Columbus Crew Upcoming Schedule Breakdown & Preview

While none of the Crew’s stars were called up for the United States Men’s National Team games in the Nations League, others will play during the break. Winger Derrick Etienne Jr. is the latest to be added to a roster, and the 24-year-old will join Haiti in World Cup qualifiers. Winter Luis Diaz (Costa Rica), midfielder Liam Fraser (Canada), and goalie Eloy Room (Curacao) will also represent their nations over the next three weeks.

Crew Playing Well to End May

With two straight 2-1 wins over the last two Saturdays, the Crew are up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 11 points from seven games. The defense has been stellar all season, with six goals allowed, but the offense only had one goal in the first five games. 

Zelarayan has three of the five goals scored by Crew players so far this season, with two from free-kicks. Diaz and Zardes both scored against Toronto, while Pedro Santos leads Columbus with two assists on the season. The Crew have also benefited from two own goals, both scored by D.C. United in the 3-1 win on May 8.

Coming Up Next

After the break, the Crew have three games in June before they finally get to open their new downtown stadium on July 3 against New England. Columbus will go exactly three weeks between games with just one home game left at Historic Crew Stadium. 

That final game at their longtime home will come on Saturday, June 19, against the Chicago Fire. The Crew and Fire have a 25-year rivalry that included some heated playoff games back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Chicago will come to Columbus tied for last place in the East with just one win and one draw so far this season. 

Four days later, the Crew head to Philadelphia for a showdown with the Union as the teams began the season as the favorites to win the East. They met in the season opener on national TV with a 0-0 draw in Columbus on April 18. The Union are currently in second place in the East with 14 points from eight games, one more game than the Crew have played. 

Out of June and Into July 

The Crew’s last game of the month will come on the road against expansion side Austin FC who have yet to play at home. The Sunday, June 27 match will be just the second game in the history of Q2 stadium in Texas, and they expect a full stadium. Austin has had the ups and downs most expansion teams go through, and they are in 11th place in the West with two wins, one draw, and four losses.

The July schedule will get crazy in a hurry for the Crew. After opening the new stadium against New England on July 3, they head across the state for Hell is Real Derby at FC Cincinnati four days later. They will also play NYCFC twice in July with games against Nashville SC and Atlanta United that will go a long way into determining the Crew’s place in the East standings.