LAST MATCH: #DCvCLB

HIGUAIN, KAMARA SCORE IN CREW SC’S 2-0 WIN OVER D.C. UNITED

Crew SC notched its first win of the regular season this past Saturday at RFK Stadium. Using a 3-4-2-1 formation for the first time this season, the Black & Gold defeated D.C. United 2-0. Federico Higuain put the visitors ahead in the 38th minute when he converted a penalty kick after a foul on Ola Kamara. The goal was Higuain’s 40th career goal for Crew SC. In the second half, Kamara was once again fouled inside the box, earning a second penalty kick. The Norwegian forward successfully converted the penalty kick in the 66th minute, doubling the Black & Gold’s lead. The match also marked the team’s first shutout of the season, as well as defender Alex Crognale’s MLS debut.

CREW SC & PORTLAND TIMBERS AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew SC regular-season record vs. Portland Timbers: 2-3-2 (7 GF, 8 GA)
Home games: 2-1-0 (3 GF, 2 GA)
Road games: 0-2-2 (4 GF, 6 GA)

LAST 3 REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS

CREW SC FACE TIMBERS IN ONLY REGULAR-SEASON MEETING

This weekend’s match marks the eighth all-time regular-season meeting between the two clubs, with the Black & Gold holding a 2-3-2 all-time record against Portland. The Black & Gold have scored in each of their last three regular-season meetings against the Portland Timbers and hold a record of 0-2-1 in that same span.

LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING

On March 6, 2016 Crew SC played the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. Portland took a lead in the 23rd minute through a Diego Valeri goal before Federico Higuain leveled the score in the 68th minute. Fanendo Adi would score in the 79th minute, however, handing the hosts the three points. 

COACHES

Gregg Berhalter (38-36-31, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Caleb Porter (56-39-44, Portland Timbers: ‘13 - Present)

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN

Saturday’s contest kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on The CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports and BCSN2, with Neil Sika
and Dwight Burgess on the call while Alex Stec provides sideline reporting. Coverage on The CW Columbus begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Exclusively on Spectrum Sports and BCSN2, “Crew SC Matchday,” the pre-match show, begins at 7 p.m. ET, with “Crew SC Post-Match” immediately following the action. Saturday’s match will air on Spectrum Sports channels 314/1314. While former Insight customers will not have access to those channels, they may watch it on WWHO (Channel 27). 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 WVKO-FM. The game can be watched internationally via the following: R-Media/Canal 11, FOX Sports Latin America, Abu Dhabi Sports, Le Sports, DSports, BeIN Sports Asia, BeIN Sports Australia and FOX Sports Africa. 

THOUGHTS ON WIN vs. D.C. UNITED

“We want to be a good road team, we want to be able to take the game - our game - to the cities and perform and I think we did that tonight.”

►Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter

TRIO NAMED TO MLS TOTW

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen and defender Alex Crognale were both named to the MLSSoccer.com Team of the Week following their performance against D.C. United on Saturday. Similarly, Sporting Director & Head Coach Gregg Berhalter received Coach of the Week honors at MLSSoccer.com. Crognale was also named to the Goal.com MLS Team of the Week.

JUKKA RAITALA CALLED UP

Last week, defender Jukka Raitala received an international call-up from the Finland National Team ahead of its FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Turkey on March 24. Finland will then play a friendly against Austria on March 28. Raitala, who joined Crew SC ahead of the 2017 MLS Season, has earned 36 caps with Finland to date, with the most recent one coming against Ukraine on November 12, 2016 in an away FIFA World Cup Qualifier.

CREW SC ROLLS OUT NEW FORMATION

On Saturday night, Crew SC used a system that featured a three-man backline for the first time this season. Deploying a 3-4-2-1 formation, the Black & Gold troubled D.C. United all night and got its first win of the season. When asked about the formation, Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter had the following quote:

“We’ve been working on it preseason. We want to have an ultimate system, we want to have a way to play against teams that are very good serving the ball in the penalty box and we chose this way to play tonight. I think it goes without saying: we got a shutout and we won the game on the road so it worked pretty well.”

►Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter

CROGNALE MAKES MEMORABLE DEBUT

Homegrown defender Alex Crognale made his MLS debut for Crew SC in Saturday’s match as a starter against D.C. United. The 22-year-old played the full 90 minutes, making 11 clearances and winning four aerial duels en route to helping the Black & Gold get their first clean sheet of the season. Crognale received rave reviews following his performance and was named to the MLSSoccer.com’s Team of the Week and Goal.com’s MLS Team of
the Week. The Gahanna, Ohio native was also voted Man of the Match by Crew SC fans.

“It’s incredible, I couldn’t have picked a better night. e team worked so hard to seal the victory and to come on the road and get three points for our rst of the year is awesome. I think it makes it sweet that the victory is here in D.C. Playing for Maryland for four years, this city and these people are like my second home to me. My teammates came out to watch me, all my family was here, so I think it was fitting coming back to D.C. to get the debut.”

►Defender Alex Crognale

Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter was also impressed with Crognale’s rst MLS appearance and had the following to say:

“He did more than hold his own, I think he played excellent. Really, really good debut, [and] very good 1-v-1 defending.”

►Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter 

HIGUAIN RECORDS 40TH GOAL FOR CREW SC

Federico Higuain scored his 40th career goal for Crew SC this past weekend against D.C. United. The midfielder’s goal — which would turn out to be the game winner — came via penalty kick, helping Higuain further extend his lead as the all-time penalty-kick goal scorer for the Black & Gold with 15 penalty kick goals. The Argentine has made 126 appearances (121 starts) for Crew SC to date and ranks fifth in the list of all-time goal scorers for the club. In 2017, Higuain has started all three regular-season matches for the team, playing every minute of each game.

WILLIAMS MAKES SEASON DEBUT

Defender Josh Williams made his first regular-season appearance for Crew SC since returning to the club. It was his 104th MLS appearance (94th start) and his 72nd Crew SC appearance (66th start) to date. Williams — who was with the club from 2010-2014 before returning ahead of the 2017 MLS season — played the entire match for the Black & Gold and made four clearances to help Crew SC get its first shut-out of the season.

FINLAY ON GOAL USA PODCAST

Midfielder Ethan Finlay was recently featured in the Goal USA Podcast. In an interview with Thomas Floyd, Finlay talked about his path to MLS as
well as his experience with the U.S. Men’s National Team. On being asked about the evolution of Crew SC while also trying to maintain the club’s identity, Finlay had the following quote:

“I think we continue to maintain our identity and our style of soccer that we like to play. I think we brought in defenders who t us maybe a little bit better with the style that we want and the style that we think we need to get back to a 2015 type of season.” 

►Midfielder Ethan Finlay

STEFFEN RECORDS 1st CAREER WIN, SHUTOUT

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen recorded his first career win and first career shutout against D.C. United on Saturday night. The 21-year-old made three saves against the Black-and-Red, including stopping a header following a free-kick in the 70th minute, a save that earned Steffen a nomination for Save of the Week. The goalkeeper was also named to the MLSSoccer.com Team of the Week. Steffen shared the following quote on getting his first shutout:

“It’s definitely a good feeling in knowing that they will come as long as I continue to work hard and the group continues to work hard.”

►Goalkeeper Zack Steffen

Sporting Director and Head Coach Berhalter had the following quote on Steffen following his performance at RFK Stadium:

“I thought Zack was outstanding. I said to the guys a er the game, ‘you need a goalie to come up with the saves at the right time’ and that’s what he did.”

►Sporting Director and Head Coach Berhalter

MENSAH & CROGNALE: UNDEFEATED IN THE AIR

Defender Jonathan Mensah is undefeated in aerial challenges so far this season, having won each of his 11 aerial duels according to Opta. Another defender with a perfect record when it comes to aerial duels is Alex Crognale, who won has won all four aerial duels he has been involved in. Yet, despite Mensah’s and Crognale’s record, it is Nico Naess who has the most aerial duels among Crew SC defenders, with 12 aerial duels under his belt. Of those 12 duels, Naess has won seven.

TRAPP & CROGNALE: PRIDE OF GAHANNA

Wil Trapp and Alex Crognale were recently highlighted in an article by Jarrod Ulrey of is Week Community News. In the article, Trapp talks about his new role as Captain after having served as Vice-Captain of the team for the past three seasons.

“It’s something that’s always a learning process. That’s how I’ve approached it. It’s not going to be perfect right away and it’s not going to be terrible right away. You just have to be learning from situations.”

►Midfielder and Crew SC captain Wil Trapp

The article also discusses Crognale’s own transition — from playing in the college ranks to playing in professional ranks.

“I’m trying to adapt my game, but I think at this point in my career, I’m trying to fit in and see where the coaching staff sees me to get on the field and help. Overall, I want to improve my entire game, but it’s little things, just simple touches, simple tactics, things you learn with experience. It’s those things I want to continue to master.”

►Defender Alex Crognale

HIGUAIN: ALL-TIME LEADER AGAINST PORTLAND

When it comes to matches against the Portland Timbers, midfielder Federico Higuain leads Crew SC in multiple categories. The Argentine playmaker has the most goals (3), assists (3), and shots (14) for the Black & Gold against the Western Conference team. Higuain also leads the club in the single-match goals (2) and single-match shots (7) categories, having scored a brace against Portland on May 17, 2014, and having recorded seven shots on March 6, 2016, at Providence Park. Higuain’s other goal against the Portland Timbers came on March 6, 2016 when he scored a stunning bicycle-kick equalizer in the 68th minute during a road contest.

NICO NAESS: CLEARING DANGER

Defender Nico Naess leads the Black & Gold in clearances. Per Opta, he has made 18 clearances, including nine headed clearances. Naess is trailed by Crognale, who has 11 clearances despite having played only one match, with six of those being headed clearances. Behind Naess and Crognale are fellow centerback Jonathan Mensah (8), defender Harrison Afful (7), and midfielder Wil Trapp (6).