejandro Moreno said.
K.C. thought it had the edge in the first game because it was unbeaten in 10 home games. While the game ended in a tie to extend the streak, the Wizards let the lead slip away in stoppage time when rookie Steven Lenhart scored.
History suggests the lower seed has almost an equal chance of advancing despite playing the deciding match on the road. Of the past 13 first-round series, since 2005, the team playing the first game at home has won six.
"It's what we worked for the whole year," Moreno said. "Once it became apparent we were going to be in the playoffs the second goal was home-field advantage. Our intention is to take advantage of it to get through to the next round."
The Crew were happy to get out of Kansas City with a point. They didn't play particularly well on the narrow field and exhibited some nerves in their first postseason clash since 2004.
"I was excited. I'm sure the guys were as well," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said. "There was a little nervousness and tentativeness that entered into it for both teams. To get that first game under our belts and not have given ourselves a more difficult situation coming into Game 2 was very important. We're relaxed but eager to get work on Saturday.
"There's more excitement going into this game because it's one-and-out. The first game you know you have a second game so it's a little bit different."
Veteran defender Ezra Hendrickson thinks the young players on the Crew will be appreciably better.
"You saw it the last game. We came out a little tight. A lot of players had never been in a playoff game before," he said. "It's a whole new season. You try to tell the younger players that nothing is going to be come easy. Every game is going to be a fight.
"It's going to take a whole team effort. There haven't been any blowouts. That's the way it's going to be because everybody is fighting for their life."
The question for the Crew is how to approach the match. As the home team and favorite, is the pressure there to dictate the pace?
"We want to do it because we feel that's what's best for us," Moreno said. "If we're carrying the rhythm of the game and we're carrying what we think is going to be good opportunities on goal and we're able to convert those opportunities it becomes a non-issue.
"Now, if the game gets dictated to us and we're not able to get into the rhythm we want to then obviously we're going to find ourselves in a real tough game and a bit of struggle."
Schmid was asked to address three scenarios with the match at the 75th minute:
If it's tied, "a lot depends on how the game's going. If we're tied but creating chances you probably let guys go out there," he said. "If it's the 75th minute and were tied and they're all over us and we're not creating chances maybe we've got to get some other bodies out there to help turn the thing.
"It's something that I always have an idea in my mind going into game as to what are the possible subs used if these scenarios happen but then you have to see which scenario is out in the game."
If the Crew lead by one: "Have they decided to go with three forwards? Have they tried to push and bring (Ivan) Trujillo in and just have a big body? Do we come and bring in an (Andy) Iro just to clear headers off the line? Are we, again, controlling the tempo of the game and stay where we are at? Do we bring in, maybe, a more defensive player for one of our wide guys or one of our forwards?
"That's going to be dictated by how the game is going but certainly if we're up 1-0 with 15 minutes to go they're going to have to push and we're going to get opportunities to counter so you want guys on the field who can put away a counterattack and ice the game."
And if the Crew trail by one? "If we're down a goal with 15 to go you've got to get the equalizer or you're season is over," Schmid said. "You've got to make the right decisions whether that's coming with a second striker or going into a more of a 3-4-3 or going into a 3-5-2. The game, again, will dictate that, then we'll decide which way to go."
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