Columbus will next travel for a June 17 match in Atlanta against MLS-expansion side Atlanta United with a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.
Crew SC next plays the Montreal Impact at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday, June 24 with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
Enjoy half-off select Budweiser and Bud Light (for supporters ages 21-and-over), Pepsi products, brats and pretzels through the 15th minute.*
*concession items subject to change
The Black & Gold welcome German Bundesliga-side and DFB Pokal-finalist Eintracht Frankfurt to MAPFRE Stadium for an international friendly on Monday, July 17. The match is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
LAST MATCH RECAP
CREW SC LOSES 1-0 AGAINST FC CINCINNATI IN 2017 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP
On Wednesday, Crew SC traveled to Nippert Stadium to face FC Cincinnati in the Fourth Round of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. FC Cincinnati forward Djiby Fall put the hosts ahead in the 64th minute to give FC Cincinnati a 1-0 win. Wil Trapp made his first start for Crew SC in U.S. Open Cup action, completing 76 passes, with a 96.1% passing accuracy rate. Crew SC goalkeeper Brad Stuver made his first start of the 2017 season in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Stuver made two saves during the match.
CREW SC AGAINST ATLANTA UNITED FC AT A GLANCE
CREW SC AGAINST EXPANSION SIDES (INAUGURAL MEETING)
The Black & Gold defeated Atlanta United FC (February 18) 2-1 during the preseason in the Carolina Challenge Cup, with midfielder Federico Higuain scoring both goals for Crew SC. The Black & Gold’s all-time regular-season record against MLS expansion sides in inaugural meetings is 7-2-4. Over the course of those 13 matches, Crew SC has scored 25 goals while only allowing 12.
CREW SC RECORD AGAINST EXPANSION SIDES (INAUGURAL MEETING)
Record Games Played 7-2-4 ...........................................13
CREW SC RECORD AGAINST ACTIVE EXPANSION SIDES (INAUGURAL MEETING)
Record Games Played 5-2-4 ...........................................11
CREW SC GOALS AGAINST EXPANSION SIDES (INAUGURAL MEETING)
Record GP GF GA GD 7-2-4 ...........................................13 25 12 +13
COACHES
Gregg Berhalter (44-43-31, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Gerardo Martino (5-6-3, Atlanta United FC: ‘17 - Present)
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Saturday’s contest kicks-off at 7:00 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on the CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play-by- play) and Dwight Burgess (analyst) are set to have the call in English. Coverage on the CW Columbus begins at 7:00 p.m. ET. Exclusively on Spectrum Sports and BCSN2, “Crew SC Matchday,” the pre-match show, begins at 6:30 p.m. ET, with “Crew SC Post-Match” immediately following the action. Locally, the contest is available via the radio in English on CD102.5 FM and in Spanish on La Mega 103.1 FM. The English radio broadcast also is set to stream live on ColumbusCrewSC.com. The Spanish radio calls are also set to be streamed in Spanish on the LaMega1 App and via Tunein Radio as WVKOFM. The complete list of places to catch the Black & Gold on TV is available at ColumbusCrewSC.com in the drop-down item “Crew SC Bars” under the “Supporters” tab. For complete regional television listings, please visit http:// bit.ly/2017CrewSCBroadcast. The game can be watched internationally via the following: FOX Sports Latin America, Abu Dhabi Sports (Middle East and North Africa) and BeIN Sports (Asia, Australia).
FEDERICO HIGUAIN MOVES TO THIRD PLACE IN CREW SC’S ALL-TIME GOAL SCORERS LIST
With his goal in the road contest against the Colorado Rapids (June 3), Federico Higuain moved past Stern John to take sole possession of third place on the list of all-time regular-season goal scorers for the Black & Gold. Since joining Crew SC in 2012, Higuain has registered 45 goals in 138 regular- season appearances (133 starts). The Argentine playmaker now sits behind only Jeff Cunningham (64 goals) and Brian McBride (62 goals). Through 15 appearances (all starts) in the 2017 MLS regular season, Federico Higuain has scored six goals and notched five assists.
HARRISON AFFUL REACHES MILESTONE REGULAR-SEASON APPEARANCE WITH CREW SC
Defender Harrison Afful reached a milestone in Crew SC’s most recent contest against the Colorado Rapids (June 3), as he made his 50th regular- season appearance (49th start) for the club. The defender joined the club on July 30, 2015 and has registered three goals and five assists in that time. This year, Afful has made 11 regular-season appearances (10 starts) for the Black & Gold.
ZACK STEFFEN NOMINATED FOR SAVE OF THE WEEK
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen was nominated for MLSSoccer.com’s Save of the Week for one of his stops in a road contest against the Colorado Rapids (June 3). This is the fifth time that the goalkeeper has been nominated for award in the 2017 season.
HIGUAIN PLAYMAKER
Midfielder Federico Higuain is currently among the Top 10 chance creators in the MLS. Through 15 appearances (all starts), the Argentinian has created 35 scoring chances including assists, tied for fifth-most in the League. Higuain also leads Crew SC in chances created and is ahead of Justin Meram (27) and Jukka Raitala (11) .
TWO BLACK & GOLD PLAYERS NAMED TO MLSSOCCER.COM'S TEAM OF THE WEEK
Midfielders Federico Higuain and Justin Meram were both named to MLSSoccer.com’s Team of the Week for Week 14 following their performances against Seattle Sounders FC (May 31) and the Colorado Rapids (June 3). Higuain recorded a goal and an assist against the Sounders before tallying a goal against the Rapids. Meram also registered a goal and an assist against Seattle before assisting Higuain’s goal against the Rapids. This was the third time that Higuain received MLSSoccer.com’s Team of the Week honors this season and the fourth time Meram was named to the team in 2017.
JUSTIN MERAM NOMINATED FOR MLSSOCCER.COM'S AT&T GOAL OF THE WEEK
Justin Meram was nominated for MLSSoccer.com’s AT&T Goal of the Week following his goal against Seattle Sounders FC (May 31). The midfielder’s goal came in the 21st minute when he dribbled past Seattle’s backline before sending a shot into the far post, beating goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Meram’s nomination marked the third time this season that a Crew SC player was nominated for MLSSoccer.com’s Goal of the Week.
MERAM IS CURRENTLY FOURTH IN AUDI PLAYER INDEX
Justin Meram is currently in fourth place in the Audi Player Index standings with a total score of 561. Additionally, Meram is the second highest ranked midfielder in the Audi Player Index. The Audi Player Index tracks and evaluates nearly 90 components and 2,000 player movements for every MLS match to calculate each player’s individual score. At the end of each season, Audi honors the player with the highest Index score with the Audi Player Index Award.
OLA KAMARA APPROACHING 25TH GOAL FOR CREW SC IN REGULAR-SEASON ACTION
Forward Ola Kamara is one goal away from reaching his 25th tally with Crew SC. Since joining the club in February of 2016, he has made 41 regular-season appearances (35 starts), registering 24 goals and three assists over that span. In 2016, Kamara led the team in goals with 16 tallies in 25 regular- season appearances (20 starts). This season, he is tied with Justin Meram for most goals in regular-season action, with eight goals in 16 regular-season appearances (15 starts). If Kamara reaches 25 goals, he will become one of only four players currently on the Crew SC roster to have scored at least 25 goals for the club.
KAMARA & MERAM: JOINT SCORING LEADERS FOR CREW SC IN 2017
Currently, forward Ola Kamara and midfielder Justin Meram are tied as joint leading-scorers for the Black & Gold in the 2017 MLS regular season, with eight goals each. Kamara has registered eight goals and one assist in 16 appearances (15 starts), while Meram has notched eight goals and six assists in 16 appearances (all starts). Behind them is midfielder Federico Higuain, who has scored six goals and provided ve assists in 15 appearances (all starts) this season.
WIL TRAPP AMONG TOP PASSERS IN MLS
Through 16 matches in the 2017 MLS regular season, Wil Trapp leads the League in successful passes according to Opta. Trapp is currently in second place when it comes to attempted passes (1,170), successful passes in the opponent’s half (515) and touches (1,268). Additionally, Trapp leads the League in passing accuracy for players who have attempted 500 or more passes (91.54 %).
CREW SC: PASSING ITS WAY TO THE TOP
After 16 matches in the 2017 MLS season, Crew SC is in second place in the League in terms of touches (10,919) and passes (80,075) according to Opta. The Black & Gold are in third place in the League in successful passes (6,658), passes in the opponent’s half (4,098), successful passes in the opponent’s half (3,359) and passing accuracy percentage (82.45%).
BLACK & GOLD GOALS: BY THE NUMBERS
Through the first 16 matches of the 2017 MLS season, the Black & Gold have scored a total of 24 goals. So far, Crew SC’s 24 goals have come from five different players: Justin Meram (8), Ola Kamara (8), Federico Higuain (6), Ethan Finlay (1) and Niko Hansen (1). Of those 24 goals, 18 have been scored with the right foot, five have been scored with the left foot and one has been a header; 18 of the 24 goals have been scored from inside the box and six of those goals have been scored from outside the box. Three of the goals have come via penalty kick, two against D.C. United (March 18) and one against Toronto FC (May 10).