Eighteen clubs began the journey when the expanded Major League playoffs began on Oct. 25.
Now we’re down to the last two teams standing.
The 2023 MLS Cup between Los Angeles FC and the Columbus Crew is a battle of two sides that a lot of fans and critics either overlooked or weren’t talking about nearly enough when the post-season kicked off. But here they are on the cusp of winning it all.
Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s MLS Cup (4:00 p.m. ET) at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.
Canadian Maxime Crépeau a shining light for LAFC
While Dénis Bouanga is garnering the majority of the headlines for LAFC due to his goal scoring prowess, Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau has been the MVP of coach Steve Cherundolo’s side in the playoffs thus far.
Crépeau, 29, has been simply outstanding in the post-season, recording four wins and three consecutive clean sheets. His shutouts haven’t been easy, either – he turned aside all 17 shots he faced in his trio of clean sheet victories, including seven in a tightly-contested road win over the Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference semifinals. The native of Greenfield Park, Que., enters Saturday’s MLS Cup riding a 320-minute shutout streak.
Winning the MLS Cup would cap off an amazing comeback story for Crépeau, who has 15 caps for Canada since making his national team debut in 2016. In extra time of last year’s MLS Cup at home against the Philadelphia Union, Crépeau collided with Cory Burke while trying to stop a breakaway following an errant back pass from teammate Jesús David Murillo. The Canadian ended up being red carded, but he also broke his right leg during the play. He left the pitch in an ambulance before being taken to a local hospital.
LAFC went on to win the game via a penalty shootout, while Crépeau’s injury ruled him out for Canada at last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He finally returned to LAFC in September after a long rehab process and went on to play seven games down the final two months of the regular season. More than a year after breaking his leg, Crépeau is back in the MLS Cup final, a testament to his toughness and spirit, and he’s looking to help LAFC become the first team since the LA Galaxy (2011-12) to repeat as league champions.
Other Canadians involved in MLS Cup
There’s plenty of Canadian content in this year’s MLS Cup besides Maxime Crépeau starring for LAFC.
Fullback Mo Farsi has been a key player for Columbus throughout 2023 with 35 appearances in his first full MLS season. The 23-year-old from Montreal has featured in all four playoff games, including three times as a starter, and has played a crucial role in helping the Crew record a pair of clean sheets on its journey to the MLS Cup. Although he has yet to earn a cap for Canada, he’s definitely on the team’s radar and a strong showing this weekend could lead to a callup in 2024 by interim national team coach Mauro Biello.
Forward Jacen Russell-Rowe, a 21-year-old from Toronto, enjoyed a solid second MLS season with four goals and three assists in 21 regular season games. The Canadian international, who has four caps for Canada, has been limited to a pair of brief appearances off the bench in the playoffs. But if coach Wilfried Nancy needs to jumpstart his attack with a timely substitute, he could turn to the young Canadian who is fleet-footed and dynamic attacker who likes to run right at opposing defenders.
Columbus Crew go from pretenders to contenders
The last two years haven’t been easy for the Columbus Crew. After winning its second MLS Cup in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Ohio-based club finished outside of the playoff zone in each of the previous years, narrowly missing out both times.
But 2023 has been a completely different story, as new coach Wilfried Nancy (previously in charge of CF Montreal) got the Crew over the playoff hump by guiding the team to a third-place finish in the Eastern Conference. The Crew saved their best efforts for the playoffs, though, knocking off FC Cincinnati (the best team during the regular season), in the Eastern Conference final.
Columbus also owes a great deal of gratitude to Cucho Hernández. The Colombian scored 16 goals, tallied 11 assists and registered a league-leading 165 shots this year, helping the Crew establish itself as the best attacking unit in all of MLS with 67 goals.
The Crew will have a decided edge over LAFC as they’ll be hosting Saturday’s game and will have the benefit of the home crowd. Five of the last six teams that hosted the MLS Cup ended up winning it, including Columbus in the 2020 final when it defeated the Seattle Sounders.
How both teams arrived at the MLS Cup
LAFC finished the regular season as the third-best team in the Western Conference but have played like the undisputed No. 1 seeds in the playoffs. The defending champions defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 in a best-of-three series in the first round before beating the second-seeded Seattle Sounders on the road to advance to the conference finals. A 2-0 victory at home over the Houston Dynamo gave the California club the chance to defend its MLS Cup crown.
Columbus’ path to the final through the Eastern Conference playoffs was even more impressive. The third-seeded Crew beat No. 6 Atlanta United 2-1 in a first-round best-of-three series and then dispatched No. 2 Orlando City and No. 1 FC Cincinnati on the road to advance to the MLS Cup for the first time since winning it in 2020.
Player to watch for LAFC: Dénis Bouanga
The Gabon international enjoyed a breakout campaign in his first full MLS campaign in 2023, scoring 20 goals to win the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the regular season. The league MVP finalist (he finished second behind FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta) followed that up with another four goals in three playoff contests, including two game winners.
Player to watch for Columbus Crew: Cucho Hernández
The Colombian forward/winger has been the Crew’s MVP of the playoffs so far with four goals in three games. His trio of goals helped Columbus get past a pesky Atlanta side in the first round, and his strike deep into extra time sealed a win for the Crew over Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinal.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.
