The Columbus Crew begin Major League Soccer play Saturday when they welcome the Chicago Fire to Lower.com Field for a match beginning at 7:30 p.m. There will be some important players missing from last year’s team that was eliminated in the first round of the MLS playoffs after winning the league championship the year before.

The Crew will be without their first and third leading scorers from 2024, namely Cucho Hernández and Christian Ramírez, when the season begins. Hernández joined Real Betis in Spain’s La Liga in the first week of February. In exchange, the Crew received an undisclosed fee and a percentage of any future transfer fees.

On February 12th, Ramírez was traded to the LA Galaxy for $500,000 in general allocation money. He was born and raised in Southern California. He played one season for the MLS’s Los Angeles FC in 2018-19. He also played for the Houston Dyanamo for two seasons.

The Crew will look to veteran Diego Rossi to trigger their offensive output. He was second on the squad last season with 12 goals. Returners Max Arfsten and Jacen Russell-Rowe each recorded five goals in 2024.

The club announced Monday that they have signed starting goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to a contract extension through 2027 with an option for 2028. Schulte spent time last year with the U.S. National team, including play at the Olympics in Paris.