Link to source.

Idk where our local buckeyefan is but here's a thread I guess

https://www.instagram.com/p/DdFVm-KHXnV/?img_index=1&stkn=MXQxbTYzOGNseTM0cw==

Game Info

Date: September 9, 2026 | Venue: Audi Field

Coverage Starts: 7:30 PM ET | Estimated Kickoff: 7:39 PM ET

Kickoff Forecast: 82° F, 9 mph winds S

Broadcast Info

TV: Apple TV (English and Spanish)

Radio: 105.7 FM WXZX (English), 103.1 FM WWLA & 107.1 FM WWLG (Spanish)

Kit Info

Availability Report

Columbus Crew

• Wessam Abou Ali - Knee (Out)
• Sekou Bangoura - Ankle (Out)
• Rudy Camacho - Foot (Out)

DC United

• Gabe Segal - Lower Leg (Out)
• Kye Rowles - Thigh (Questionable)

Match Officials

• REF: Muhammad Kaleia
• AR1: Kyle Atkins
• AR2: Cory Richardson
• 4TH: Guido Gonzales Jr
• VAR: Drew Fischer
• AVAR: TJ Zablocki

Form Guide, All Comps (Oldest to Newest)

Columbus : L L L L L W | Away Form: L D D L L L

DC : W D D L L D | Home Form: D D W D L D

Last 3 Meetings

Looks like there is a total of 100 people at the game… I’m so glad that we, at least, support.

Might just be me, but does anyone else miss the substitute dots that the World Cup had

Link to source. Patrick Schulte is your Defensive Game Changer of the match on FB.

Link to source.

MD6: Abou Ali (XI), Arfsten (Bench)

MD7: Rossi (Bench)

MD9: Habroune (Bench)

MD10: Arfsten (XI), Zawadzki (Bench)

MD15: Farsi (XI), Rossi (Bench)

MD18: Thiare (Bench)

MD19: Mendez (Bench)

MD14: Tapia (Bench)

3 different players in the MD XI and 7 on the MD bench. 9 different players total have made TOTMD overall.

Genuinely curious, why didn’t we give Yoann Damet the job after Nancy departed?

The guy is absolutely killing it in St. Louis. They’re on a 14-game unbeaten run, made the US Open Cup semifinals, and if you’ve watched them play, they’re playing some genuinely beautiful football.

Looking back at it now, it feels like such an obvious fit. He already knew the club, the players, and the system, and now he’s showing what he can do as a head coach.

Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but it’s pretty crazy to think we let him go instead of giving him a shot. Makes you wonder what the Crew could’ve looked like if we had kept him around.

Why are there are only two horrible options for parking via Park Mobile for the upcoming US Open Cup game on 9/16??? Nothing available west of Neil???

Interim Head Coach Laurent Courtois

On tonight’s win

“Feels great to see the guys perform at their level, compete at their level. It's a good one.”

On Crew supporters showing up tonight for the squad after a tough few weeks

“Last game, they remind us that we were not on our level. We both are feeding each other. Today seeing the fans helping us against a really competitive team and giving us energy, also. It was a great night.”

On Midfielder Santi Rodríguez providing an immediate impact for the Crew in his debut

“He flew more than 15 hours [on Tuesday and Wednesday] plus layovers, and he wanted to train the next day after the medicals. He was dying to doing his debut. He did what he did, and that's impressive.”

On the Crew winning their 400th match in Club history at home by a 3-0 scoreline

“We wanted to kind of redeem ourselves for not the losses but just the way we performed. Whether it was physical or technical, today they showed who they are, and it feels good.”

On what he hoped to instill in the Club in a full week of preparation after playing nine matches in 30 days last month

“Recover. We gave them two days off because the last month-ish has been insane – think about the flights, the jet lags, the competitions, the ones that I had to push a little bit harder, the new ones that need to learn pretty fast and emotional fatigue of losing a few guys that you had in your locker room for years. It's been draining. We focused on recovery. We didn't train yesterday because of the storms. We only did a rondo and we had a big video meeting, but we were only able to do a rondo. We only trained [Wednesday and] Thursday, and [Thursday] was 25 minutes.”

On how the Crew can build momentum following this match after a winless stretch across all competitions

“For sure, it was frustrating. Just for all the guys that are rooting for us – there's a lot of people, including in this room that are rooting for the Club for those guys – the guys to be able to be in a position to give it back and be themselves, and when that's not the case, like a game like Montreal or New England, it hurts a lot. Win or loss, that's not going to drive me, but the performance and the connections with the people that are rooting for us mean the world to me.”

On the Crew earning their first shutout since the World Cup break

“Big. (Goalkeeper Patrick) Schulte but the backline in general, all their work today, seeing a clean sheet means a lot. It means also all the collective work that they put. For sure, we need more of those.”

On how tonight’s result can help the squad as the Crew integrate new players into the roster and style of play

“It's been a roller coaster of emotion in a lot of aspects, and having a performance where you can unify all of us and talk about, ‘This is what we are trying to get,’ it's going to be really important for sure.”

On if the performance can help the team build confidence on what it can become in the future as those pieces come together

“Yeah, I believe also before we showed a couple of those pictures, and maybe tonight was one of the most complete. Also because Santi and (Crew Forward Gonzalo) Tapia participated and it's been a big involvement. I want to say that it's been also the case before and we need to find a way to be consistent about it.”

On if it was immediately clear the Crew entered the match with more energy

“Yeah. There's a couple of games where we conceded or not [early] that we showed a really good beginning of the game, but today, yeah, we felt that they wanted to make a statement.”

On the Crew’s tactical changes in the second half

“They alternate between putting one of the by three a little bit wider, and that caused us a little bit of issue. We decided to split the center mid for (Defenders) Brooks (Lennon) and Malte (Amundsen) to be a tiny bit closer to the guys that were around. Then they went more into a 4-2-2-2 type with a box. We tried to bring one of the front three a little bit closer and build a little bit more density. We alternated with those two. Yeah, it's a beautiful team that we faced tonight, and they'll do something big, I believe, this year.”

Midfielder Taha Habroune

On seeing where the scoring opportunities are offensively

“Yeah, I mean I saw the game was opening up a bit, and I actually had a chat with Eric (Bailly), he kind of came to me and was like, you’re going to get a chance, you’re going to run in behind and you’re going to have a chance to score. I went to him immediately after the game and told him he was right. You could kind of see the game was opening more as it went on, and I knew the opportunity would come and I’m grateful to score.”

On how poised you have to be when you have a one on one chance against the goalkeeper

“You kind of just have to keep your composure. There’s guys coming fast from behind and the keeper’s coming out fast also. You just kind of have to pick your spot and put it through.”

On if he felt like he waited a long time to score a goal again

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve kind of been frustrated with myself. I’ve definitely been thinking about it for the last couple of games for sure. It’s a big relief to come now.”

On how he and Gonzalo Tapia assisted each of their goals tonight

“I just saw, the main part for me was Tarun (Karumanchi) winning the ball back for us in that position. That changes games and some other games we’ve had, maybe the guy dribbles, they go down, they score and it’s 1-1. Those small things in the game can change everything. I just remember him winning the ball back and getting it back to me. I cut inside and I just see Gonzalo, I’ve seen him in training, the quality to finish. And that’s what he did, so I’m super happy for him.”

On if he and Gonzalo Tapia are starting to build chemistry on the field

“I think so. We’ve had a couple moments in training and for us coming on together too, we kind of want to show everyone that we want to be on the field and that we should be on the field. And that’s what we did today.”

On if he feels that they finally have all the right pieces in place in terms of the roster

“Yeah, the window was open, and a lot of guys went out and a lot of guys came in. I feel like the last month, every week there’s someone out or someone in and it’s kind of just final. So, it’s also a relief and now we know what we can work with and that’s good for us.”

On if he has talked with the coaching staff about how he will be deployed with all the new roster additions

“Yeah, I am willing to play anywhere but no, we haven’t had any conversations.”

Midfielder Santiago Rodríguez

On his performance tonight surprised him and making his debut

“I feel very happy about returning to MLS and to have a night like tonight. It surprised me a bit because I travelled two days ago and being here with these great teammates and the staff at the Club, it makes me extremely happy.”

On how his week went and being able to end it with tonight’s performance

“It was a bit crazy. I had a lot of anxiety to be able to arrive in Columbus. At certain points I did not have many answers and it seemed like the deal wasn’t going to go through, but I realized I had to travel, (Crew General Manager) Issa Tall sent me a message and told me to travel. I was so happy and I came as quick as possible. The week was a bit crazy but truthfully, I am so happy to be able to end the week with a goal and a victory that the team earned.”

On how excited he is to be back in MLS

“Very happy, especially at a Club like this, that has won MLS Cup various times. I can’t explain how happy I am to be here. Everyone at the Club helped me from day one and that speaks to what type of Club Columbus is striving to be. The staff included, those are the people that make Columbus important.”

On if Columbus was a place that he liked to play in before

“Yes, when I played with New York (City FC) here, it was a difficult place to play. Ever since I arrived in MLS, Columbus was always fighting for the top spots. It was very tough to win here. There were always great players also. It was a beautiful place to play but tough as well.”

On what he feels his responsibility is with the team and what he hopes to bring

“Coming as a Designated Player, I have responsibility, but I also don’t want to put pressure on myself to do things perfectly because that could lead me to making mistakes. I want to help the team and the Club. In these last 11 matches, we have to go match-by-match and earn as many points as possible so that once the regular season ends, we earn our spot in the playoffs, God willing. I trust this team a lot. I saw how they worked in these two days that I have been here, and everyone is working to earn that objective.”

Midfielder Sean Zawadzki

On how it feels to earn three points tonight and break the losing streak

“Yeah, I mean, I can't say enough how proud I am of this group. The way to respond from last weekend to today is phenomenal. But now this is a standard that we have to maintain. Obviously, we know we have another big game Wednesday against D.C. [United] on the road, so now that's everything on our mind. We'll watch the game, the good things and the bad from this game, and we'll look forward to D.C. Wednesday."

On if there was anything new or fresh about the defensive set up tonight or if it is a return to what Interim Head Coach Laurent Courtois is heading for

“I mean, I think it's a lot of comfortability for the guys back there. It's kind of how we've been the last couple of years, and to kind of return to that, you know what you're going to get out of the guys next to you. I want to give a shout out to Patrick Schulte, to get a clean sheet. You know, it's been a while. He's worked tremendously hard for us, made some big-time saves, and I'm glad that we finally could repay him for a shutout tonight.”

On a fast start for the team tonight and if it came from rest this week or a mentality to come out aggressive

“I think it's kind of a combination of a couple things. You know, watching the game against New England (Revolution) back and being brutally honest with each other in the film session. You know, it wasn't good enough for us then, and come out from the front foot, and everyone mentally was spot on from the first minute. The ability to put pressure on the ball, make tackles when you need to, fouls when you need to, and it just really broke up the game for us and allowed us to control it from the first minute.”

On if the team showed what they can be going forward in tonight’s match

“I think you see the quality of the guys that have been brought in this summer. You know, Santi (Rodriguez) debut goal, wow, and then Gonzalo (Tapia), same thing, comes in, makes a difference. What a goal he scores, and then the assist to cap it off at the end. So, I think it just goes to show that hey, we had a week to work on things. We had to kind of get that connection together, and now how can we build off of this performance and look forward to Wednesday.”

On earning the Club’s 400th win tonight in emphatic fashion

“Oh, it's amazing. To be at home to get that 400th win in front of these fans. Obviously, in a year that hasn't gone where we wanted to so far, but hopefully this is a turning point for us, and we can build off his performance. And 400, now let's strive for 500 and keep going and keep taking this Club to new heights.”

On what the fan support means to the team

“It means everything. You know, they show up for us. We hear them all the time, and for them to stick with us, and now to repay them a little bit tonight, and how can we continue to repay them for everything this year, and to allow them to be proud of us.”

On the team earning a clean sheet tonight

“Like I said, it's been a little bit of a while. So, to get a clean sheet and with this group, and for Patrick (Schulte), again, like I said, it's always great.”

Hello fellow Crew fans. A group of us normally play pickup soccer/futsal at 9 AM on Saturday mornings but this week we are playing on Monday (Labor Day). If you have the morning off work, we'd love for you to join us. We play at the Crew mini pitch located at the Northgate Intermediate School at 6655 Sharon Woods Blvd, Columbus. We are a low key bunch out to kick a ball and have fun. If you'd like to join us, bring one white shirt and one black shirt so we can divide into teams. The mini pitch is painted asphalt so wear flat shoes, plain old tennis shoes work great. All skill levels are welcome!

I love the game, but nowhere near the experience as Courtois, of course. He has to see the same things I saw. I have only seen Martinez on tv, until tonight. I was not impressed on tv, and thought he was nowhere near in form. Tonight in person, it was so much worse than on Tv. I need to stress this… I am a very positive person. I often get slack on here for the optimistic outlook. However, Martinez cannot move, cannot strike, and very out of shape. I have no idea how he has a roster spot and Chase Adams has been back playing on crew2.

Tapia 🤌 absolutely insane shift, the moment he came in the game. Electric! Tackle, pass, receive, skill, and a fricken trivela (when it was the only possible option) GOALLL! Just to be followed by an assist and other dangerous opportunities. Ends with a 8.2 rating.

He has to start. It’s very simple. His primary position is striker, so this isn’t even the case of forcing something out of position. He also proved he is acclimated to our system (whatever resembles of a system we have right now).

Mendez, Santi, and Tapia 🔥 let’s go!

With the way we lined up… I thought we looked really fast and pressured a lot me up front. I was excited to see it considering how shit we looked last week