Points, more specifically lost points, are crucial in the home stretch of the MLS season, which makes the match between the Chicago Fire and the host Columbus Crew on Wednesday magnified.

The Crew (13-9-6, 45 points) sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, one spot below securing home field for the playoffs. But they squandered a late two-goal lead and lost 4-3 in stoppage time at Orlando City on Saturday to prevent them from moving into second place.

“We are going to move forward,” Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. “I’m happy that we’re going to be able to play Wednesday with a quick turnaround. This is the best thing for us. Not only Wednesday but also all the games that are coming because we need to move on. We need to move forward and to be better in terms of this kind of situation.”

Each team has six matches remaining, but the Fire (8-11-9, 33 points) are in a more perilous position after a 0-0 tie at CF Montreal on Saturday. Chicago is 10th in the East, two points behind D.C. United for the final postseason spot.

The Fire had lost four straight before the draw. They also have one goal during the five-game stretch and have been blanked in each of their past four matches.

“Look, we’re a good team, we’re in a little bit of a downslide and we’ve got to find our way and show our character to get out of this. We’re still in it,” Fire coach Frank Klopas said. “It’s always going to be a battle in the end. That’s how it always is in MLS and the parity within the league but it’s getting pretty tight right now and every game that we play is a playoff game. We can’t hide from that. You can’t sugarcoat that.”

The Crew lead MLS in goals per game (2.04) but will be going against 19-year-old goalkeeper Chris Brady. He made four saves vs. Montreal for his seventh shutout of the season.

“When you look at goalkeepers, the one thing you look from the outside is a presence. He really has a presence. He’s growing,” Klopas said. “He’s really young but he’s really maturing.”

Cucho Hernandez leads Columbus with 10 goals and 11 assists. He had one of each in the Orlando match. Kei Kamara has a team-high five goals for Chicago.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Union are trying to get into a winning mindset with the postseason fast approaching.

Philadelphia visits Charlotte FC, which is in desperate mode to get into playoff position, on Wednesday night.

Philadelphia (14-8-5, 47 points) tied 2-2 with Eastern Conference-leading FC Cincinnati on Saturday after the Union led 2-0 at halftime.

“We’re only happy in this building when we get three points,” Union coach Jim Curtin said.

Curtin said the emphasis is to put more pressure on the three teams ahead of Philadelphia in the standings.

But after a physical match that included 12 yellow cards in the Cincinnati match, composure is bound to be among Curtin’s message. Philadelphia’s Jack Elliott was issued a red card after his second yellow.

The Union, who have won two of their last three road matches, will have to regenerate a form of the energy that was on display against Cincinnati.

Charlotte (7-9-11, 32 points) has had three consecutive draws, including Saturday night’s 0-0 outcome at home against D.C. United.

“It’s up to us to take what we deserve,” Charlotte coach Christian Lattanzio said. “Nobody is going to give us a gift. … We need to win games. In the last four games, we should have had 12 points.”

Charlotte has produced a total of two goals across its past three matches, and it has eclipsed the one-goal mark just once in its last five matches.

“We had many chances to create more,” Lattanzio said. “We had more than enough possessions, more than enough entries.”

Lattanzio said he’s seeking the best combinations and he’s willing to adjust roles as necessary.

The Union have excelled at times at the offensive end, totaling 10 goals across its past four matches. They might encounter a more assertive resistance in the Charlotte net as goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina seems to be taking a slightly different approach.

“This is what I like,” Lattanzio said. “His aggressiveness in taking strategic positions is vital.”

The Union defeated Charlotte 1-0 on May 31 when Kahlina was charged with an own goal in the 71st minute.

Philadelphia has won five road matches this year. Charlotte has only four home victories.

–Field Level Media

The New England Revolution hired National Soccer Hall of Fame member Tab Ramos as an assistant coach on Tuesday.

Ramos is being added to the technical staff after the Revolution restructured their coaching staff in the wake of Bruce Arena’s resignation earlier this month.

Ramos, 56, is a Uruguayan-born American who played professionally in Spain, Mexico and the North American Soccer League. He had 81 appearances for the U.S. men’s national team and scored eight goals before spending 2009-16 as an assistant in the U.S. Soccer program.

He was the head coach of the U.S. under-20 national team from 2011-19 and the Houston Dynamo from 2020-21. He most recently coached the USL’s Hartford Athletic, who let him go in July.

“In addition to a Hall of Fame career as one of the best players of his generation, Tab’s wealth of experience as a coach, knowledge of our league and proven track record of developing top talent will all be assets to our club as we get ready for the postseason,” Revolution technical director and interim sporting director Curt Onalfo said in a news release.

Ramos will report to interim head coach Clint Peay, who was promoted to that role Sept. 12 after Revolution players reportedly refused to practice for then-interim coach Richie Williams.

Arena resigned Sept. 9 in the wake of a six-week investigation into allegations that he used “inappropriate and insensitive” remarks with the team. The Athletic reported that Williams himself filed complaints about Arena during the investigation, and reports said players became dissatisfied with the lack of information they were given about Arena’s ouster.

Two assistant coaches were also let go on Sept. 12 — Dave van den Bergh and Shalrie Joseph, who reportedly supported Arena. The Revolution promoted Marcelo Santos, an assistant coach of New England’s MLS NEXT Pro development club, Revolution II, to Peay’s staff.

–Field Level Media

Major League Soccer terminated the contract of CF Montreal midfielder Matko Miljevic on Monday.

The 22-year-old American used an alias to compete in a Quebec amateur league and punched an opponent there in the face, according to multiple reports.

MLS said in a brief release that Miljevic “engaged in conduct detrimental to the league and (violated) his standard player agreement.”

Miljevic made his MLS debut with Montreal in 2021 and appeared in 35 league matches (eight starts), contributing two goals and two assists.

He made eight appearances this season as a substitute, playing just 124 minutes.

Montreal announced in mid-February that Miljevic would be sidelined 8-12 weeks following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

–Field Level Media