With playoff hopes fading, Crew take on league-best Nashville SC

Field Level Media|published: Fri 21st August, 20:51 2026

Aug 11, 2026; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Crew offense Chase Adams (46) and Pumas UNAM midfielder Victor Arteaga (18) during the second half of a Leagues Cup Phase One match at Scotts Miracle-Gro Field. The Columbus Crew won the match on penalty kicks. Mandatory Credit: Barbara Perenic-Imagn Images

The Columbus Crew are approaching the crossroads of their season and couldn't have dreamt up a worse location for the next stop.

Faltering in league play but alive in two outside competitions, interim coach Laurent Courtois will once again have to decide how to rotate the lineup when the Crew (5-10-5, 20 points) visit league-leading Nashville SC (14-2-4, 46 points) on Saturday.

Nashville is the lone unbeaten team at home in MLS (9-0-1) and is 10-1-3 in the past 14 MLS matches, although coach B.J. Callaghan wants to see a better performance after struggling to a 1-0 win at the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday.

"We know this is a long season and each and every night you're not going to be your best," Callaghan said. "But the things you can control, which is your mentality and your desire to keep pushing and keep competing and looking for the win -- whether it's home or away -- you can control those behaviors."

Columbus will go from one hostile environment to another next Wednesday when it plays Club America in a quarterfinal match of the Leagues Cup in Carson, Calif., in what will essentially be a home game for the Mexican club. The Crew then fly home to play the New England Revolution on Aug. 29.

Courtois was disappointed by a 2-1 home setback to CF Montreal on Wednesday but said there's no time to dwell on losing to a team that won for the first time in nine matches.

"There's a lot of games and we'll learn a lot about each other in these next few weeks," Courtois said. "Now, we face back-to-back challenges to see how we respond, collectively and individually."

Sitting in 12th place, four points behind ninth-place D.C. United for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Crew's best chances for trophies could be the Leagues Cup and the U.S. Open Cup, where they'll face visiting Orlando City in the semifinals on Sept. 16.

The Crew are struggling offensively with the lone score vs. Montreal an own goal. That's unwelcome news with Nashville's Brian Schwake tied for second in MLS with nine shutouts. He has 14 in all competitions this season to set a club record with 14 matches left.

Chase Adams, 18, scored his first career goal in his fourth career game for the Crew back on Aug. 15 when they lost 3-1 to Charlotte FC.

--Field Level Media

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