You know the scenarios by now.
The Crew players and staff do too. With a chance at third place very realistic for the Black & Gold this weekend, the club is eager to continue its strong run of form by putting forth a positive performance. Unfortunately, Columbus cannot secure third on its lonesome -- it requires some help from the Red Bulls at Sporting Kansas City in order to lock down a bye into the Conference Semifinals -- but the Crew can secure at least the fourth spot with a win or a draw against the Union on Sunday.
"We said all of these last games are must-wins," said winger Ethan Finlay, who was recently signed to a contract extension. "We'll continue to control what we can control. A win puts us in the best position to do that."
If the Crew does win, it then needs a tie or a win by New York at Sporting KC in their match, which kicks-off Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. ET, in order secure the third seed in the Conference.
"I think we're one of the better teams in the League, and I think anyone in the locker room will tell you that." said defender Eric Gehrig. "As much as we can get higher in the pecking order and the seeding, that's what we're going to do. Anytime you have two games to show yourself, home and away as opposed to winner-take-all, it makes things a little more comfortable. We're going to put our best foot forward for the weekend and hopefully we get the win and things work out in Kansas City.
"Whatever card we're dealt, we're confident we can get it done either way."
The Black & Gold are on a tear lately, having won their last five at home by a 13-1 aggregate scoreline and coming off of a two-match road swing where the club scored three or more goals in consecutive away clashes for the first time since 2008.
Still, the Crew is careful not to overlook the challenge that the Union presents.
"It's tough, but those guys are playing for jobs too," said Finlay. "Some of them will be there [next year] and some of them won't. That's not to say one game will affect that, but it could if you're on the fringe. You'll see a good Philadelphia team. They're bitter of us knocking them out. [The Crew's 3-2 win in Philadelphia] is the night they got knocked out by us. They're going to come in and be ready to attack. They have some good players. They might not have [Sebastien] Le Toux or [Conor] Casey tomorrow night, but Brian Brown has been really good. Danny Cruz can come in. They have a lot of good pieces that we have to be aware of."
Sunday is FANdemonium at Crew Stadium, with multiple sponsor prizes and giveaways. The club will also announce its 2014 team awards immediately after the contest on the field. With a 2-0-0 record against Philadelphia and a 7-3-1 mark against the Union all-time, the Crew certainly has the upper hand on paper headed into the season finale. With one final strong regular-season performance, and a little bit of help, the Black & Gold can bypass the Knockout Round and be one step closer to the ultimate prize.
