The Columbus Crew (14-10-10, 52 points) was victorious via a 90th-minute goal from Bernardo Anor, beating the Philadelphia Union (10-12-12, 42 points) by a final score of 2-1 at Columbus Crew Stadium in the regular-season finale on Sunday, October 26.
Anor’s winner came off of a rebound from a Tony Tchani shot, putting the Crew ahead after Zach Pfeffer leveled for Philadelphia in the 85th minute. In the first half, Jairo Arrieta gave the Crew a 1-0 lead after taking a pass from Ben Speas and rounding Zac MacMath to calmly finish in the 13th minute.
The home victory means that the Crew is guaranteed to begin its 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs quest at Crew Stadium as either the third or fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. If Sporting Kansas City wins tonight at home against the New York Red Bulls (8:30 p.m. ET / ESPN2), the Crew takes the fourth seed and will host New York in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round on Wednesday, October 29 or Thursday, October 30. If New York wins or ties tonight, the Crew captures the third seed and hosts the New England Revolution in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on either Saturday, November 1 or Sunday, November 2.
The Crew’s attendance figure tonight of 16,892 was enough to secure the largest single-season total attendance in Columbus Crew Stadium history, eclipsing the record set in the inaugural season in 1999.
