The Columbus Crew keep a simple defensive philosophy, especially on the road where positive results are harder to come by: Play to zero.
"We go into every match thinking we can shut out the other team," goalkeeper William Hesmer said. "We know if we don't allow a goal we have a good shot at winning the match and at the very least we'll walk away with a point."
The Crew fashioned all eight of their shutouts in the final 19 regular season games with five coming on the road, including a 0-0 battle with Chicago on July 11.
Another scoreless draw was in the offing Saturday in Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday until disaster struck for the Crew in the 88th minute.
When Robbie Findley scored he not only gave Real Salt Lake a 1-0 victory in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals but he altered the Crew's thinking for the return match in the total-goals series on Thursday at Crew Stadium.
Playing to zero is no longer an option if the defending champions are to stay alive.
"First and foremost we have to score more than one goal," coach Robert Warzycha said.
The Crew must win by at least two to advance in regulation time. If they are ahead by one after 90 minutes, there will be a 30-minute overtime then a penalty shootout if needed.
It's the visitors who wouldn't mind keeping zeroes on the scoreboard or matching every Crew goal.
"You've got to be defensive," RSL midfielder Clint Mathis said. "If we keep a clean sheet we go through. The pressure is going to be on them to have to come out and score. They are a very good team at home. We have to be smart and dedicate ourselves 100 percent, the whole team, defensively to be sound and not be broken down.
"At the end of the day if we tie or don't give up any goals we go through."
The Crew haven't yet figured how to break a prolonged scoring slump that threatens their season. They have been blanked in four of the past five MLS matches and have only 10 goals in the past 14 games, including the CONCACAF Champions League.
"None of those games really matter at this point," forward Alejandro Moreno said. "The only one that matters is last Saturday. That was a 1-0 game where we did a lot of good things defensively. What counts is we're 1-0 down and there's 90 minutes to go. That's the important thing that we have to focus on."
It's easy to point to the Crew forwards as the reason for the scarcity of scoring and while it's true that right now they can't finish a sentence, the lack of help from the midfield is palpable.
"I was hoping we would get a result and come home and play the game we played," Warzycha said. "If we would have possessed the ball a little bit more on the ground then we would have been successful. We didn't have any flank players."
They played but Robbie Rogers, Eddie Gaven and substitute Emmanuel Ekpo had no impact on the match. Yet, Warzycha might not switch things on the wings.
"I'm not saying that I'm changing something on the flank because the guys need to play better. It's as simple as that," he said.
It's a bit curious that Warzycha is not contemplating moves there after surprising many with his decision not to play leading scorer and 2008 MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the first leg.
"I'm looking for the best combination. Prior to the game he probably played five, seven games with different forwards so we were trying to find the combinations that would score the goals," Warzycha said. "Sometimes the best combination is without him because if I think the other guys are sharper and do what I ask them to do I feel obligated to play them."
Schelotto will play Thursday and be the key to any comeback. The Crew want to keep the ball moving on the ground and when the attack is in sync, it runs through him. Although he has been slowed by injuries this season, he still holds the skills that resulted in 19 assists last season and another three in the MLS Cup Final.
"To win by two goals is motivation for everyone. We won it last year. We need to show we can come back," he said.
The Crew know they need to score but they can't leave themselves exposed while they go to goal.
"We have to concentrate on being compact and being patient and at the same time trying to get a goal in the first half then being able to open up and play in the second half to win it," midfielder Brian Carroll said. "We have to be patient and smart the entire game so we don't do anything crazy and dig ourselves deeper in a hole."
If the Crew can't control the pace, a season that included a second consecutive Supporters' Shield for having the most points will be over.
"The initiative and responsibility to go forward obviously lies with us," Moreno said. "They're a dangerous team. They have a lot of players with speed that can hurt us on the counterattack. We have to be very aware and match up well with them."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
