The Columbus Crew fell, 2-1, to FC Cincinnati in the rubber match of their best-of-three first-round playoff series Saturday at TLQ Stadium. Cincinnati moves on to the MLS Cup quarterfinals, while the Black & Gold’s season comes to an end.

Neither team dented the scoreboard in the first half. Columbus scored in the 63rd minute when goalkeeper Patrick Schulte sent a long kick down the right side of the pitch. Andrés Herrera chased it down and sent a pass to the front of the Cincinnati goal where a streaking Jacen Russell-Rowe knocked it home.

Four minutes later, Cincinnati’s Brenner Souza da Silva evened the match. Then, in the 86th minute, it was Souza da Silva again with a goal, the final scoring for either team on the night. Souza da Silva, a former member of the Orange and Blue, was recently loaned to the club by Italian Serie A team Udinese Calcio.

When asked after the match how he felt, head coach Wilfried Nancy said, “Painful because I think we deserve better.

“We had a fantastic performance. So difficult, so difficult to play two games like this, a do-or-die game and this game away. Yes, we conceded two goals, but with the way we played and the personality that we had, we fell short. We could have scored more goals. Sad.”

The loss also meant that this was the last match for captain Darlington Nagbe, who had announced his planned retirement earlier in the season.

“I just don’t think I feel anything right now, a little numb,” said Nagbe. “Obviously, I’ve done this for 15 years, longer than that as a kid, but it’s coming to an end, but at the same time, just still looking forward to being at home and spending time with my family. So, it’s just kind of just flat line right now.”

“Darlington is Darlington,” said Nancy. “Darlington, like you saw, he could have played one year or two more years, but he decided to do it. We have to respect that. I’m really happy that now he’s going to stop because this is what he wants, and he’s going to take care of his family and take care of himself.”

FC Cincinnati’s opponent in the MLS quarterfinals will be Inter Miami, featuring superstar Lionel Messi. Cincinnati is looking for its first MLS Cup.