October 25, 2015

When Crew SC faced D.C. United on Decision Day, second place and a playoff bye was at stake for both teams. That’s what made the 5-0 annihilation all the better.

Playing without ace playmaker Federico Higuain and 22-goal man Kei Kamara, the players Gregg Berhalter subbed in their place, Mohammed Saeid and Jack McInerney combined on the goal that gave Crew SC the 1-0 lead. That was a harbinger of the goodness that was to come. Justin Meram, Ethan Finlay (twice), and Aaron Schoenfeld added second-half goals as the Black & Gold stomped United 5-0 to lock up second place and move up to fourth in the Supporters’ Shield standings. The gratuitous boost in goal differential is what allowed MLS Cup to be played in Columbus instead of Portland, as the Black & Gold finished tied on points and wins with the Timbers, but leapfrogged them based on goal differential.

“It’s a testament to how hard we’ve worked,” said Crew SC midfielder Wil Trapp after the domination of D.C. United. “We said before the game that it’s been a journey this year. Everyone’s bought in. I think it’s awesome to see guys who came in and played so well. It was just a full-on, comprehensive onslaught. It was pretty fun, man. It was amazing out there. I can’t really say anything else.”

BONUS MOMENT: ATTENDANCE RECORDS

A lot of people in Columbus watched soccer in person this year. Crew SC finished the 2015 campaign with an average attendance of 16,985, which was the highest average since 2002. The club also tied a team record with five regular season sellouts, including a club-record three in a row. Further, the total attendance of 288,747 was an all-time high in MAPFRE Stadium history. (It was second all-time in club history, trailing only the inaugural year of 1996.)

The playoffs thoroughly rewrote the record books. The #1, #2, and #5 all-time playoff attendances in club history occurred this year. First came a near-sellout of 19,026 versus Montreal. Then came a sellout of 21,617 versus New York. Then MLS Cup drew an MLS postseason stadium record of 21,747. That means Crew SC averaged 20,797 fans per game in the playoffs. To put that in perspective, the previous single-game playoff high in club history was 20,807. The Black & Gold averaged just ten people short of that for the entire postseason this year!

The combined regular season and postseason attendance of 351,137 was an all-time club record, as was the combined seven sellouts. If these trends continue, due to the hard work of the ticket staff and an exciting team that will be defending its Eastern Conference Championship, tickets could be hard to come by at MAPFRE Stadium in 2016.