Despite extending its unbeaten streak to three matches, there was a sense of disappointment in the Crew locker room following Saturday's 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls.
Justin Meram drew a penalty that was converted by Jairo Arrieta to put the Black & Gold ahead just before halftime, but a Bradley Wright-Phillips second-half equalizer for the Red Bulls left the Crew with just a point on the evening.
The goal was Arrieta's second of the season, coming in his first start since March 22. A performance that included several attempts on goal gives the Costa Rican momentum heading into May.
"It was very important for me to play well today," Arrieta said. "I was in the starting XI, I wanted to be there I wanted to make chances.
"With my confidence going in, trying to score some goals and make things happen -- everybody is going in and playing well."
Still, the draw left the Crew wanting more post-match.
"I thought it was a decent effort," Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said after the match. "The guys did well. Obviously, heads were down in the locker room after the game because we couldn’t close it out. We couldn’t get the three points. But there were a lot of positives."
He continued: "[The players] were disappointed that we didn’t win the game, and I like that. I like the fact that they were disappointed. It shows that we have high expectations for themselves.
Like their leader, Berhalter's players are taking positive from the draw to build on in the coming matches.
"[New York] is a quality team," midfielder Wil Trapp said. "It's never going to be easy against a team like that, with the players they have. But it's disappointing for us. We want to win the game."
The 20-year-old went on, "We just need to finish our chances. We're creating plenty of them: it's just putting the ball in the back of the net and that's the hardest thing to do. Home or away, we're not too concerned. Our goal is to get three points."
The Black & Gold return to action on Sunday, May 4 at Sporting Kansas City (4:00 p.m. ET / NBC Sports).
