Crew nears playoff trip after beating Fire U-17/18 in regular season finale

By Curt Herron

After earning its spot in the playoffs on Saturday afternoon, the Fire Academy's U-17/18 wanted to head there on a winning note.

That conflicted with the plans of the Columbus Crew, who needed a win on Sunday to possibly assure themselves of a postseason trip.

Kicking off a series of five matches between the two sides on Sunday, the Crew made certain that they would do what they could to become playoff-bound.

The Crew scored a pair of goals in the opening half and then held off a spirited Fire comeback to claim a 2-1 win in Obetz, Ohio.

As a result of the win, the Crew tied the Fire for third place in the Great Lakes Division with 7-5-4 marks and 25 point totals.

The loss cost the Fire a chance to tie for the division lead with Indiana United and Derby County, who went 8-4-4 with 28 points.

Sockers FC, which is 6-4-5 with 23 points heading to its finale with FC Milwaukee on Wednesday, could still finish in third place.

All five of those teams appear to have earned berths in next weekend's US Soccer Development Academy playoffs, which take place in Frisco, Texas.

The Fire, Crew and Sockers were expected to pick up three of the 12 wildcard entries that go to teams other than the top-two division finishers.

Chicago assured itself of that after it finished with a 1.70 points per match average as the result of its overall 11-6-6 record.

That average placed them sixth-best among all USSDA teams, but could change slightly since a few more matches need to be played.

Despite the defeat, the Fire closed out Great Lakes play with a 6-2-2 showing after going 1-3-2 in their first half dozen matches.

In order to guarantee a postseason trip, the Crew had to win their final three matches, which included a sweep in their last two home contests.

On a day where the Fire and Crew met up at the U-20, U-18, U-16 and U-14 levels, the hosts posted a 2-0-2 mark at the youth level.

But the Fire's first team got the last laugh, scoring a late goal to claim a 1-0 win over the Crew in the finale at Crew Stadium.

About seven hours before the Fire youth saw the MLS match begin, the U-17/18 squads began the first of the four matches in Obetz.

And things definitely got off to a good start for the Crew, who played to a 1-1 draw with the Fire in their first match on May 8.

A pair of goals in the first half set the tone for the Crew, who earned their wildcard spot with a 1.61 points per match average.

The Fire finally connected in the 71st minute when Joey Calistri sent a pass to Manny Guzman, whose short try went off a defender.

Chicago had one last hope on an indirect free kick by Victor Pineda, but no one got a touch on the ball as it went past the goal.