The Crew has usually been dominant lately, especially at Lower.com Field. This win, which secures them a spot in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup regardless of what happens in the Leagues Cup final they host on Sunday, takes their home record under Nancy to a remarkable 28 wins, 2 losses and 12 ties with a goal differential of +59. They have lost just twice in all competitions since losing to Pachuca in the CCC final on June 1.

After the game, Union coach Jim Curtin paid a heartfelt tribute to his counterpart, marveling at the holistic nature of Nancy’s work and how effectively he gets peak performance out of both superstars and supporting actors.

“They can hurt you in many different ways and I think that’s a credit to their coach,” Curtin said, pointing to the special performances of Rossi, Cucho and midfield general Darlington Nagbe, three dangerous players he tried unsuccessfully to eliminate with his game plan.

“The complementary parts, then the three really dangerous ones that I highlighted in the film session: ‘Let’s do our best against these three guys and try to force someone else to beat you.’ That’s always easier said than done. So that was our goal again for the evening. And I thought there were phases in the game where we were quite good against Cucho, which is really difficult, and we were quite good against Rossi, but then in the key moments the top players make the difference.”

The Crew scored 3.9 expected goals in that semifinal, more than three times as many as Philly, who were more tenacious and resilient than the stats and scoreline suggest. And while Columbus’ success is built on many components, with the new nuances he adds to his already established quality, Rossi has become an example of the infectious impact of Nancy and his possession-focused game model.

“For me, Diego is an example of the daily work, the ability to do the work, the humility to do the dirty work and he’s also teachable,” the coach said. “What I like about him is that he can do a lot of things. So I challenge him with his header; he scored. Now I’m going to challenge him with something else. But listen, he’s a really good example in terms of work ethic and also in terms of leadership, a calm leadership. That’s something I like about Diego too.”