Steven Moreira roared from inside his own box. On the touchline, Mo Farsi and Laurent Courtois hugged in delight. Brais Méndez nonchalantly adjusted his socks and took a second to breathe.
On Aug. 30, the Columbus Crew sat bottom of the Eastern Conference. They were second-worst in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
But when the full-time whistle chirped on Saturday night to end the 2026 regular season, the club sat seventh. This is remarkable. This is massive.
Three times the Crew trailed at Chicago Fire FC on Saturday. Three times they came back – and took the lead through Méndez in the 93rd minute – to win, 4-3, in a Decision Day stunner. And with that, the Black & Gold moved from ninth to seven in the conference standings, avoiding Audi MLS Cup Playoffs play-in round.
“What we're most proud of is talking about being a team and when you come back three times after conceding and equalizing away and with the quality that they showed, it shows we have the whole locker room believing in this adventure,” said Courtois, the interim head coach. “Really proud of the mentality and the quality of the side. It was a really good team that we faced tonight – maybe the most competitive one I faced so far. The guys can really be proud of what they've done.”
With the win, Columbus will play second-seeded Inter Miami CF in Round One of the postseason. A best-of-three series guarantees the Crew will host Lionel Messi and company for the second match at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. Dates aren’t finalized, but tickets are available.
“It means a lot. It means a lot to [not] play right away,” Courtois said. “We're going to be able to recover properly, to plan 10 days of training, which is insane for us this year, and have a three-game series against Miami. It’s what we want.”
This scenario didn’t come easy.
Twice, Robert Lewandowkskis scored from the penalty spot in the first half (eighth and 22nd minutes), and twice, Columbus responded quickly. Gonzalo Tapia scored his first in the 16th minute, while Anass Zaroury leveled the match at 2-2 one minute after the second penalty.
The Fire regained the lead in first-half stoppage time, but again, the visitors rallied. In the 62nd minute, Tapia scored his second for his second for his first professional brace.
From there, it seemed like the match would finish with points halved, but results around the league amplified the stakes. FC Cincinnati, which started Decision Day in seventh place, lost, 2-0, at home. Orlando City SC, which was ninth, moved up to eight – giving Columbus a pathway to skip the Wild Card play-in fixture.
So, while the match commentators chatted about the Crew facing Cincinnati in a third postseason Hell is Real matchup in four years, the Black & Gold were on the pitch getting instructions to push for three points in Chicago.
“I had no idea until probably five, six minutes left in our game,” captain Sean Zawadzki said. “Those games went final a little bit before ours, and then kind of looked over to the bench and they kind of motioned that we had to go.
“So obviously late to find that out, but obviously for us at the same time, it's maybe a little bit better. We're not pushing forward, and we concede a goal, whatever it may be. But I think to be able to have five minutes to push and to score the goal to put us in the seventh is fantastic from the guys. And I think that goes back to what I was saying earlier. No matter what the score is, no matter where you're at, this team is going to find a way.”
This set the stage for Méndez to score in the 93rd minute, when the ball bounced straight toward the Spaniard to produce the club’s game winner.
“It was crazy, unbelievable, honestly,” Taha Habroune said of the finish. “What stands out to me is the belief from every single one on the field and even on the bench. Throughout the 90 minutes, we always believed that we were going to get our chance to win the game, and we got it, and we took it. So, I'm super proud of everyone today.”
With the result, the Crew won eight of their final nine regular season matches, including six consecutive victories, to record one of the most significant turnarounds in MLS history.
In a season full of adversity, the Black & Gold pushed themselves to the brink – even in the final seconds of the regular season. There was a coaching change, significant roster moves and two cup runs, including one that ended tragically in a championship game. But still, the Crew’s locomotive kept chugging.
After falling to St. Louis CITY SC on penalties, Zawadzki said the Crew would be playing five cup finals to close the campaign. Every minute would matter.
Then the Black & Gold went out and won all five matches – needing every minute. (Speaking of minutes, Zawadzki is the first outfield player in Club history to play every single minute in a regular season (3,060). Patrick Schulte became the fourth keeper in Club history to accomplish the feat.)
“For us to come back three different times in the game, it just goes to show how much this team fight,” the captain said. “The mentality of this team, we never feel like we're out of the game, and whether we're down one goal, two goals, whatever it may be, home or away, the mentality of this team is to keep going.
“And I think obviously there's also the last month and a half that have gone our way, and I think that has given us confidence that no matter what, we're ready and we're going to keep fighting.”
