In his third season with Crew SC, Waylon Francis acknowledges that 2016 has been more challenging than his first two years in Columbus. Even so, the Costa Rican left back has his heart with his teammates and his eyes on the road ahead.

“We need to keep pushing forward,” Francis said. “This is a group, so everyone has to help each other. We just need to keep pushing forward.”

Ahead of Crew SC’s match in Toronto last weekend, Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter emphasized the importance of trust within his team in order to stay mentally focused for a full 90 minutes.

“Trust each other,” he said. “Trust that your teammates are going to do the right play; he’s going to be in the right position, you’re going to be in the right position and just having trust.”

Crew SC has been successful in several impact and attacking statistical categories this season. The Black & Gold lead the League in chances created per match (10.43), and are second in possession (55.64 percent), just 0.6 behind leader Sporting Kansas City. They’re also second in passing accuracy (82.36 percent), just 0.08 less than the Seattle Sounders at the top. While certainly promising, there's still much work to be done with 13 matches remaining.

“Last year, we played quickly, we passed the ball side-to-side, so that is one of the things we need to keep improving,” Francis says. “But this year is difficult. We don’t get lucky, and even if you don’t get lucky, there are bad results coming in a row, and that’s very bad for us. So we need to keep working in training, and don’t give up.”

In the midst of a bye week, the team is looking to face this mental challenge head-on, bolster its confidence and make a final push to get above the red line.