Seven years of misery for Columbus Crew SC against the Vancouver Whitecaps

Playing the Vancouver Whitecaps has been a genuine nightmare for Columbus Crew SC recently. The Black & Gold failed to take three points against the Canadians in each of the last six meetings between the teams, with Columbus’ last victory coming in 2011, when a brace of Venezuelan forward Emilio Rentería gave the Ohioans a 2-1 win at Crew Stadium (now MAPFRE Stadium).

Since then, there were two ties and four Canadian triumphs. Head coach Gregg Berhalter, who led Crew SC in the last four of these meetings, with two defeats and two draws, Is well aware of the unfavorable recent retrospect his team will try to revert this Saturday, when the Black & Gold host the Whitecaps.

“I’m fully aware of the difficulties this team has given us over the years,” Berhalter said. “There’s a whole bunch of different reasons for it. Sometimes they were just good, somethings we weren’t good enough. A lot of times they’ve adopted a style of quick counter attacks, which caught us off guard. In the games that I’ve played here in MAPFRE Stadium, they were the better team.”

With the teams set to face again, join us as we recap the last meetings:

2017 – Vancouver Whitecaps 2 Columbus Crew SC 2

The latest match between the teams, played at BC Place, in Vancouver, had a curious outcome with both Kekuta Manneh and Tony Tchani, who had been involved in a trade six months earlier, scoring against their former teams. The winger and Ola Kamara, another player who’s not on Crew SC’s roster in 2018, scored for the Black & Gold while Fredy Montero and Tchani, this one is the stoppage time, netted for the Canadians.

2016 – Vancouver Whitecaps 3 Columbus Crew 1

The last time the teams played at MAPFRE Stadium, things didn’t end well for Crew SC from the start to the end. The match had a 90-minute delay because of rain and the Black & Gold scored first with Ola Kamara, but an own goal from Gaston Sauro leveled the match two minutes later. In the second half, goals from Andrew Jacobson and Erik Hurtado and a red card earned by Tony Tchani, this time playing for Crew SC, sealed the Canadians’ victory on the road.

2015 - Vancouver Whitecaps 2 Columbus Crew SC 2

It was another multi-goal road tie for Crew SC against the Whitecaps in 2015, the year when the club reached the MLS Cup Final. Kei Kamara, the current Whitecaps’ forward, who played for the Black & Gold at the time, was the first to find the back of the net. The Canadians scored seven minutes later with Octavio Rivero. Kamara put Crew SC in the lead again early in the second half, but Darren Mattocks leveled things again.

2014 – Vancouver Whitecaps 1 Columbus Crew SC 0

It was Gregg Berhalter’s first time against the Whitecaps and only his 10th game in charge of Crew SC. The Black & Gold entered the home match fighting to end a winless streak that had reached six games the week prior. However, a gorgeous goal from Erik Hurtado, who took advantage of a long pass from goalkeeper David Ousted to hit it from outside the penalty box in the upper corner of Steve Clark’s goal, frustrated the home fans.

2013 – Vancouver Whitecaps 2 Columbus Crew SC 1

Coached by Robert Warzycha, Crew SC looked very different from the current team, with Federico Higuan and Josh Williams being the only remaining players from that lineup. Playing at home, the Canadians scored first with a beautiful long-distance shot from Daigo Kobayashi, but Jairo Arrieta leveled the game in the first seconds of the second half. However, a defensive mistake by Glauber left Kenny Miller in position to give the Whitecaps the victory.

2012 – 1 Vancouver Whitecaps Columbus Crew SC 0

The match that started the unfortunate drought for Crew SC against the Whitecaps was decided by a free kick goal from Korean international Young-Pyo Lee that surprised goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum in the final portion of the second half. Before that, Crew SC had two goals disallowed, one by Eddie Gaven and the other from Josh Williams, who also hit the crossbar on a bicycle kick.

Crew SC hope to break the disappointing outcomes against Vancouver on Saturday afternoon. The match is scheduled to kickoff at 3 p.m. ET at MAPFRE Stadium.