Saturday's match had plenty of hype in the build-up.
Into Cleveland arrived the Eastern Conference leaders, the Columbus Crew, who were unbeaten in eight and tied for their best unbeaten start to a season in Club history. On the other side was also undefeated Inter Miami CF.
This was billed as one of the matches of the year. The game matched the expectation.
On Saturday afternoon, the Crew’s unbeaten start to 2025 ended at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, where the Black & Gold lost, 1-0, to Miami. Yet, the setback wasn’t from a faulty performance – the Crew simply didn’t finish the goal-scoring opportunities they created.
“We had chances,” Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy said after the match. “That's why I'm happy that we had chances. I know that we're going to score, but on this one, it's a bit difficult to accept because obviously we could have scored more goals, and we didn't do it.”
The opportunities came in waves.
In the first half, Columbus pressed for an early lead, but shots drifted off target. The side was punished when Benjamin Cremaschi scored on a counter with a clever header at the half-hour mark.
But then Miami, which had already bunkered down, sat even deeper in their own territory. Much of the second half was played in front of the Crew supporters' section. Nancy said Miami packed its box with eight or nine players. Frequently, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez were alone on islands, floating away from play.
Perhaps the best chances for Columbus came late – and even in second-half stoppage time. In the 93rd minute, Andrés Herrera whipped a low cross toward Dániel Gazdag, but his effort was off frame.
“I think, overall, we played a good game,” said Gazdag, who made his first Crew start in only his second appearance. “We created a lot of chances. I missed some chances, and also, other players missed some chances, so we've been creating. I think we played well. For the next game we just have to be clinical in front of the goal and that will help us win.”
From a soccer perspective, that was the main takeaway from the match. The Crew arrived unbeaten and left with a loss, but they played their same attractive, aggressive style. It’s just the goals were lacking.
Again, this is still one of the best starts in Club history. Proving the side can create chances in April should, over time, lead to those chances being finished in future matches.
“The thing is, we still have room to improve,” captain Darlington Nagbe said. “That’s a good thing, that’s the scary part about this team. No one’s satisfied; we performed well today, but we still want to get that win. The sky’s the limit for this team.”
But for as much as this match was about two of the top clubs in MLS clashing in an important match, it was also about showcasing the Crew in its backyard.
As Ohio’s Team for 30 years, that’s means thousands of fans have flocked down I-71 to see the Black & Gold in the capital. On Saturday, the favor was returned with a captivating match in The Land.
There were 60,614 supporters in the building who helped set a new home attendance record for the Crew. It was also the highest non-NFL attendance at Huntington Bank Field. The previous Crew record was 31,550, set on Sept. 15, 1996 at Ohio Stadium.
“Some people probably got a chance to see us for the first time or maybe have never seen the Columbus Crew play before,” Max Arfsten said after the match. “Just being in a different city, having so many more people being able to watch the game. So, for sure, it opened some eyes, and hopefully they enjoyed the way we play. I know the result didn't go our way, but I still feel like we played our brand of footy.”
To put that into context, the crowd at Huntington Bank Field tripled Lower.com Field’s maximum capacity. Oh, and the Cleveland crowd was nearly four times the amount of people who saw Pelé play in the Rock and Roll Capital of the World (Pelé played in Cleveland twice. In 1968, 16,025 fans attended a match against the Cleveland Stokers. In 1976, the attendance was 14,000).
“It was good,” Nancy said of Saturday’s atmosphere. “Good because it was loud... Good experience. Good for the club. Good for everyone. We were missing the win.”
Of course, for Nagbe and Sean Zawadzki, Saturday meant coming home. For Nagbe, his hometown was a few miles west of the match in Lakewood; Zawadzki is from Olmsted Falls, just slightly south.
“It definitely lived up to it and surpassed that," said Nagbe. "I wish we would have gotten the win and just enjoy it a little bit more, but it was such a great experience.
“Like I said, watching the Browns here and growing up a couple miles from here. So, to be here and be able to captain the Crew, play a home game here in front of these fans, in front of our friends that made it down from Columbus, it was definitely a special evening.”
