OBETZ, Ohio – Since his arrival in Columbus, Gregg Berhalter has emphasized a day-by-day mentality. Each match is just another opportunity for three points, and each week of preparation means the same.
But down 4-2 to the New England Revolution heading into the away leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals of the MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T on Sunday (5 pm ET; ESPN2, get tickets here), the mountain the Crew need to climb this weekend is unquestionably different.
And for the first time this season, Berhalter is letting his players think of it that way.
Which team will win leg 2?
“It’s an elimination game, so you have to approach it in a different way, and we are,” he said. “We’re looking at it like this is it. This is our season on the line here. And that’s interesting.”
Rather than buckling under the pressure, captain Michael Parkhurst thinks the team will respond with a ferocious performance.
“It will be interesting to see how everyone responds,” he said. “Hopefully we go out there with more energy than we’ve played with all season. We’ve talked about how this is going to be the most energy we’ve put into a game, probably in our careers. More running, more tackling, more sprints, that’s just what it’s going to take.”
Berhalter had some choice words for his club after Monday’s training session, calling them “stunned” and saying they were feeling sorry for themselves. But Berhalter and his players both feel like they have turned that mentality around in time for the weekend.
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“After those first two training days, we kind of had to run it out of us and work it out,” Ethan Finlay said. “Now, we were able to get our focus back… and have a good session. We feel good about where we’re at, and we’re excited for the opportunity. This is an opportunity for us to do something very special.
“Everyone saw what Gregg had said the other day, and he wasn’t far off. The demeanor wasn’t what it should have been. There are more games to be played, and we’re not giving up.”
And while Parkhurst and the rest of the team know that they have a tall task in front of them, the defender expects to make life difficult for the Revs.
“I think we’re ready,” he said. “The team has looked sharp in the last couple days. I think we’ve got the fight back, and we’ve got the right mentality. We know that it’s going to be a dogfight. We want to make it as crazy as possible.”
