Columbus Crew SC’s recent four-game losing streak has, in no small part, resulted from conceding seven goals over this stretch. This came after allowing just four goals during the first six games — three in one match where Columbus had multiple players missing due to international duty — and beginning the year 4-1-1.
The Crew has been eye-opening in all the wrong ways lately and it has led to a slide down Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference standings and a number of questions. Is this just a series of games with bad luck? Or are there fundamental problems with the Black & Gold under first-year head coach Caleb Porter early in the 2019 season?