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Columbus Crew to face Hell is Real rival FC Cincinnati in MLS Cup playoffs first round
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- Columbus Crew to face Hell is Real rival FC Cincinnati in MLS Cup playoffs first round
The Crew are set to start the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs against their Hell is Real rival, FC Cincinnati.
On the final day of the regular season, the Crew jumped from the No. 9 to the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference standings with a 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls.
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Moving up kept the Crew out of the play-in game and advanced them to a first-round best-of-three series with Cincinnati , the No. 2 seed.
The Crew and Cincinnati have matched up twice this season, first on May 17 at Lower.com Field , where they finished in a 1-1 draw.
In Cincinnati on July 12, the Crew scored four goals unanswered and won 4-2 .
Columbus Crew defender Steven Moreira (31) tries fire up the crowd during the second half of the MLS soccer match against FC Cincinnati at Lower.com Field in Columbus on May 17, 2025. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The last time the rivals faced off in the playoffs was during the Crew's 2023 MLS Cup playoff run. The Crew defeated Cincinnati 3-2 on the road in overtime of the Eastern Conference final.
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MLS has yet to announce the schedule for the first round, which is set to begin on Oct. 24 and run through Nov. 9.
How Columbus Crew improved in Eastern Conference standings for MLS Cup playoffs
In order to jump in the standings, the Crew needed help from across the conference.
Orlando City SC fell to Toronto FC 4-2, dropping Orlando from seventh to ninth, and the Chicago Fire remained the eighth seed with a 2-2 draw against the New England Revolution . Chicago will host Orlando in the Eastern Conference play-in game.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew, FC Cincinnati set for Hell is Real playoff series
