When Pedro Santos whipped in a pinpoint cross to the head of Gyasi Zardes for the opening goal of the Columbus Crew’s 2-0 win over the New England Revolution on Saturday, Caleb Porter saw the moment as an indication that his team is becoming less predictable.



The Crew coach said he had been spending the first few months of his tenure trying to “throw in some new wrinkles” to an attack that he said had become too straightforward.



He’s been preaching “new ideas in the attack,” but more important, he’s been trying to empower his players to make their own decisions and move away from the often rigid expectations of Gregg Berhalter’s well-known system.



And on the goal, created by Santos seemingly out of thin air, Porter saw his winger playing freely.



“I think sometimes, as coaches, you need to say, ‘You know what? It’s not coached,’ ” he said. “For me, I don’t need...