COLUMBUS – Accolades were aplenty at MAPFRE Stadium on Wednesday night in a match that included Federico Higuain gaining sole possession of fourth place in goals scored all-time for Crew SC and a pair of veterans recording their 75th regular season appearances as members of the Black & Gold.
The second match of the 2017 Trillium Cup against Toronto FC saw veteran midfielder Higuain bring the Crew SC supporters to their feet as he converted a penalty kick attempt with a chip in the 28th minute after forward Ola Kamara was dragged down in the box on an attacking play.
Higuain’s 43rd career goal broke a tie for fourth all-time in the history of Crew SC for goals scored with Edson Buddle. The top spot is held by Jeff Cunningham with a total of 64 goals.
Higuain also recorded 69 passes on the opposition half, eight key passes and four successful crosses in the match against Toronto.
Wednesday was also a landmark night for defender Waylon Francis and midfielder Hector Jimenez. Both appeared in their 75th regular season match as members of the Black & Gold. Francis started the match and Jimenez entered in the 66th minute as a substitution for defender Josh Williams.
The veterans attempted to describe the differences between their first and 75th matches and the feelings associated with the number.
“Nothing man," Jimenez said. "I still have a lot of pride putting on the jersey. I’ve been here since [Crew SC Sporting Director Gregg Berhalter]’s been here too so it’s an honor to wear the Crew SC colors especially being one of the first teams — if not the first team — in the league, so I’m very proud and hopefully I can get a couple more in.”
“It feels great,” Francis said. “I feel proud to be with this club, for me it’s very important to just keep working and stay focused.”
Francis’ 90 minutes of action against Toronto saw him record 24 successful passes on the opposition half, two interceptions and win two corners.
Jimenez completed two successful long passes, won a corner and had an interception in his 24 minutes of play late in the match.
The journey to this achievement for Jimenez and Francis began more than three years ago and culminated on the same night.
“That’s pretty awesome,” Jimenez said. “We both came in together in 2014 to be able to accomplish that. That is something unique.”
Columbus Crew SC return to action on the road against the Montreal Impact on Saturday, March 13 at 5 p.m. ET.
The Black & Gold will return home to MAPFRE Stadium for a match against Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET.