Joseph Lowery
Where we left off last year
2024 season: 66 points, 2nd in the Eastern Conference, 2nd in MLS
A surprise Round One playoff exit at the hands of the New York Red Bulls shouldn’t overshadow what was an excellent 2024 campaign for the Columbus Crew.
Wilfried Nancy’s team topped Mexican giants Tigers and Monterrey en route to making the Concacaf Champions Cup final. They won Leagues Cup. And they finished second in the Supporters’ Shield race, behind only the most star-studded team MLS has ever seen. Even with fixture congestion weighing them down and Aidan Morris’ midseason move to England, the 2024 Columbus Crew were an elite team that extracted production from virtually every nook and cranny of their roster.
The concern, however, when the Crew fell in Round One of last year’s playoffs was that it wasn’t just the season ending. It was an era ending. Those concerns became concrete earlier this offseason with Cucho Hernandez’s move to La Liga.
So: now what?
Joseph Lowery
