Not only do the Columbus Crew face potential elimination when they host FC Cincinnati on Sunday, but a loss in the second match of the Eastern Conference first-round best-of-three series also will mean the end of the storied career of midfielder Darlington Nagbe.

The three-time MLS All-Star announced on Oct. 7 that he would retire after the season, his 15th in the league.

“It’s weird for me. It doesn’t feel like my last season,” he said. “I don’t know why. I don’t know if it’s that I’ve been doing it such a long time. It doesn’t feel like it’s ending.”

A 1-0 home victory on Monday puts No. 2 seed FC Cincinnati one step closer to the semifinals. If there’s a third match, it will be Nov. 8 in Cincinnati.

The Hell Is Real derby reached a pinnacle in the 2023 semifinal when the Crew rallied from a 2-0 second-half deficit to score the winner in extra time.

The following week, Nagbe won his second MLS Cup with the Crew (2020). With championships for the Portland Timbers (2015) and Atlanta United (2018), he is one of four players to win at least four titles.

“We are going to push, obviously, for our team and for our captain,” Columbus forward Diego Rossi said. “It’s going to be extra motivation.”

The Crew are in peril because they couldn’t contain Kevin Denkey, half of the dynamic duo along with Evander (18 goals in the regular season). It was Denkey (15 goals) who finally broke through in the 78th minute after a rare Crew defensive breakdown.

Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said there will be adjustments on both sides.

“I don’t think you can do the same thing and expect the same results,” he said. “Certainly, you can talk about individual moments or duels that can change what a game looks like, be prepared and prepare ourselves for some slight adjustments because they’re looking at it and we’re looking at this game and reviewing it, ‘What did we like, what didn’t we like?’ Then you try to think of some of the things they might adjust based on what they saw.”

–Field Level Media