MLS Crew set to begin playoffs Saturday in New England

Columbus takes an 18-game unbeaten streak into the contest.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The Columbus Crew has four games to prove the last 18 were not a fluke.
The team enters the postseason on a league-record 18-game unbeaten streak, playing a defensive style suited for the playoffs.
The players are saying all the right things about their chances of winning the franchise's first MLS Cup. They have every reason to be confident, but don't want to come off as cocky.
"Every team is a concern because every team in this league is good enough to win the championship," defender Robin Fraser said. "We think we're able to win. I'm sure that not too many people consider us the favorite."
Edson Buddle, whose 11 goals lead the Eastern Conference champions, added: "I think we're still hungry. The 30-game season is over and it's a new beginning."
Action opens Friday
The playoffs open Friday night with Los Angeles at Colorado in one of the two Western Conference semifinals. Defending champion San Jose begins its series with West leader Kansas City on Sunday.
The East schedule starts Saturday night when the Crew travels to New England and Freddy Adu and D.C. United play at the MetroStars in the 15-year-old's playoff debut.
Besides the performance of Adu, the biggest story of the playoffs could be the first-round format, which sends the higher seed on the road for the opening game of the two-game conference semifinals. The team that scores the most goals wins the series, so top-seeded Columbus or Kansas City could be out quickly with a weak performance.
Tied for most points
Columbus (12-5-13) and Kansas City (14-9-7) tied for the league lead in points (49) and goal differential (eight). In the NBA, NHL, NFL or major league baseball, that effort would be rewarded by getting to open the playoffs at home. Not in MLS.
"It's our job to go out and execute in that format; complaining about it does absolutely no good," Crew coach Greg Andrulis said.
Revolution coach Steve Nicol doesn't expect the Crew to be fazed by the schedule.
"You go on an 18-game unbeaten streak and the one thing you can guarantee is you'll have confidence as a team," he said.
As strong as Columbus is now, its season started with a whimper, being outscored 7-2 in three losses and two ties. With 11 new players on its opening 23-man roster, players needed time to jell, Fraser said.
"Any time you have new players together, players coming from all different formations and systems, I think it just takes a while to get everybody on the same page," he said. "It took a while to find our way and what works best for us."
Crew stresses defense
What works best for the Crew, which bills itself as "America's Hardest Working Team," is defense. The Crew pitched 10 shutouts -- one-third of its games -- and excels when the score is close.
Columbus has 10 ties, five one-goal wins and three two-goal wins in the 18 games since its last loss June 26 -- a positive sign for postseason games that don't figure to be blowouts.
"Our philosophy is defend well as a team and we'll get our goals," goalkeeper Jon Busch said. "We're used to playing tight games with 1-0 leads. It's going to be the same in the playoffs."