Columbus win big at home, even up the Hell is Real series.

By Kenta Hagiwara

NOVEMBER 3, 2025 (COLUMBUS, OH) - The Columbus Crew came back from their 0-1 loss at home on Monday in Cincinnati with an emphatic 4-0 win at Lower(dot)com Field, evening up the best-of-three series for a Win-or-Go-Home match on Saturday.

Cincinnati’s Pat Noonan and Columbus’ Wilfried Nancy both made one change to their Starting XIs from Monday: Alvas Powell for an injured Nick Hagglund for Cincinnati; Taha Habroune for Lassi Lappalainen.

Powell, the hero substitute for Noonan and Cincinnati, struggled in the RCB role in Noonan’s 3-4-1-2 formation, a mistake ultimately leading to the first Columbus goal, scored by Max Arfsten in the 33rd minute. It only worsened when Yuya Kubo, FC Cincinnati’s swiss army knife playing at LWB, took down Dylan Chambost in a clear DOGSO foul, as Cincinnati went down a man in the 41st minute. Chambost would score from the dead ball chance directly afterwards, putting the Crew up 2-0 before the halftime break. 

Kevin Denkey was subbed off to bring on another LWB in Lukas Engel, while Alvas Powell was hooked for Gilberto Flores during the halftime interval. The Crew just kept scoring. A third from RWB Andres Herrera made it 3-0 in the 65th minute before substitute Jacen Russell-Rowe made it four in the 69th minute, effectively sealing the result for the home side.

Max Arfsten, who struggled in the series opener in Cincinnati, recorded a goal and assist in the must win match for Columbus on Sunday. Noonan was asked about Arfsten after the match by Queen City Press’ Laurel Pfahler, to which he responded that “how we [FC Cincinnati] limit him in space is key.”

Arfsten played almost as an inverted wingback in game one of the series in Cincinnati, with Lassi Lappalainen stretching the width of the Columbus attack down the left. There comes the adjustment Wilfried Nancy made ahead of Sunday’s match in Columbus, playing Taha Habroune in a more central role as the starter in place of Lappalainen and had Arfsten out wider in possession, ultimately leading to the first goal - the only Columbus goal pre-red card.

“It comes down to moments,” FC Cincinnati captain Miles Robinson said after the match on Sunday, reflecting on the 4-0 loss. “We have to recognize that every moment is massive and we’re definitely there for it.”

Lineups:

FC Cincinnati (5-2-1-2): 18 Celentano; 66 Echenique, 2 Powell (3 Flores 46’), 12 Robinson (C) (23 Orellano 63’), 16 Hadebe, 7 Kubo (RED CARD); 20 Bucha (5 Nwobodo), 11 Gidi; 10 Evander (26 Jabbari); 8 Brenner, 9 Denkey (29 Engel 46’)

Columbus Crew SC (5-3-2): 28 Schulte; 2 Herrera (26 Lappalainen 70’), 31 Moreira (4 Camacho 81’), 25 Zawadzki, 18 Amundsen, 27 Arfsten; 7 Chambost (8 Gazdag 70’), 6 Nagbe (C), 16 Harboune (14 Sejdic 81’); 10 Rossi (19 Russell-Rowe 61’), 30 Picard 

Game Stats (CIN/CLB):

Possession (%): 66/34

xG: 3.26/0.01

Shots: 19/1

Shots on Target: 9/0

Corner Kicks: 8/3

Offsides: 5/0

Scoring Summary:

33’ Columbus - Max Arfsten (A: Diego Rossi)41’ Columbus - Dylan Chambost

65’ Columbus - Andres Herrera (A: Jacen Russell-Rowe)

69’ Columbus - Jacen Russell-Rowe (A: Max Arfsten)

Disciplinary Summary:

7’ Yellow Card: Yuya Kubo (Cincinnati)30’ Yellow Card: Miles Robinson (Cincinnati)

38’ Red Card: Yuya Kubo (Cincinnati)

74’ Yellow Card: Evander (Cincinnati)

“That was a tough night and one to quickly forget about,” said head coach Pat Noonan after Sunday’s loss in Columbus. “We get to go again on Saturday and our focus will be on us and having a good week, and being ready to step on the field and have a much better performance on Saturday.”

“It was a bad night. Fortunately for us, we’re going to do it again on Saturday. So, this isn’t the end of the season. It’s a bump on the road and hopefully we get a good response,” Noonan continued. “We should have every reason to be confident to go in front of our home fans and go perform again.”

FC Cincinnati will have to certainly turn the page after this loss. After losing in heartbreaking fashion at home against Columbus in 2023 in the Eastern Conference Finals, to losing against New York City FC in Round One last year after winning the first match, FC Cincinnati will have to exorcise the demons of their past - to prevent being eliminated after winning the first match of a best of three, and not doing so against their in-state rivals, the Columbus Crew, at TQL Stadium.