Columbus' 'B' team making the difference in MLS Cup defense

Defending Major League Soccer champion Columbus beat the New England Revolution, 4-0, on Saturday to secure second place in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference. The win put the Crew one step closer to clinching home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Columbus winning isn't special — the team has 18 wins, more than any team except Inter Miami and the Los Angeles Galaxy. 

Columbus, however, won without any of its star players, as goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, striker Cucho Hernandez, winger Mo Farsi and utility player Sean Zawadzki were away on international duty. Yet the Crew dominated with mostly second-stringers.

To hear Columbus coach Wilfried Nancy tell it, that was the plan all along. 

"This is not easy, but this is the challenge," Nancy said of working with his bench, per Charlie Hatch of the team's website. "...The performance for me is really important. I'm really happy when I can see any kind of player that I can put in and they bring something. For me, this is the key point."

The depth of Nancy's team is a huge benefit as the MLS season ticks closer to the playoffs. As postseason matches come in thick and fast and injuries pile up, it's often the background players who wind up making the difference in the fight for the MLS Cup. Last season, it was Christian Ramirez — a late Nancy substitute — who scored Columbus' decisive goal in the conference finals. 

Ramirez has since gone on to become a key starter for Columbus. But who does Nancy have in the pipeline this season who could do the same? The New England victory suggests he has plenty of options:

Alex Matan | Midfielder

Matan came to Columbus in 2022 with high expectations but quickly fell out of favor with coach Caleb Porter. When Nancy took over in 2023, Matan was nowhere.

What a difference a year makes. It was Matan who stepped up Saturday in Cucho's absence, scoring a hat trick. He may not always fit into Nancy's starting 11, but he's more than capable of delivering goals when he takes the field.