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Crew sets sights on postseason place

Oct 14, 2011 - 7:52 PM Foxborough, MA (Sports Network) - The Columbus Crew continues its playoff push on Saturday at Gillette Stadium against the New England Revolution, which is trying to avoid setting a club record for the fewest wins in a season in the team's history.

The Crew snapped a six-game winless skid last time out, beating D.C. United, 2-1, to move into third place in the Eastern Conference, one point clear of fourth-place Houston.

Eddie Gaven scored the winning goal against United after missing the past eight games with a leg injury, and his goal has put the Crew in a position where they control their own destiny.

"It's all about us," Gaven said. "We have our destiny in our own hands, so to speak. It's not like we need help from other teams to make the playoffs. Right now it's just to get into the playoffs. Once you're there, we've seen the last two years pretty much anything can happen."

Columbus hasn't been in great form on the road with nine defeats in 15 games, but a win combined with a few other favorable results this weekend could put coach Robert Warzycha's team into the postseason.

New England has already been eliminated from playoff contention and the club suffered its fourth straight defeat last time out, losing 2-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes despite creating a number of good chances.

"It's kind of been the same story for most of the season," Revs coach Steve Nicol said after the defeat to San Jose. "We've done the same things. We've made chances, not taken them and then given up bad goals and we end up losing games."

Saturday's match will mark the final home game of the season for New England, which has put together a 4-6-6 mark at Gillette Stadium this term.

"Throughout the season, you can see that the effort is there," said Revs goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. "Everyone is really busting their tails, guys are giving 100 percent effort all the time and the passion is there. It's just mental lapses at important times that have really killed us this year. That's what we have to focus on these last two games: not giving away one or two mental errors that cost us goals that we end up losing the game on."