OBETZ, Ohio – Before the first of their two matches against the Chicago Fire last week, the Columbus Crew SC defense was struggling.
They hadn’t earned a shutout since April 18 against an Orlando City SC team who were playing down a man and had allowed nearly the most goals in the league.
But the Crew SC defense banded together for the Chicago double, allowing only one goal in the two matches – the only one from a deflected David Accam free kick – in a 1-0 victory Wednesday and then 3-1 decision on Sunday.
After the second win, defender Tyson Wahl credited a defenders-only meeting before the week began for helping the squad find their footing.
“After the past couple weeks, we knew we can play better,” Wahl said. “We met and talked about some things, and we really emphasized communication and getting back to being organized while we’re attacking. I think that paid dividends for us.”
Captain Michael Parkhurst, one of the most experienced players on the team, said he and goalkeeper Steve Clark wanted to regroup with the defenders after a team discussion with head coach Gregg Berhalter.
“We’ve been struggling or unlucky – a little bit of both – for a long time,” Parkhurst said of the defensive unit. “It was time to start turning things around. We had a meeting with the team and Gregg said, ‘We’ve been really happy with the offensive movements, offensive product, and if we can get everything going as a team, defensively, we’ll be one of the top teams in the league. Until that happens, we’re just a mediocre team.’
“After that it was like, alright, it’s on us to step up a little more. Defending is a team thing, but in the end, it’s your defenders and goalkeeper who are taking pride in the shutouts and really taking it to heart.”
Berhalter said he thought the meeting was a good thing, saying it “could be important.” But he reiterated that defense is the entire team’s responsibility.
“You don’t want to split camp, where the offense and the defense are split up and one is blaming the other; it’s not like that,” he said. “There was a general acknowledgement that it needs to improve, and I think that’s important because we weren’t happy with some of the goals we’ve been giving up. To acknowledge that and say, ‘OK, let’s improve on that,’ is an important step in the process.”
Berhalter said that message coming from the team’s veteran leadership can be more impactful than if it’s delivered by the coaches.
“From [coaches] it’s a different tone,” he said. “When it comes from the players, especially when they’re able to look at themselves and say, ‘I’m not doing good enough,’ I think it means a lot. I think guys appreciate it when guys stand up and put their hand up and say, ‘I should be doing a better job.’”
- Get more Crew SC news at ColumbusCrewSC.com
Parkhurst said he wasn’t worried about stepping on toes during the meeting. Defenders can take it by nature, he believes.
“I think defenders are a tougher group,” he said. “I don’t think guys are catching feelings when you’re getting called out. We’re used to it as defenders. We’re always getting called out on video; it’s just the lay of the land. But there was no calling out in our meeting. It was just, ‘Let’s get better as a group, no matter who’s playing.’”
Whatever was said in the meeting seemed to work, and while Parkhurst admits it “wasn’t perfect,” he sees the start of improvement.
“We’ve had two good games, defensively, since then,” he said. “Outside of one free kick, that’s two shutouts in a row for us. It’s definitely trending in the right way, but there’s always room for improvement. We got lucky a couple of times, Steve made a few good saves, but that’s a part of it. You need those things to get shutouts.”
