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The Columbus Crew capped off a six-point week with a second home win, this time against the Philadelphia Union. After squeaking out a win on Wednesday against the LA Galaxy, the Black & Gold returned home for a second straight game to take on a squad with similar struggles to the Galaxy. It only took Max Arfsten five minutes to open the scoring, beating a defender and sliding the ball past Andre Blake to put the Crew up 1-0. Columbus doubled its advantage right before halftime, pressuring Union defender Nathanial Harriel into a challenge that resulted in an own goal. From there, the Black & Gold cruised. Philadelphia’s ruthless pressure made it difficult at times, but the Crew looked like a completely different team compared to the first few weeks of Henrik Rydstöm’s tenure. After weathering the Union’s pressure, Columbus left with three points to secure two wins in one week for the first time this season. This game had it all, from electric offense and a chess match of pressure. Let’s dive into all the tactics that ended with the Black & Gold taking the victory. Countering Philadelphia’s press There is a reason why Arfsten opened the scoring just minutes into the game. In preparation for the Union’s press, Rydström and his staff had the perfect gameplan to combat the high-intensity defensive scheme. In comparison to the LA Galaxy’s complete and utter lack of any pressure on Wednesday, the Crew needed a more comprehensive buildup plan for Philadelphia. The Union preferred to press in a 4-4-2 but offset the ball-side winger higher to always press with a front three. This meant that even when Columbus tried to switch the ball to the opposite fullback, there was another winger there who could continue the pressure alongside the strike partnership, all while the opposite winger could recover. That was the name of the pressing game for Philadelphia. Employ a high-intensity pressure then recover, and then press again. The only rest the Black & Gold got was when Rudy Camacho or Sean Zawadzki had the ball. The Union engaged the press when possession moved to one of the Crew’s fullbacks. This compartmental press on each side was accommodated by Philadelphia’s midfielders man marking the Columbus midfielders. Sekou Bangoura typically stayed central, but the keys to breaking the press were actually Taha Habroune and Dylan Chambost. Due to the Union’s aggressive approach, the Black & Gold had to figure out a way to make their opponents overcommit and then capitalize on that mistake. Habroune and Chambost did exactly that, by pushing high right underneath and inside Arfsten and Picard. When the ball was switched to the near side, the Union fullback jumped up to cut off a ball into Habroune or Chambost’s feet. From there, an easy clipped ball over the top to the streaking winger put the Crew in behind the defense and bearing down on goal. This is the reason why Columbus had so many strong attacking movements in the opening phase of the game. Chambost and Habroune simply baited the defense into stepping up, then support as late-arriving runners when the ball went over the top to the wingers. To Philadelphia’s credit, the Union were able to adjust. After the initial rush of chances, Philadelphia’s fullbacks stayed home to cover the runs over the top. There will still chances in behind due to the nature of the Union’s high defensive line, but at least now there was a fullback there to go stride-for-stride with the Crew’s wingers. On the flip side, Philadelphia’s adjustment opened up avenues in the center of the pitch for the Black & Gold to find with their midfielders and false no. 9s. These were the moments in the game when Habroune shined, showcasing his creative ability and technical skill to dance through the defense. The Union came into this game hellbent on making the Crew uncomfortable, generating turnovers and living on the counter. To Rydström’s credit, the Columbus coaching staff had the Black & Gold well prepared for everything Philadelphia threw at them. What we know now about Rydström’s system and how players fit into it Now that the Crew are ten games into the 2026 MLS season, fans have gotten a glimpse into how Rydström ideally wants his team to operate. After a rough opening stretch, the past two games showcased just how good this Columbus team can be. Beginning the first few matches in a familiar 5-2-3, the coaching staff made the switch to a 4-4-2 in the fourth game of the season against Nashville. The match ended in a 1-0 loss, but there were sparks of life from the Black & Gold, even in a new formation. Now six games later, we can see which players fit into the roles of a 4-4-2 and how Rydström expects them to play. Starting with the tactics, the Crew want to control the ball – as has been their style for nearly the last decade and a half – and apply well-timed pressure at certain points. There are slight tweaks on both sides of the ball stylistically from how Columbus played under Wilfried Nancy. On offense, the Black & Gold are now a bit more set positionally as opposed to Nancy’s free-flowing offense. On defense, the Crew do not press nearly as high or as hard as they did under the previous coaching staff. As for the players, a few have seen their roles change, but not in drastic fashion. Switching from a 5-2-3 to a 4-4-2, there was a natural progression to move Arfsten and Herrera from a wingback to a winger. Both will do pretty much the same thing on offense in either position, but now as a winger they do not have to defend nearly as much. The other big change is on the defense. Steven Moreira moves back out to fullback – his position when he first arrived in Columbus under Caleb Porter – along with Malte Amundsen, with Zawadzki and Camacho operating as the centerback pairing. This has been the biggest change for the Black & Gold. Defending with four in the back compared to three or five is a big difference. The gaps, coverage areas and interchanges are completely different, which was evident with the defense’s struggles throughout the first part of the season. In the past two games though, the defense has looked much improved to the tune of one goal conceded in 180+ minutes of gametime. As for newcomers and others finding their footing, this week represented a coming-out party for Bangoura and Daniel Gazdag. Gazdag shined on Wednesday, netting a goal and becoming an integral part in the Crew’s buildup as a false no. 9. Once seemingly resigned to the bench during the first stretch of the season, Rydström and his staff will be hoping the Hungarian can regain his Philadelphia-era form in the absence of Wessam Abou Ali. As for Bangoura, his first appearance in the starting lineup appeared to be a success. The newcomer is a natural ball-winning engine in the middle of the pitch. At times he can get out of position in his zeal to win the ball back, but he has filled in nicely alongside Chambost in Andre Gomes’ absence. As always, this week will be taken with a grain of salt looking at the respective league standing positions of the LA Galaxy and Philadelphia Union, but these are the games Columbus must win. If the Black & Gold can build momentum, Rydström may be on the upswing.

Photo courtesy of Inside Higher Ed. When James Madison drafted the U.S Constitution in 1787, there was one profession granted guaranteed protection from governmental interference and oversight. That profession is journalism. Freedom of the press has long been one of the United States’ hallmarks. Newsrooms were intended to keep power in check, expose corruption and uncover truth regardless of the mounting pressures against journalists. Since this country’s inception, freedom of the press has been seen as an integral part of society, especially on college campuses across the nation. In 1908, that freedom led the University of Missouri to found the world’s first school of journalism that offered a formal college degree. Before degrees and college classes arrived on the scene in Missouri, the history of journalism on campuses revolved around student publications. A mere 12 years after Madison drafted the Constitution, The Dartmouth opened on the grounds of Dartmouth College in 1799, becoming America’s oldest college publication. In the 227 years that followed The Dartmouth’s inception, approximately 1,104 student publications began work across the United States. Each newspaper fills an important need in a country that began with freedom of the press but has strayed from traditional journalistic values. Journalism classes teach students that the perfect role of journalism in a society is to be a “watchdog” for the community it covers. With the polarizing political and partisan landscape that has only intensified in recent years, now students are shown media bias charts to show which publications hit the mark, and others that fall short of the goal. That is where student publications come in. College newspapers have the unique capability of serving a population that the journalists themselves understand: fellow students. While bigger publications target larger state-wide or nation-wide stories, student news organizations are able to communicate the news their peers need to know on a more intimate level. College publications offer a unique opportunity for students to get real-world journalism experience but also deal with the hardships as well. From the one-of-a-kind challenges to the prospect of everyday students providing news coverage to populations that need it makes student journalism something to protect. One large component of student media is the fact that not all students involved at a college publication are studying journalism. Many college papers do not require prior experience and accept students from all kinds of majors. From business to education and dance to science, the opportunity to do journalism at a college publication is afforded to everyone. Gray Nocjar, editor-in-chief of The Observer and a junior electrical engineering major with minors in energy studies and journalism at Notre Dame, began his journalism path at a club fair when he got to college. Although his main areas of study – outside of the journalism minor – may not directly correlate to a communications field, Nocjar is driven by a will to tell stories. Nocjar serves as the editor-in-chief of The Observer at Notre Dame and St. Mary's College. Photo courtesy of Gray Nocjar. “I had no journalism experience,” Nocjar said. “I didn’t do any journalism in high school, but I know I wanted to tell the Notre Dame story. I was a Notre Dame nut. I did a lot of history projects which involved The Observer, and so once I got here, this was the first place that I stopped.” After a conversation with the editor-in-chief at the time, Nocjar began work in three of The Observer’s departments: news, sports and photo. After spending a semester being a jack-of-all trades, Nocjar stepped up into the photo editor role, all while still writing here and there. Now in his junior year, Nojar’s journey led him to Notre Dame to study electrical engineering, but he found a passion on the side along the way through The Observer. “Honestly, legacy is a very important part of my life,” Nocjar said. “Where I left my legacy on campus was something I thought about a lot as a freshman … and I ended up deciding that it was going to be The Observer.” Stories such as Nocjar’s are not uncommon at student publications around the country. In fact, in the 2022 American Journalist Study, numbers showed that in professional newsrooms a mere 60.6% of journalists with a degree studied some form of communications. Narrowing those numbers down to only journalism majors would see the percent drop to 45.1% of those with a degree. With students coming from different background and areas of study, the content of these college publications provides a diverse look at their campuses. A plethora of differing experiences can be a breath of fresh air to break out of the norm of traditional journalism. With many of these student newspapers considered as “learning labs”, those participating are encouraged to break the mold and try different things. Abby Godsen, a senior at IU Indianapolis studying applied information and data sciences also while working towards her master’s degree in library sciences, is the editor-in-chief of The Campus Citizen. Like Nocjar her degree is not solely tied to the journalism profession, but she recognized the importance of student media early on. Abby Godsen serves as the editor-in-chief of The Campus Citizen at IU Indianapolis. Photo courtesy of Abby Godsen. “I remember in eighth grade we had members from our high school newspaper come and talk to us about how awesome of an experience [working for the paper] was,” Godsen said. “I was immediately drawn to how cool it seemed.” Godsen’s interest in student media stemmed from a larger calling inside herself. Studying data sciences, Godsen is drawn to information accessibility to provide people the access and tools to learn and grow. Joining student media fit into that passion, leading her to join Crown Point’s high school’s newspaper. “For me, it kind of seemed like a natural progression that I would want to also create content and community resources and help educate others,” Godsen said. “After meeting some of the staff members I was like, ‘you know what? I could do this’… And that’s kind of how I got started.” Godsen’s time at Crown Point’s student publication had her wear many hats. From redesigning the regular newspaper to a news magazine, remapping content strategies and diving into different photojournalism opportunities, Godsen was faced with an evolving landscape beyond the print. As her time at Crown Point ended and Godsen began her journey at IU Indianapolis, she was uncertain if she wanted to continue with student media. After the first meeting though, she was drawn back in. “I went to the first meeting and [it was like] ‘Okay I’m hooked, I’m back’,” Godsen said. Godsen’s reentry into student media – this time at the college level – opened her eyes to real life journalism. Covering stories for The Campus Citizen meant giving students information they needed, not only about IU Indianapolis but the city of Indianapolis as well. Even in a city with professional journalists and a few different publications, Godsen and The Campus Citizen made waves. “This is kind of my first experience with real journalism that really, really reaches people,” Godsen said. “I’ve talked to people at Mirror Indy and sometimes they’ll look at our stuff and be like ‘Okay, well, I don’t have to cover this story because Campus Citizen already covered it’.” Godsen’s work at The Campus Citizen and other student journalists’ work across the nation showcases the immense need for student publications, especially in areas that are classified as “news deserts”. In areas that lack news coverage that provide critical information to its residents, student publications have been stepping in to provide the news needed for the community even beyond campus. One of the student publications that has stepped up has been The Indiana Daily Student (IDS) out of Indiana University in Bloomington. Founded in 1867, the IDS has provided news to the Bloomington area and Monroe County for 159 years. While Bloomington has news organizations such as The Bloomingtonian and The Bloomington Herald-Times, the IDS has evolved into one of the leading news sources in the area despite being a student publication. Mia Hilkowitz and Andrew Miller both lead the IDS as co-editor-in-chief, leading a staff of 60 consistent contributing writers, photographers, designers and social media producers. As one of the most renowned student publications not only in the state of Indiana but also the country, the IDS also has a marketing team and professional staff members to assist with the paper’s operations. Andrew Miller and Mia Hilkowitz serve as co-editor-in-chiefs of the Indiana Daily Student at Indiana University. Photo courtesy of Mia Hilkowitz. “We are a full-blown newsroom,” Hilkowitz said. “Often we are producing more coverage and professional grade journalism.” That professional grade journalism has provided Indiana University and the surrounding Bloomington community with much-needed news in times when professional newspapers are on the decline. According to Northwestern University’s State of Local News Outlook, from 2005 to 2025 the United States saw over 3,200 local U.S newspapers close down. Employment at newspapers has seen a whopping 70% decrease at the same time, citing the need for student publications to step up and cover those areas. “I interned at The Harold Times, the USA Today owned newspaper [in Bloomington],” Miller said. “It is now, I believe, about five people that work there.” Miller’s comments are not an implication on The Harold Times, but rather one on the state of news media across the country. With the transition into a digital age, many publications are feeling the squeeze as the industry evolves. People now get their news from social media, while politicians campaign for the downfall of legacy media – including newspapers. This distrust in legacy media coupled with dropping advertising revenue for publications forces newspapers to close down, only widening the media desert. This is why the continuation of student journalism in these areas – such as how the IDS operates in Bloomington – is important to keep people informed. “The IDS feels to me like more of a professional newsroom,” Miller said. “It’s simultaneously a learning lab where it’s the best place you’re going to be able to learn the skills that journalism demands. Through that route of memorization, it’s also the best newsroom in the county.” Both journalism students at IU, Hilkowitz and Miller have been able to perfect their craft over the years they have worked at the IDS. Despite the promising prospects that student media offers those coming into college, there are challenges and hardships lurking around every corner. As professional newspapers falter around these campuses, student publications try to find ways to stay alive in funding crises, staff shortages and even oppression from administrators at the universities. The IDS saw the latter firsthand, when the IU Media School fired Jim Rodenbush, who was the director of student media at the time. After IU’s attempt to censor the IDS from publishing any news other than information about Homecoming, Rodenbush came to the defense of the publication and was terminated for a “lack of leadership and ability to work in alignment with the University’s direction for the Student Media Plan”. Even before Rodenbush’s termination, the IDS had experienced financial issues that had caused the IU Media School to step in as financial guarantors of the publication. Although the paper was partially funded by the Media School, the IDS’ Student Media Charter stated that “final content decisions and responsibility rest with duly appointed student editors and managers”. After Rodenbush’s firing, IU went further and fully cut the IDS’ print newspaper that had been distributed around campus and Bloomington for decades. The storm that followed tested Hilkowitz and Miller’s resolve, but both stayed firm in their belief in the IDS and student media. “All hell broke loose,” Hilkowitz said. “The public saw straight through it as well. We had hundreds of alumni, thousands even [starting to] call IU out, emailing them [and] pulling funding. We got so much support. We also got a lot of media coverage, which I think helped as well.” Beyond the public, other media organizations started to pick up the story as well. What started as local news at publications such as The Bloomington Herald-Times and IndyStar, bloomed into a national news story covered by NBC, The New York Times, The Associated Press and many more. The outpouring of support and donors speaking with their wallets caused IU to backtrack, allowing the IDS to continue printing as planned through the end of the year. What began as a nightmare began to show signs of light at the end of the tunnel, with a little help from the Indiana football team. “[The reinstatement of print] allowed us to print our ‘Welcome Back’ edition and continue to get information out to people,” Hilkowitz said. “But it also helped us make a lot of money recently because our football team won the national championship and we ran a commemorative page one … we made $160,000 off that print edition.” Another problem that plagues college newsrooms across the country can be the small staff sizes. Abigail Berry, editor-in-chief of the Indiana Statesman and elementary education major at Indiana State, has dealt with the pressures of running a student publication with limited staff of 27 people. Abigail Berry serves as the editor-in-chief of the Indiana Statesman at Indiana State University. Photo courtesy of isustudentmedia.com. Inspired to get into journalism by a love for grammar and a general interest before coming to college, Berry began as a copy editor but has now made her way to be editor-in-chief. One of her main challenges in charge of the Statesman – like many other college publications around the nation with smaller staff sizes – has been filling pages. Despite the hardships, Berry and the Statesman innovated other ways to fill pages and provide content to the community. “We have different social media shows … and our graphic designer has made us some really nice house ads that we’ll try to fill space with first,” Berry said. “We have a subscription to the Tribune Content Agency (TNS). So, if we ever need to fill space, we just pull a story from there that we find relevant. We hate doing that, but sometimes we just can’t fill the space any other way.” While the frustration of needing to use other content to fill pages is there, Berry recognizes the need for student journalism on college campuses. Not only does it keep the campus population informed, but it serves as an opportunity to give back to the community and bring light to issues that may not be talked about. “I recently did a story on period poverty, which is why women don’t have access to period products,” Berry said. “That’s not something that is really talked about anywhere, so it’s just cool when people reach out to student journalists because maybe they weren’t able to with the bigger, professional journalists.” Throughout the many triumphs and trials that college journalists go through to provide news for their community, the passion for student journalism does not die. At the end of the day, it is the dedication of these students who juggle classes, relationships, commitments and jobs to serve and inform a community. “Student journalism has the unique perspective of being run by students who are in this really strange transitionary period of their life,” Godsen said. “We’re all here with the same end goal of making sure that people feel seen and heard, and that the stories that need to get told, get told.” While the press has evolved throughout the history of the United States; truth always finds a way of coming to light. Every day at college campuses around the country, there are students from all walks of life striving for the same thing: to uncover truth and inform a community. Every story, column, multimedia package a photo story documents a piece of history from each corner of the country, all done by students with a will to persevere. “If you lose the newspapers, you will no longer understand the way that the world is going to be working,” Nocjar said. “If people want to understand … what’s actually going on, then we need to be supported. They need to be around, or that will die.”

The Columbus Crew finally got back into the win column on Wednesday, taking down a floundering LA Galaxy squad 2-1 at home. For 85 minutes, it was Black & Gold domination in terms of possession and control of the game. Daniel Gazdag opened the scoring for the Crew in the first half off a feed from Hugo Picard, then Diego Rossi doubled the advantage in the second half thanks to some nifty footwork and an assist from Max Arfsten. From there, Columbus operated on cruise control, passing circles around the Galaxy and taking the sting out of the game. Then, late in the match, a lackluster defensive effort and poor goalkeeping gave the visitors a foothold to cut the lead in half. Luckily for the home fans in Scotts Miracle-Gro Field in attendance for Star Wars night, the Black & Gold were able to defend well enough from there to escape with all three points. This is a pivotal victory for Henrik Rydström after a few tough weeks in MLS play. Still, there is a lot of room for improvement from the new manager and the squad. Let’s dive into all the tactics that landed the Crew with a victory. Improved offense without Wessam Abou Ali In the two games since DP striker Wessam Abou Ali went down with a season-ending injury, Columbus’ offense has looked – surprisingly – better without him in the lineup. With limited roster options, Rydström resorted to Rossi and Daniel Gazdag to lead the attacking line, and the pair has not disappointed. Against New England, before momentum shifted and the Crew lost, the attacking pairing of Gazdag and Rossi created many goal-scoring chances. Although neither is a traditional striker, Rydström used them as false no. 9s. This means they began in advanced positions but frequently dropped into midfield to help link play and find space. The game plan remained the same in this clash with the Galaxy. Both Gazdag and Rossi occupied the dual striker positions, but neither took up the spaces Abou Ali typically tried to. When the Palestinian internation was in the lineup, his main job was to hold up play and be a poacher around the goal. There were times he would drop into the midfield, but those moments were rarer compared to how often Rossi and Gazdag do it. Abou Ali’s playstyle meant that Rossi had to bear the creative brunt of building the attack through the center of the pitch. This keyed in the defenses on how to defend him, leading the Black & Gold’s attacks to have to come from the flanks. When the focus switched to an approach using the width of the field, Rossi sometimes got lost within the game due to most of the work having to be done by the wingers and fullbacks. Using two false no. 9s has brought out a balance and creativity in attack that the Crew lacked. Now, both Rossi and Gazdag can drop deep, or one can stay high to push the backline. The variability and creative capacity of both players keep the defense honest, while the wingers and outside backs can take less of the defensive attention. Now, when either false no. 9 drops in, they either drag a defender with them or pop into a pocket of space to receive the ball. Either choice by the defense opens up possibilities for the rest of Columbus’ attack. If the defense follows, the wingers and fullbacks can make inverted runs into the vacated space. If the defense stays, the false no. 9 can receive the ball and turn, advancing the attack and running at the defense with pace. Granted, the Galaxy are not exactly world beaters in MLS this season, but this game showed that the Black & Gold have the capacity to control games. Much of that improvement is due to the implementation of the double false no. 9s, which Rydström will look to roll with as the games keep coming. Fullbacks: Columbus’ double-edged sword The switch from Wilfried Nancy’s three/five-back system to Rydström’s four-back defensive shape has been a learning experience for the Black & Gold. On one hand, Steven Moreira and Malte Amundsen seem to have figured out the offensive components to bolster a Crew attack that is on the rise, but there are still questions defensively. Starting on the offensive side of the ball, Columbus has grown from a timid-looking offensive team into one that has hints of Nancy’s free-flowing offense over the past few years. Much of that may have to do with the implementation of false no. 9s and more creative wingers being included in the lineup, but the fullbacks are an integral part of Rydström’s offensive system. When the Black & Gold push forward, the fullbacks will do one of three things: overlap, operate as a switch midfielder, or tuck inside of the wingers as a shadow striker. Each of those options can vary depending on the actions of the player on the ball and how the defense is set up, but it offers opportunities for fluidity and creative freedom. The more options in attack, the more the opposing defense has to cover and deal with. With both Amundsen and Moreira being strong, attack-minded fullbacks help as well. This fluidity and variability of both fullbacks supercharge the Crew’s attacks and give them an advantage in the final third. On the other end of the pitch, though, there is still much-needed room for improvement. One of Columbus’ weaknesses in defense is covering actions coming in from wide areas. In a five-back system, Moreira and Amundsen – who typically played as outside centerbacks – typically left the wide defending to the recovering wingbacks. Now, in a four-back defensive shape, that responsibility is on their shoulders. Now, trouble comes for the defense when the fullbacks are called to the side of the pitch to defend against wingers. This draws over the near side center back to cover the striker and leaves a gap behind them. It is in those areas that the Black & Gold fall asleep defensively and concede goals. Luckily for the Crew, these gaps did not result in the Galaxy’s goal on Wednesday, but the space was still there at times to exploit. For Columbus’ defense to improve, Rydström needs to implore his defenders to better communicate with each other and the midfielders to cover the spaces that the out-of-position defenders leave. It has been tough sledding so far this season for the Black & Gold, but the improvement on offense and the first win in front of a home crowd are bound to energize the squad. With both tactical advancements and defensive areas to address, now is the time when the Crew must string together victories to start climbing the table, or else later on in the season, Columbus could be staring down the possibility of missing the playoffs.

The Columbus Crew dropped yet another game on Saturday, this time against the New England Revolution away from home. The Black & Gold started out the game strong, controlling much of the first half and even taking the lead courtesy of Max Arfsten, but the wheels fell off in the second half. The minute Columbus exited the dressing room after the halftime break, New England found its footing and began to take hold of the match. The host’s breakthrough came on a free kick that found the head of a New England attacker, flicking it past Patrick Schulte into the far corner. From there, the hosts put their foot on the gas, and the Crew seemed to fade away until, in the final minutes of the game, Rudy Camacho pulled down a New England attacker to give the Revolution a penalty. The Revs converted, sealing all three points for themselves and giving Columbus its fourth loss of the year. After a midweek victory in the US Open Cup, Henrik Rydström’s team has regressed. Let’s dive into all the tactics that sunk the Black & Gold for a fourth time this season. The best first half of the season The Crew’s first 45 minutes of play in New England showed promising signs for a team that has struggled to find any kind of successful consistency this season. Columbus controlled possession and had a couple of golden goal-scoring opportunities, but only converted one. Still, the first half showed that there is room for growth and a path for Rydström’s squad to be a good team. Much of this success did not come from specific tactics, but rather from a mindset and a return to an old identity. For the past few years, the Black & Gold have been built on quick passing, interchanges, and controlling the ball. Through the first few weeks of this season, the Crew have gotten away from that identity and have struggled to grasp games based on the lack of possession. That was not the story of the first half, though. Columbus was impressive with the amount of ball movement and creative play with short passes. The interchanges down the wings looked more seamless, and the attackers routinely dropped in deep to help aid the buildup, but not at the expense of the attack. That creative and fluid possessive mentality put the Black & Gold in some really good spots, including two point-blank chances missed by Hugo Picard. The first half showed what the Crew had been missing in recent weeks: creativity and variation going forward. The better play resulted from a mindset change, but also from personnel switches. Rydström switched a few pieces from Columbus’ previous MLS clash against Orlando, sliding Daniel Gazdag into the strike partnership and Picard on the right wing. Despite Picard’s inability to put the ball into the back of the net, both inclusions into the lineup made an immense positive impact. Starting with Picard, the young Frenchman seemed to fit in better with Steven Moreira on the right side. When Andres Herrera checked into the game in the second half, the Black & Gold returned to the mundane status quo that has plagued them so far this season. Picard offered more attacking creativity and liked to stay wide, pushing Moreira inside to the midfield. As for Gazdag, he filled into injured Wessam Abou Ali’s shoes nicely. While he has come under fire in the past year for his lack of production for a DP signing, the Hungarian offered a strong mix of runs in behind and was a creative fulcrum when he dropped into the midfield. Much of the Crew’s attacking success in the first half flowed through him thanks to his quick passing and ability to drag defenders out of position. The main tactical tweak that brought Columbus the most success was the implementation of dueling false no. 9s. Without Abou Ali in the fray to play as a pure striker, Gazdag and Diego Rossi adapted by positioning themselves as attackers that can push the backline but also operated as the targets when they would come into midfield. Oftentimes, one of the strike partnerships would drop deep and pull a center back with them. In that moment, the other attacker filled the space left behind and could then get in behind the defense. This simple passage of play was why the Black & Gold had so much success in the first half. It was a solid 45 minutes to be a Crew fan, but that hope would quickly fade as Columbus came back out for the second half looking like a pedestrian shell of the squad that dominated the pitch a short time before. Crashing and burning The second half became a nightmare for the Black & Gold from the jump, but not entirely due to their own shortcomings. New England went into the half feeling discouraged, but came out with a plan that would turn the tide of the game in their favor. First, let’s focus on the changes New England made. In the first half, the Crew controlled the game due to a concerted effort to move the ball quickly, finding combinations and overloads. Much of that success was also due to the fact that New England struggled in their buildup and turned the ball over often. In the second half, the objective for the Revs was to slow the game down. When New England tried to go fast, Columbus turned them over and went back the other way to get dangerous chances. The tides changed with the Revolution focused on possession and lulled the Black & Gold to sleep. The other change the Revs made had to do with their defensive shape. In the first half, New England’s wingers remained high most of the time when the hosts had to defend. This gave the Crew opportunities to find overloads on the wings with their own wingers and outside backs. In the second half, the Revolution dropped their wingers deeper to aid in defense, and from there also help in a more controlled buildup as opposed to going long and quick. One response from Columbus could have been to ramp up the press. This would have forced New England to play through pressure or go long, but would leave the Black & Gold vulnerable at the back. Seemingly resting on a 1-0 lead, the Crew decided to employ a resistant press that allowed the Revolution to control the ball with their defenders. More time on the ball for the Revs defense meant additional time for the New England attackers to find pockets of space and build out of the back. While Rydström has not been keen on instituting as much of a ruthless press as the one Wilfred Nancy did, the resistance to pressure hurt Columbus more than it helped in this game. From there, it was a process for New England to wear down the Black & Gold with longer spells of possession. The more time teams defend, the more tired they get, which is exactly what happened to the Crew. For much of the second half, Columbus looked incredibly lethargic while New England’s energy grew. This game is the perfect storm of an opponent adjusting and Rydström whiffing at several key moments. Bringing off Gazdag and Picard brought the energy and creativity level down, opening the door even more for New England. Then, when the Revolution had more of the ball, still opting to go with the resisted press made a bad situation worse. About a quarter of the way through the season, the Black & Gold have only one win and six points overall. If Rydström and the Crew cannot start to pull out results, there may be more change on the horizon.

The Columbus Crew continued their sputtering start to the season, drawing at home to Orlando City SC in a game that may have yielded a point, but felt like a loss. The visitors took the lead inside the first 20 minutes, an opening phase of the game where Columbus looked second-best. The Black & Gold struggled to generate any semblance of attacking chances, looking bland and uninspired. A backbreaking blow came when Wessam Abou Ali went down with a non-contact knee injury. He was allowed to return by the Crew’s training staff, but minutes later he went down again after an awkward interaction with the pitch, resulting in him being stretchered off. Interestingly enough, after the Palestinian’s injury and Taha Habroune’s introduction into the game, Columbus began to look more dangerous. The Black & Gold ended up finding the tying goal late in the second half but was unable to capitalize and claim all three points. Another home game without three points for the Crew. Let’s dive into all the tactics that went into yet another vanilla performance from Columbus. Pressing to match Orlando’s shape In the prior matchup against Atlanta, the Black & Gold opted to press in a 4-4-2 base formation that Henrik Rydström has become accustomed with. That all changed against Orlando as the Crew returned home to find an opponent playing an entirely different shape than Atlanta. Atlanta rolled out a 4-3-3 against Columbus, but the most important part is the back four. Against Orlando, the Black & Gold were faced with pressing a five-back system that would turn into three as the wingbacks pushed higher. An entirely different backline calls for a change in pressing strategy. That is exactly what the Crew did. Instead of applying pressure in the 4-4-2, they made a small tweak and moved a winger up alongside Abou Ali and Diego Rossi to round out a 4-3-3. This is not exactly a groundbreaking change, but one that makes sense. With the strike partnership pressing alone, Orlando would have a numerical advantage along the backline and be able to break the press easier. Pushing up against a back three with only Rossi and Abou Ali would also be tiring for both players who need to be involved in all aspects of the attack as well. Moving Max Arfsten or Andres Herrera alongside the two strikers balanced out the workload while also matching up one-on-one with Orlando’s centerbacks. For all the disappointment of Sunday night, the Crew’s press worked decently well – especially in the second half. How Columbus adapts their pressure over the next few games against different formations and tactics will be something to look out for. Offensive dilemma: The good and bad The Black & Gold have a creativity problem. Through the first seven games of the season, the Crew look lost and incredibly stagnant in offensive passages of play. It would suffice to say it feels like the Gregg Berhalter years again, but at least Berhalter’s teams were able to grind out results and suffocate teams with inordinate amounts of possession. Unfortunately for the Columbus faithful, the free-flowing attacking soccer of just a year or two ago has seemingly vanished. The Black & Gold have only scored nine goals on the year, with only one of those goals coming in front of a home crowd. This matchup with Orlando offered an opportunity to get back on the right track offensively given the visitors historically poor defense, but instead the home fans were met with disappointing results. One of Columbus’ main problems is that they get entirely too focused with one passage of play: finding a driving winger to whip the ball into the box for Abou Ali or a late-arriving runner. It is a high-percentage play due to the difficulty to defend against it, but at times the Black & Gold will not even look to other areas of the pitch for offensive ideas. The movement is also poor as well. Coming off Wilfried Nancy’s era of positionless soccer and interchangeable roles to Rydström’s seemingly more rigid 4-4-2 is night and day. Players now rarely venture outside their designated positional areas, outside of a few exceptions such as Rossi and the fullbacks. This maddening emphasis on getting wingers in one-verses-one situations and whipping balls into the box is not working and will continue to fail now with Abou Ali out for the season. The good news for the Crew? They looked better offensively the minute Abou Ali exited the game. With Habroune entering the game, Columbus played with no real striker on the field. Both Habroune and Rossi dropped deep to find the game and the interchanges started to look more seamless. Fullbacks tucked inside as midfielders as the wingers pushed against the backline. For a minute, it looked like the Black & Gold were finding something. Then the Crew reverted back to the same old offensive strategy when Jamal Thiare and Hugo Picard entered the match. Almost every offensive ball went down the touchline seeking a Columbus player to cross the ball into the box. When that started happening again, players began making lackluster runs and not taking real chances to go forward. When a different passage of play did come – Rossi dropping off to Habroune and receiving a clipped ball over the top – the Black & Gold scored. Even recycling a ball from the wing back to the center of the field caught the Orlando defense off guard simply by the fact that the Crew had not done that much up until that point. Columbus does not need to be Nancy’s team again. Rydström does not need to throw caution into the wind, abandon his tactics and go back to what the former regime seemingly perfected with the Black & Gold. What does need to happen is finding the right players and shapes to allow for passages of play that keep the defense on its toes. The Crew are not catching defenses off guard, which is why they still struggle to score seven games into the season. If Columbus can fix that, then fans might begin to see a turnaround in form coming up. That being said, the Black & Gold faithful will be hoping for proof sooner rather than later. Unknown's avatarCaleb Denorme April 16, 2026 Columbus Crew, CrewVsOCSC, GAMEDAY, MLS, Soccer, Tactical Share this:

Photo by Elizabeth Stevenson. CALEB DENORME | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | cdenorme@butler.edu After 95 stories written for The Butler Collegian, this one will be my last.  I’m not sure how to feel. On one hand, I’m excited to open a new chapter and move on from a place that has brought me so much joy, but also many … many tired nights. Conversely, this newspaper has been my home for the past four years and a part of my being now belongs to it. Coming into college, I had no intention of working for a print publication. I wanted to call sporting events like my heroes Jim Nantz or Neil Sika , not write the words we all read every day on screens. After a few broadcast classes it became apparent that the television route was not my destination, vaulting me into an entirely new path that changed the trajectory of my life. That road led me to this newspaper. Thank God for The Butler Collegian. This publication taught me how to be a journalist. Sure, you can go to lectures and soak up the ins and outs of the news business, but you won’t learn as well as doing actual journalism every day. That practice is refined in the interviewing, writing and painstaking editing that happens in and around The Collegian office on the second floor of Fairbanks.  You don’t need me to tell you that though. This independent student-run newspaper has been around for 140 years now. Time speaks for itself. Throughout the 14 decades that The Butler Collegian has existed, there have been times of great triumph, moments of sadness, loads of grammatical edits caught and an incalculable amount of stories written by students.  I’ve been fortunate enough to author some of those stories. From meticulously thought-out features and column ramblings to quickly-published previews / recaps and stories that were hard to write , this place allowed me to do real journalism. For four years, my life revolved around telling those stories. I’d like to say I’m proud of how they turned out. Even though I’m simply a guy who writes about sports, I hope they made an impact. That impact speaks for itself in the work that every Collegian employee puts their heart into, so I’m going to take these words I have left to talk about the people that made this place my home. If not for this newspaper, I would never have the memories of the amazing people that have made Indianapolis a habitat for this kid from Columbus, Ohio. I’ll always remember talking with Eva Hallman about quitting at Collegian bootcamp during our first year, driving Matthew Crane out of his mind with the amount of soccer stories I tried to write and attending women’s soccer games with Alison Miccolis. How could I forget the countless hours spent with my dear friend Sarah Hohman in the Hinkle Fieldhouse media section? Or trying to find a slice on our way to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament? In fact, if Sarah didn’t encourage me to apply to be an editor, I would not be writing this right now. I’m thankful she did, because I enjoyed the two years that followed covering the men’s basketball team with her … although the product on the court always made us question how much longer we could do it. I will miss David Jacobs and Sawyer Goldwein bullying me because the Crew lost , Jada Gangazha putting me through deep breathing exercises to keep me sane, Anna Gritzenbach and Maddie Wood making me laugh constantly and all my non-journalism friends — Tanner, Noah, Nathan, Audrey, Braxton, Karin, Emma, Brogan, Chloe and all my friends back home  — who listened to my endless rambling about Oxford commas and the ethical dangers of AI. Most of all, I will miss our staff that showed up every single day to tell the stories on campus that students, faculty and alumni needed to know. A year ago, you all believed in me to lead you as editor-in-chief, and it has been the greatest honor of my life getting to work alongside you. I was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but you accepted me for all my flaws and still trusted me, which means more than any award I could receive.  All this in mind, it would suffice to say that without student journalists’ will to do impossibly hard work for crappy pay, campuses across the nation would be worse off. So, thank God for The Butler Collegian. From here on I’m not sure where I will end up, what job I will have, what state I will live in or where my life may lead, but I do know that The Collegian will be a part of me. This paper has made me feel every emotion from joy and happiness to anger and frustration, but I hope that shows how much I cared for the people and the work we did. All that there is left to do now is say thank you. Thank you to every member of the staff for supporting me over the last four years. Thank you to many of you who became my best friends. Thank you to others who were adversaries, for teaching me patience and persistence. Thank you to Dr. Karaliova for your constant support of not only all of us as student journalists, but as people too. Thank you to my family — Mom, Noah and Chloe — and friends for the outpouring of love and assistance as I navigated this chapter. Finally, thank you God for The Butler Collegian.  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” — 2 Timothy 4:7

Lakshmanamurthy will serve as the editor-in-chief for the 2026-27 academic year. Photo by Jada Gangazha. CALEB DENORME | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | cdenorme@butler.edu Dorothy Lakshmanamurthy, a sophomore journalism major, will serve as editor-in-chief of The Butler Collegian for the 2026-27 academic year. Following her tenure at The Collegian as a sports reporter, assistant sports editor and most recently as sports co-editor, Lakshmanamurthy will lead the newspaper’s operations and staff through weekly publication and campus coverage. Even before her first year at Butler, Lakshmanamurthy saw the position of editor-in-chief at a college publication as a goal of hers to attain. Now elected, that dream has been realized. “This is what I want to do,” Lakshmanamurthy said. “I even told my high school advisor [that] before I graduate, I’m going to go for [the] editor-in-chief [position] in whatever university I’m going to.” Lakshmanamurthy ran for editor-in-chief on a platform which contained five main pillars: strengthening campus coverage, making coverage more accessible and engaging, encouraging coverage on accountability, building a more collaborative team and establishing more clarity within staff processes. Her main passion resides in making sure the physical newspaper is an appealing product for the Butler community to admire. “I want people to want to pick up the newspaper,” Lakshmanamurthy said. “Whether that’s heightening the design [and] having the design section be more like [an] established group coming in on Monday nights and being more a part of the process than just Tuesday nights, [or] building a social media section of the newspaper to promote the paper more and even have stories strictly on there.” In addition to her work on The Collegian, Lakshmanamurthy served as a staff reporter and later deadline manager at Munster High School’s student newspaper, writing and social media intern for Sportsish, news reporter intern for GreatNews.Life and game recap reporter for the North American Hockey League. Lakshmanamurthy will be the 10th woman in 11 years to take on the mantle of editor-in-chief for The Butler Collegian. As she prepares to step into this new position, she looks forward to taking on a new role and growing the newspaper, building on the strides of prior years. “I’m very excited and eager to take it on, but also to continue something that has so much history [and] also grow it even further,” Lakshmanamurthy said. “I hope my motivation shines through, but also I hope [the staff is] excited to show up every day … and have their work put on a pedestal to show the Butler campus that we’re here, we’re important and we’re The Butler Collegian.”

The Columbus Crew finally got into the win column on Saturday. The team traveled south to face Atlanta United. The first half was largely uneventful. However, an explosion of second-half goals allowed the Black & Gold to claim all three points. Wessam Abou Ali scored first, finishing an inch-perfect ball from Max Arfsten. The Palestinian striker headed into the far corner, then netted a brace from outside the box to give the Crew a 2-0 lead. The Five Stripes responded with a tap-in after a few spilled balls in front of goal, but Henrik Rydström’s men hit back instantly. Just 30 seconds after the Atlanta United goal, Arfsten restored the two-goal cushion with a close-range effort off a perfectly placed pass from Andres Herrera. The Black & Gold then nursed the lead the rest of the way—aside from a late sideline scuffle—and took home all three points. This game showcased the evolution of the Crew under Rydström. Columbus looked in control for most of the game and finally bridged the gap between a highly efficient offense and a stellar defense. Let’s dive into all the tactics that helped the Black & Gold get their first win of the season. Finding a formation/lineup that works In the first weeks of the season, Rydström and his staff experimented with various shapes and lineups in pursuit of the winning formula. In Atlanta, the Crew may have found the perfect mix to start racking up points in the coming weeks. Columbus opted for a 4-4-2 in this game, a stark contrast from the first matchday when the Black & Gold trotted out a familiar 5-2-3 shape that was a mainstay during the Wilfried Nancy tenure. The backline consisted of Rudy Camacho and Sean Zawadzki in the middle, flanked by Malte Amundsen and Steven Moreira. There are a few keys in this backline. First off, the return of Camacho’s form after his season-long injury a year ago is a welcome sight for the Black & Gold. Secondly, Zawadzki’s return to the defensive line gave the Crew stability, but also versatility with how the American international can shift into different roles and positions as the game progresses. The inclusion of Amundsen and Moreira along the backline also gives Columbus a strong defensive presence while allowing room for attacking creativity to bloom. Moving into the midfield, Andres Gomes and Dylan Chambost held down the middle of the pitch while Arfsten and Herrera manned the flanks. It seems Gomes was the missing piece throughout the first few games of the season when the Black & Gold struggled to cause disruptions and control tempo in the midfield. Since his inclusion in the lineup, the Crew has looked strong in possession and more in control of games from back to front. The attack was rounded off by a strike partnership of Abou Ali and Diego Rossi. After a brief stint of playing outside as a right midfielder, Rossi’s return to the middle of the field sparked the Columbus attack to the tune of three goals and three points. Now six games into the season, this match marks an important milestone in Rydström’s young tenure as the head coach of the Black & Gold. It took six games to find the winning formula – albeit against a floundering Atlanta team – but Rydström’s decisions and tinkering with personnel and shape have finally paid off. Starting with the formation, a 4-4-2 has given the Crew a versatility and balance that was non-existent in the 3-5-2 under Rydström. The four-back setup gives the defense more stability, and the four midfielders allow for a balance between aggressive pressure and stalwart defending. Out of the 4-4-2, Columbus can morph into several shapes just like they did under Nancy in the 3-5-2. On offense, the Black & Gold would push up into a 2-4-4 or even a 2-2-6. When Atlanta pushed the ball into the Crew’s defensive half, Columbus backed up into the 4-4-2 again, or in deeper defending situations, a 5-3-2. On the personnel side, Rydström seemed to have found the correct homes for Rossi and Zawadzki, two of the Black & Gold’s most important pieces in terms of taking home three points. In recent games on the flank, Rossi was isolated and did not impact the game as much as was necessary. By moving the Uruguayan inside to play alongside Abou Ali, Rossi was able to dictate the game and mold the attack fluently. For Zawadzki, his reinstatement on the backline comes after starting recent games in midfield. After the Crew struggled to retain the ball in the midfield after the first few games, Zawadzki was thrust into the no. 6 role to do just that. With Gomes firmly placed in the lineup and Chambost returning from injury, the American rejoins the defense alongside Camacho. Not only does this solidify the line in front of Patrick Schulte, but it also allows Moreira and Amundsen the freedom to move into the attack with more liberties. After weeks of experimenting and learning his new squad, it seems like Rydström has found something with his most recent lineup and shape. Time will tell if the Crew can keep stacking points, sitting at 11th in the Eastern Conference. Using fullbacks and wingers to exploit the opposition One of the positives Columbus has going for it is the fact that Rydström has a number of talented players who can make an impact on the flanks of the pitch. On Saturday, it was the foursome of Moreira, Herrera, Arfsten, and Amundsen who were tasked with making the opposition pay down the line. The one wrinkle that the coaching staff threw in is the concept of doubling up on the flanks. Most times, all four players would be up in the attack despite being stacked positionally on paper. These wide overloads not only confused the defense, but they also gave the Black & Gold several fluid options going forward into the attack. Throughout this game, Arfsten and Herrera were the ones who typically occupied the widest attacking areas. As wingers, the tandem focused on stretching Atlanta’s narrow back four and whipping balls into the box for waiting attackers. That is where Moreira and Amundsen come in. Both fullbacks routinely pushed up in the inside channel, offering support to the wingers and continuing their runs into the box to be targets for the wingers to find with whipped balls. Their runs not only kept the Atlanta defense on their toes, but it allowed Rossi and Abou Ali to go and find the game without the defense locking them down. Rossi routinely dropped into the midfield as a false nine, to be replaced by Amundsen or Moreira in those moments. There were other times, though, when the fullbacks would give additional support to the wingers on the outside. If Moreira and Amundsen saw an opportunity to create an overload, they would overlap with the wingers and even take up their positions so Arfsten and Herrera can cut inside to join the strike partnership. These moves found lots of success due to Atlanta’s narrow backline. It caused the Five Stripes to have midfielders drop deeper to help mark, which then allowed the Crew’s defense to push higher and enable them to repress. This concept of having tandem wingers with the outside midfielders and fullbacks will be something to watch in the coming games as Rydström continues to evolve his tactics. Against a five-back defensive approach, it may not work as well, and the Black & Gold may need to adjust. All in all, Moreira and Amundsen’s movements into the attack were a major reason why the Crew was able to claim all three points down in Atlanta.

The Columbus Crew continued its winless start to the 2026 season on Saturday, this time dropping a late winner to Nashville SC at home. Facing a heavily rotated away side, the Black & Gold looked promising going forward, even breaking through in the first half courtesy of Taha Habroune pouncing on a rebound. Unfortunately for the Crew faithful, the goal would be called back for offsides and Columbus would not find the back of the net for the rest of the match. Still, the Black & Gold had plenty of moments going forward but were unable to find that final killer touch to get on the scoreboard. Nashville, on the other hand, reloaded in the second half. The visitors subbed on many of their regular starters to make a push for all three points, which was ultimately rewarded when Hany Mukhtar broke the deadlock in stoppage time. By that time, it was too late for the Crew to mount any kind of late-game heroics, falling 1-0 at home. This game featured a completely new formational look that fans in Columbus had not seen in years, yet it still did not yield a result. Let’s dive into all the tactics that played into this matchup against Nashville. Back to the future: the return of the four-back It has been a long time since fans of the Black & Gold saw their team line up in a four-back formation. One would need to think back to the days of Caleb Porter before his firing in 2022 to recall a traditional 4-2-3-1 formation. On Saturday against Nashville though, Henrik Rydström continued to tweak his tactics, marking the first return of a base four-back formation in nearly four years. The Crew set up in a base 4-4-2. Steven Moreira and Rudy Camacho were the center backs, flanked by Malte Amundsen and Andres Herrera. In midfield, newcomer Andres Gomes and Sean Zawadski played as double no. 6s, with Diego Rossi and Max Arfsten on the wings. Habroune and Wessam Abou Ali formed the striker partnership. Much like Wilfried Nancy’s system, despite the change in formation, the Black & Gold could morph their shape depending on the situation in the game. On defense, the Crew stuck with the 4-4-2, having defensive stability with Rossi, Arfsten, and sometimes Habroune dropping back to help. In transition and deep possession scenarios, Columbus moved into a 4-2-4. This was a simple switch, with Rossi and Arfsten moving up alongside the strikers to give the Black & Gold a front four. That 4-2-4 could become a 2-2-6 when the Crew moved into the attacking third. Both Rossi and Arfsten pinched into the center of the field, allowing Herrera and Amundsen to overlap. This change from a five-back system to a four-back system switched up a few things for Columbus. First, it gave the Black & Gold consistent width with a set of outside backs and midfielders. In the 5-2-3, sometimes the front three could become too narrow in the press, which gave opponents more space down the flank to exploit. Second, it gave the Crew stability in the back with an extra player next to Camacho while Columbus was in the opposing attacking third. Rydström has made a concerted effort over the past two games to shore up the defense after collapses in the back, so having Moreira and Camacho as the first line of transition defense helps that effort. Finally, it moves the Black & Gold more towards Rydström’s vision for the team. The new manager still has fluidity when it comes to his tactics and formations but has preferred to use a four-back formation in the past. This past game against Nashville is just another step in the direction that Rydström wants to mold this team. Still, four games in and not a win to show for is not good results to start off his tenure. Rydström will be hoping that the results will come along with the player’s understanding of his specific tactics as Columbus transfers from Nancy into this new era. Where is the disconnect? Through the first four games of this season, the Black & Gold have not looked like the machine they once were. The defense has holes, the midfield no longer dictates tempo and the offense has struggled out of the gate, but where was the issue in this game against Nashville? The answer lies up top, with Abou Ali. The Crew have long been a team built around the play of DPs. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Federico Higuain, Lucas Zelarayan, Cucho Hernandez and now Abou Ali were all brought in to be the signings to put Columbus over the top. All of those names – except Abou Ali so far early into his Crew tenure – have fulfilled that role in leading the Black & Gold to new heights. Granted, every single one of those players is not alike. They had different coaches, systems, teammates, playstyles and even business metrics, but all of them were the central cog in the Columbus machine on the pitch. So far this season, Abou Ali has not been involved enough in games to make a difference for the Crew, but it is not entirely his fault. Teaming up with Rossi posed an interesting tandem to begin the year. The thought was that Rossi would be the facilitator to Abou Ali’s immense finishing ability, and the two would combine to be the tip of Columbus’ attacking spear. That ability was on full display in the first match against Portland, but since then has gone a bit cold. For the Black & Gold to be successful on offense, Rossi and Abou Ali both have to take on the roles of facilitator and poacher. Resigning one or the other to just one of those slots tips off the defense on how to set up against them, which has not worked well so far. Through the first part of this season, Abou Ali’s role has been primarily to stretch the defense and be the last step in the Crew’s attack. Rossi, Habroune, Arfsten and others do the work to get Abou Ali the ball, in which he is expected to finish. That approach is not sustainable – evident through the results of the first four games. If Columbus wants to kick its offense into hyperdrive and start winning games, the Black & Gold need Abou Ali to be more involved in the buildup. Where he goes, defenders follow, which then opens up space for other attacking pieces to exploit. Again, not all of this is Abou Ali’s fault. Often times, he drops into midfield or finds a pocket of space to receive the ball to his feet, but the pass does not come from his teammates. The Palestinian needs to be involved in every aspect of the Crew’s game as an equalizer to make everyone around him better. It is also worth mentioning, Daniel Gazdag returning to his form in Philadelphia would certainly take some pressure off the other Columbus attackers, but that seems like a distant wish for many fans of the Black & Gold. If the Crew want to start racking up points, they need to do it through their main man up top. Gone are the days of simple poachers, especially in Rydström’s system. Columbus and Abou Ali need to work together and figure out how to unlock his full potential outside of just being a goalscorer. If they can do that, this season can turn around in a flash for the Black & Gold.

The Columbus Crew garnered yet another point on the third matchday of the 2026 season, this time in a scoreless draw with the Chicago Fire. It was a game of feeling each other out by both sides, with each squad having chances to break the deadlock, but none finding the back of the net. Max Arfsten had the best chance for the Black & Gold, after a rebound found his feet and an open goal seemingly staring him down. Unfortunately, a Fire defender cleared the ball of the line after Arfsten fired it towards the left corner. After another uninspired performance – this time in front of a home crowd – the Crew now have two points after three games. Let’s dive into all the tactics that went into Columbus’ goalless affair against their oldest rival. Learning from prior mistakes The Black & Gold have struggled mightily in the defensive department since the season began. After conceding five goals in the first two games of the year, it is clear that head coach Henrick Rydström came into the match against Chicago attempting to tighten the defense. The Crew did just that, both in practice and lineup. Amar Sejdic joined Sean Zawadzki in central midfield, both as defense-minded midfielders placed in front of Rudy Camacho, Malte Amundsen and Steven Moreira. Sejdic and Zawadzki both gave the midfield a defensive weight, allowing Taha Habroune to slot into the front three alongside Diego Rossi and Wessam Abou Ali. Having Zawadzki and Sejdic play alongside each other was the change in lineup. Columbus went from having Habroune – an offensive minded midfielder – paired with Zawadzki to Sejdic, who can provide a bit more tempo-control and defensive stability. Even with that added layer of protection, Rydström still had another plan in place to help bail the defense out. That plan involved Rossi and Habroune. Both part of the fluid-ish front three on offense, there was a different story when the Black & Gold transitioned to defend. Both the Uruguayan and the American assisted Abou Ali in a repress after losing the ball, but once Chicago advanced the ball past the halfway line, Habroune and Rossi dropped into the midfield to help defend. This stuck the Crew into a 5-4-1 or 5-3-2 formation depending on if Rossi stayed higher with Abou Ali. More often than not, it was a 5-4-1 with a box midfield, letting Sejdic and Zawadzki sit deeper, Rossi and Habroune be the first line of defense and then the wingbacks would press if the ball moved outside. This change did a few things for Columbus. First, it took pressure off the two defensive midfielders to exclusively win the midfield battle. One of the biggest problems for the Black & Gold so far this year has been controlling the midfield with less manpower. Adding Rossi and Habroune into that mix on the defensive end gave the Crew a numerical equal to match up against the Fire’s attack. Second, it allowed Columbus to be more dynamic in its press and re-press. Once the first line of pressure was broken – set up in a 5-2-3 – Rossi and Habroune dropped to assist in the Black & Gold’s own-half defending. With two additional players in the midfield though, the wingbacks were freed up to press higher due to the additional coverage the midfielders could provide. Finally, and most worryingly, this change cost the Crew offensively. The problem with committing more players to the defensive effort is that then the transition moments are harder to capitalize on. With Rossi and Habroune so deep, Abou Ali was left alone to deal with Chicago’s three centerbacks. At times, the Palestinian had good holdup moments that allowed Rossi, Habroune and the wingbacks to get forward, but the offense struggled to get Abou Ali involved. With soccer being such a give-and-take game, Rydström will need to find the balance between a rock-solid defense and a dynamic offense. Columbus can have both, but it will take tinkering from the new coach and effort from the players to find that mark. Trying out new shapes As the season and Rydström’s system evolves, so does the Black & Gold’s tactical shape throughout the game. On Saturday, the Crew shifted to a few different looks, but one in particular that was new this season. Out of the typical 5-2-3 offensive formation and 5-4-1 defensive look, Columbus morphed into a building formation and a possession formation. The building formation was the shape the Black & Gold held when they retained the ball in their own half and were building towards Chicago’s half of the field. This look was the newest formation for Rydström and his team, lining up in an offset 4-2-4. The backline consisted of Camacho and Moreira as centerbacks, Amundsen at left back and Andres Herrera at right back. The defensive midfielders remained the same, with Rossi and Habroune acting as dueling no. 10s. Abou Ali was the lone striker, with Arfsten offset as the left winger. This formation was interesting due to the non-uniform nature of it. Only one winger our wide left meant the Crew tipped their hand at what side they preferred to build down, but it also gave Columbus numerical advantages down the left flank. At times it could become a 4-2-1-3 with Habroune or Rossi floating up to join Abou Ali on the front line, but that usually only happened when the Black & Gold began to advance the ball further up the field, which led to the next formation. The possession formation is one that fans are more familiar with: a 1-4-5. Camacho would remain as the anchor, with both Moreira and Amundsen joining the midfield alongside the defensive midfielders. Herrera ran up the right flank to even out the formation with Arfsten on the other side, with Rossi and Habroune joining Abou Ali as the interior front three. The 1-4-5 kept Chicago pinned in their half but also was susceptible to transition moments where the Crew have struggled in recent weeks. That being said, the pairing of Sejdic and Zawadzki did very well assisting the defense to quell any counter attacks. The biggest takeaway from these formations was how the buildup looked improved to recent weeks. Columbus looked more in control and strung together better passes but improved is still not where they want to be. On the downside, the Black & Gold still had a lack of meaningful possession and went forward too quick at times. Playing long balls into Abou Ali’s feet is not going to work when his running mates are still far back on the field after assisting in the midfield. Those long balls was where possession was lost and what gave the Fire opportunities to retain the ball and go back at the Crew. Rydström’s system is a work in progress, but there has been improvement over the past three weeks. It has been gradual, but this team showed on Saturday that they can defend well. The biggest task for Rydström and company now is to find the balance between a stout defense, while still putting out a dangerous offense.

The Columbus Crew returned to action for the second match week of the 2026 season, this time traveling to Kansas City to take on fellow MLS original Sporting Kansas City. Yet again, it was Palestinian DP Wessam Abou Ali who opened the scoring for the Black & Gold off a bad giveaway from Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp. After that, Kansas City found its footing, but the Crew took a 1-0 lead into the locker room. After the halftime break, things went immediately downhill for Columbus. A counterattack gave striker Dejan Joveljić an easy opportunity to even the game, then grabbing his brace a little over 20 minutes later to take the lead. The Black & Gold were plagued by the same ineffective defending as before but found a lifeline courtesy of forward Diego Rossi with eight minutes to play. The Crew had a chance to take all three points from the penalty spot, but Abou Ali’s shot was saved down to Pulskamp’s right side. The match would end 2-2, with Columbus only managing a point from its first two games of the 2026 season. Early in Henrik Rydström’s tenure, the Black & Gold look like a shell of their former selves. Let’s dive into all the tactics that secured the Crew a draw in Kansas City. Columbus’ midfield dilemma Contrary to what many fans may believe, the Black & Gold’s defensive problems do not lie on the defense. Granted, Rudy Camacho, Malte Amundsen and Steven Moreira have played better before, but the crux of the Crew’s defensive issues lies in the midfield. For years Columbus had one of the best midfields in MLS, largely due to the longevity of now-retired legend Darlington Nagbe. The pairing of Nagbe and Aidan Morris won the Black & Gold two MLS Cups, due to combination of tempo, technique and ball-winning ability. The Crew were able to play such attacking, free-flowing soccer because Morris always recovered to win the ball back, and Nagbe could dictate the game from deep-lying positions. One of the most underrated qualities of this duo though, was their ability to cover defensively and allow the reinforcements to arrive in transition moments. That aspect of the midfield’s game has been significantly lacking through the first two weeks of this young season. Part of it has to do with changing tactics under Rydström, but more of the issue has to deal with technical ability and work rate. Simply put, the midfield pairing of Taha Habroune and Dylan Chambost last week against Portland was always destined to fail. Two attack-minded midfielders playing in this fluid system leaves the Crew’s backline open and exposed if they stray too far up the field. Simply put, Chambost and Habroune’s typical playstyle do not suit what Columbus wants to do. Fast forward to this game against Sporting Kansas City, Rydström makes the switch to move Sean Zawadzki into midfield, slotting Moreira back into his RCB position. This allowed the Black & Gold to play with more stability, and Zawadzki actually showed promise in that holding role, but on the other side, Habroune looked lost in space. It is a difficult ask to toss a 20-year-old who got extremely limited minutes into the starting lineup, but Habroune’s struggles are due to the position he is playing in, not his quality as a player. Often times last season, the young Homegrown product shined in roles as a part of Wilfried Nancy’s fluid front three. When given the freedom to create and flow, Habroune can be a dangerous asset. That being said, in that role he had significantly fewer defensive duties – typically only pressing and applying a re-press. If the Crew want to limit the scoring chances that have plagued them in transition this season, they need to get back to having midfielders who are willing to do the dirty work and dictate tempo. Zawadzki has proven that he can be one of those guys, but now Rydström has to find his running mate. All signs point toward new signing André Gomes once his paperwork is processed. There is another side to this issue that goes beyond the defensive issues. Many times, Columbus is caught out due to untimely turnovers that catch the Black & Gold out of position. The Crew have been put in those positions by themselves, mostly due to a lack of midfield presence who can slow the game down and keep possession. This is where the loss of Nagbe becomes extremely prevalent. Nagbe had to ability to take the sting out of the game, ping around a few passes and break through waves of pressure to set off a buildup. Through the first two games of the season, the Crew have been woefully bad in that department. Things like clearing the ball up to Abou Ali to hold up and getting the ball out of danger is fine, but Columbus is a team built to have the ball. Too often defenders will hoof the ball up the pitch without a recipient in mind, gifting possession back to the opposition. As always, a new coach means the system will evolve and change over time, but it is doubtful that Rydström wants to see the Black & Gold play as many long balls as they have over the first two games. For now, the Crew have a glaring issue in midfield when it comes to transition defense, tempo and ball retention. Lucky enough for Columbus, they have more than enough time to fix it just two games into the season. Chasing the game After going down 2-1 in the 72nd minute, the Black & Gold had to make some changes to chase the game. That change came eight minutes later, when the Crew morphed into a different formation with some timely substitutions. Columbus fans know that the Black & Gold typically line up in a three-back defensive look, flanked by wingbacks. The switch Rydström made late in the game, is to abandon that formation and move to a 4-2-4 shape instead. Amundsen and Camacho remained as dueling centerbacks, while Andres Herrera and Max Arfsten rounded out the backline. Zawadzki and Sékou Bangoura held down the midfield, while Rossi and Hugo Picard pushed up as wingers. Abou Ali and Jamal Thiaré pushed against the interior of Kansas City’s backline as the main targets for the Crew’s attack. This new shape gave Columbus a few options. First, it granted the Black & Gold width without sacrificing defensively. Arfsten and Herrera were free to push forward and aid in the attack, but Zawadzki would still sit as a holding midfielder in front of Camacho and Amundsen. In doing so, the Crew were able to have a solid presence inside the box with Abou Ali and Thiaré, while also creating overloads on the outside with the tandems of Rossi and Herrera, and Picard and Arfsten. By pushing the wingbacks higher up the field, Columbus morphed into an attacking 2-2-6. The Black & Gold may have sacrificed a little bit defensively to do so, but Zawadzki could drop back onto the backline for a 3-1-6 look if more stability in the back was needed. The second thing this new formation gave the Crew was the option to apply a re-press easier. With six players distributed across the frontline, all areas of the pitch were covered and primed for a repress. The task behind the front line for Bangoura and Zawadzki was simply to win 50/50 balls and recycle possession to the attackers. In these moments, Columbus found a lot of success sucking Kansas City to one side and then switching the ball to the opposite end of the pitch. By displacing the hosts’ backline, the Black & Gold were able to have space out wide on the opposite end to attack. This is exactly how Rossi’s goal came to be, due to an overshift from Kansas City’s defense. All in all, there are positives and negatives to take away from this game. The Crew will be disappointed not to take all three points, but they responded well in the final moments when they needed goals to secure a draw. Questions still remain in the midfield, as Rydström will look for answers ahead of the first home match of his tenure.

MLS action returned this weekend, kicking off the 2026 season as the Columbus Crew travelled west to face the Portland Timbers. After losing former head coach Wilfried Nancy in the offseason to a brief spell at Celtic, the Black & Gold hired Henrik Rydström to lead Columbus into the 2026 season. Rydström’s first few minutes at the helm of the Crew looked promising, when Wessam Abou Ali broke the deadlock to put Columbus up 1-0. Portland answered back quickly though, netting two goals to reclaim an advantage until Diego Rossi evened the game yet again with a curler from outside the box. It was a very open first half for both sides, but the game settled down in the second frame. The Black & Gold controlled the ball much more efficiently but could not convert any chances to take back the lead. Instead, Portland found the winner with minutes left in the match, catching the Crew defense napping to claim all three points. In just the first game of a new season, Columbus has a learning opportunity. Let’s dive into all the tactics that went into Rydström’s first match in charge of the Black & Gold. Familiar setup and shape with small caveats There was a lot of speculation coming into the season about Rydström’s preferred formation and how he would set up the Crew. In the first game of 2026, fans of the Black & Gold witnessed a familiar sight: a team shape similar to Columbus under Nancy. Rudy Camacho made his long-awaited return to the backline, flanked by new captain Sean Zawadzki and Malte Amundsen. Max Arfsten and Andres Herrera ran down the flanks, with the midfield manned by Dylan Chambost and Taha Habroune. Abou Ali, Rossi and Hugo Picard rounded out the attack for a typical 5-2-3 base formation. As always, this shape was subject to change on offense and defense. On the defensive side, the Black & Gold stayed consistent in the base 5-2-3 shape. Often, both central midfielders would compress against the backline to provide additional support. At the same time, Picard and Rossi dropped deeper to assist as well, leaving Abou Ali alone up top to stretch the backline. On offense, the Crew maintained the three-back look but shifted the base shape towards a 3-4-3 with both wingbacks pushing higher into the midfield. As we know after watching Columbus under Nancy for a few years, as the Black & Gold advance up the pitch, the shape changes. The same is true under Rydström in this game. As the Crew moved toward Portland’s goal, the 3-4-3 morphed into a 1-4-4-1/1-4-5. Both outside centerbacks joined the midfield, with the wingbacks pushing higher as well. These shapes should not shock Columbus fans who have watched the team over the past few years. That being said, there were a few small tweaks that Rydström instituted and became apparent. The first minute change had to deal with the positioning of Picard and Rossi. Under Nancy, the attacking trio up top were essentially positionless. The positional diversity of the attacking players allowed for the coaching staff to give them complete positional freedom, leading to creative attacks and fluid play. Under Rydström against Portland, Rossi and Picard were a bit more confined in their roles as dueling no. 10s. Both players drifted back deeper from Abou Ali into the midfield, facilitating the attack through the center of the pitch. This change allowed Abou Ali to push against the Portland backline, while making the opposing defense choose to step up on Rossi and Picard or drop off. The other bright side to having two no. 10s was the fact that the Crew had natural late-arriving runners into the box. When the wingbacks got high up the pitch in wide positions, Abou Ali could make darting runs towards goal to clear out space for Rossi and Picard to arrive late at the top of the box and the penalty spot. Granted, there are some downsides to changing from fluid to set positioning. The buildup can begin to feel unnatural and forced positionally, especially after years of playing a more fluid brand of attacking soccer. The other detractor is that if Picard and Rossi sit deeper, it leaves Abou Ali lacking support alongside him. Naturally, the wingbacks can tuck in to help out, but that did not happen much at all against Portland. The other small change Rydström made had to deal with the depth of the defensive line. Under Nancy, Columbus lived and died by the high line. It often helped with retaining the ball and keeping attacks alive but also became a double-edged sword in transition moments where the opposition could break. The Black & Gold’s defensive line against the Timbers played about 10-20 yards deeper than it did under Nancy. Nancy typically preferred to have his backline play extremely high even when the Black & Gold were on defense, often pushing up as high as the halfway line. Against Portland, the Crew’s backline settled midway in their own half, only pushing up to the halfway line when Columbus had the ball deep in Timbers’ territory. Time will tell if Rydström will make more tweaks as the schedule rolls on, transitioning from Nancy’s system to his own. Possible formation changes and tactical switches will be on the horizon, especially if the Black & Gold drop games. Same old defensive issues and new buildup problems Although a team can change coaches, some habits are still hard to break. For the Crew, the habit of falling asleep at the wheel in transition defense moments bit them a few too many times against the Timbers. The main problem in the 2025 season was primarily the caliber of Columbus’ defense. From the backline to the goalkeeper, the Black & Gold conceded too many goals, many of which were self-inflicted. The same became true on Saturday night in Portland. After Abou Ali put the Crew in front, it was all Timbers heading towards Columbus’ goal. The Black & Golds’ wingbacks were consistently caught too high, and the midfielders were not in a position to cover. This left the Crew’s back three completely vulnerable against Portland’s charging attack. The lack of having a true ball-winning center midfielder also hindered Columbus’ ability to halt these attacks. Typically a job for now-retired Darlington Nagbe or Zawadzki, Chambost (and then Sejdic when he was brought on) and Habroune were very poor in ball retention. The addition of newly acquired Andre Gomes will help, but without a safety valve in midfield, the Black & Gold were consistently in trouble. On the other side, the Crew struggled mightily in the first half when it came to controlling the ball. Once a team that led the league in possession stats a season ago, Columbus looked disorganized and rushed in the first half of the game against the Timbers. Some of these issues may have to do with the fact that it is the first game of the season with a new coaching staff, but a Black & Gold side that once thrived under pressure and answered it with possession, instead consistently dumped balls up to Abou Ali to try and hold up. For the first game of the season, there was a mixture of good and bad. The Crew’s offense seemed to click, especially between Abou Ali and Rossi. Questions still remain on who will be the third member of that front three, but Rydström has options to play with. The blemishes of transition defense and quality of buildup still remain worrying question marks, but in a 34-game season, a lot can change quickly. Not time to hit the panic button, especially after the first game of the season, but Crew fans will be expecting more from the upcoming road trip to visit Sporting Kansas City.