Sports Illustrated's Alexander Abnos' weekly rundown of who's hot and who's not — aka Power Rankings — has Crew SC climbing after the MLS charter member's three-match win streak.
A Week 5 brace by Justin Meram, a second cleansheet in three games and second win at MAPFRE Stadium ranks the Black & Gold seventh on Abnos' list. Week 3's rankings — after a break for the international window that only saw six MLS teams competing, including Columbus — had Crew SC in 13th place.
7
COLUMBUS CREW SC
LAST WEEK: 13
RECORD: 3-1-1
All of a sudden, Columbus is arguably the hottest team in MLS. Columbus added its second and third win in succession, grinding out a fun 3–2 win over Portland over the international break and then putting forth a solid, professional performance in a 2–0 win over Orlando City. Justin Meram scored three goals over those two games after declining to join the Iraq national team for its World Cup qualifiers over travel concerns and the USA's travel policies.
Crew SC next visits the Chicago Fire on April 8 in Bridgeview for a 2 p.m. showdown. The two teams have met once already this season, resulting in a 1-1 draw at MAPFRE Stadium in the season opener on March 4. The game can be viewed on ABC-6, Spectrum Sports, and BCSN2 in Ohio or nationally via MLS Live.
The Black & Gold then return home for the first leg of the Trillium Cup against Toronto FC on April 15 for an 8 p.m. kickoff at MAPFRE Stadium.
