Crew SC, as currently constructed, has 25 players on its roster.

It will need almost all of them this weekend.

An ill-timed rash of injuries and call-ups are likely to put every active, healthy player on the Crew roster into the gameday 18 on Saturday against Real Salt Lake and on Wednesday against Philadelphia, against which the Crew will be without four probable starters.

Defender Gaston Sauro is out...

Crew SC, as currently constructed, has 25 players on its roster.

It will need almost all of them this weekend.

An ill-timed rash of injuries and call-ups are likely to put every active, healthy player on the Crew roster into the gameday 18 on Saturday against Real Salt Lake (6-3-2) and on Wednesday against Philadelphia (5-3-3), against which the Crew will be without four probable starters.

Defender Gaston Sauro is out at least four months because of a knee injury suffered on Saturday. Midfielder Tony Tchani (calf) seems unlikely to play until after the Copa America break ends next month. Rookie goalkeeper Matt Pacifici and midfielder Marshall Hollingsworth are out because of concussions.

Meanwhile, defender Harrison Afful and midfielder Cedrick Mabwati are on another continent, recalled by the national teams of Ghana and DR Congo, respectively, for an extended stay before they play African Cup of Nations qualifiers on June 5.

There will be no reinforcement from minor-league Pittsburgh. Homegrown midfielder Ben Swanson could have been called up for the final two games before the break but for now will stay with the Riverhounds. The reason? The Crew's USL affiliate fired coach Mark Steffens on Saturday and replaced him with former Navy and Messiah College coach Dave Brandt on Sunday.

Crew SC coach Gregg Berhalter thought it best Swanson remain in Pittsburgh rather than get lost in the shuffle of a coaching change.

The Crew will dress every available body it has on Saturday against Salt Lake. Berhalter is unfazed.

"That's why we build this group," he said after training on Tuesday. "We feel like we have depth. We still feel like we're going to put a pretty good lineup on the field.

"We're confident in the guys that are here. That's specifically why we structured things the way we did."

Barring further injuries, Panamanian midfielder Cristian Martinez, signed earlier this month, will dress for his first MLS game. Tyson Wahl and Ethan Finlay are likely to return to their starting spots in place of Sauro and Mabwati. Hector Jimenez or Chad Barson will play right back in place of Afful.

It seems the Crew could have kept Afful and Mabwati through Saturday's game – but Berhalter said that might have caused trouble in the long term. He also indicated he thought he was obligated to release them by Saturday to meet FIFA regulations, though the FIFA calendar states only that players must be released to their national teams by "Monday mornning at the latest."

Regardless, releasing them a week in advance was the right call, he said.

"It's not easy having to miss guys, those two guys in particular." Berhalter said. "But we're supportive of guys playing for their national teams. The last thing we want to do is put our guys in a tough situation between the two parties (club and country).

"(Keeping them) might have put our guys in a tough spot."

The Crew would have been in a much tougher spot had Finlay or defender Waylon Francis (Costa Rica) made the final Copa America rosters of their countries. Both were named to the preliminary rosters but did not make the final cut.

The prospect of the Crew (2-4-5) winning for the first time in more than a month would be much dimmer without them.

Though it has points in five of its past six (2-1-3), the Crew is winless in its past four (0-1-3). Bigger picture: The Crew has only two wins in its past 13, dating back to the final two games of the postseason last fall.

Is it time to win a damn game?

"Yes, it is," defender Corey Ashe said. "I was actually just talking to some guys about that. After (Saturday's 0-0 tie at Toronto), we said it was a great road point. But it means nothing if you're not getting three points at home.

"This game this weekend, we want three points. Look at the table. We're not far away. If we go on a 2- or 3-game win streak we could find ourselves up at the top. It's time to get a win at home."

Amen. Sort of.

Berhalter pointed out that the Crew is six points shy of second place in the Eastern Conference –

He didn't mention that the Crew has two games in hand on second-place New York City. He did indicate the Crew is starting to emerge from the stormy buildup to and aftermath of the trade of Kei Kamara.

"The thing is, we have to keep perspective," Berhalter said. "We know we're a good team. We just have to get into our rhythm, and we know that's coming. We had some setbacks with events of the last weeks. But we're getting back. We're getting our confidence back."

Free kicks

--Alex Crognale always stands out in a crowd, and it is especially hard not to notice the 6-foot-6 defender this week. The presence of the University of Maryland senior-to-be and Crew Academy alumnus looms large over the smallish Crew with the 6-3 Sauro on the shelf, but it is only temporary, he said. A homegrown contract remains something to be signed at a later date. "My focus is getting ready for this fall at Maryland," said Crognale, a Gahanna alum who is considered one of the league's top homegrown prospects. When asked about other top college players leaving early to sign homegrown or Generation Adidas deals, Crognale said that "if a guy is ready to go and he wants to make that decision, good for him. But I think four-year players have just as good of an opportunity to play in the league as a guy who leaves early." What about playing for the Crew one day? "It's my hometown team. Of course that's always been a dream of mine."

--Here's Berhalter when asked about signing Crognale: "An immediate signing? No. We want him to finish school He has put in a good three years of university. He is scheduled to get his degree in December. We'd love to see him get a degree." Berhalter said Crognale was previously scheduled to train with the Crew, as he has done in the past. He rejoined the team last week, well before Sauro was injured.

--More on rookie Rodrigo Saravia in The Dispatch later this week, but here's one benefit of him making a quick and giant leap from college player to Guatemalan national-team starter and Crew SC supersub: "It's funny," he said. "Even in FIFA (the video game), I understand a lot more. I've improved so much. It's amazing. I see things differently."

--Steffens had spent much time with Berhalter and his staff, and vice versa, since the Crew began its relationship with the Riverhounds in December. He said he was not consulted about the coaching change. "That's the unfortunate part of our job," Berhalter said. "It's not stable. Sometimes it depends on results and you're not given the time. It's unfortunate in this case that he wasn't given the time. But they're our partner, and they're making the decision about who the coach is."

--Steffens was let go following Pittsburgh's first win on Saturday. The Riverhounds are 1-4-3 this season and were 12-13-11 during his two-season tenure. A 2-0 loss to amateur club Lansdowne Bhoys in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup last week was the tipping point, Pittsburgh owner Tuffy Shallenberger told reporters.

--Berhalter and his staff are familiar with Brandt, he said. "We spoke to him last year, interviewed him about some academy positions," Berhalter said. "We know him well." Brandt won six national championships at Div. III Messiah before spending the past seven seasons at Navy. Overall, he holds a 310-72-34 record in college soccer. Can it translate? "That's the idea," Berhalter said. "I know he had aspirations of being a pro coach. He is very big on the culture of a club and very big on players taking ownership. I think that goes a long way."

--The Crew is off on Wednesday. It will return to training on Thursday.

--Shawn Mitchell

smitchell@dispatch.com

@smitchcd