The Black & Gold will host the Montreal Impact in its ninth match of the MLS regular season this weekend at MAPFRE Stadium. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the second of three regular-season meetings between Crew SC and the Impact.
LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS
06/06/2015 CLB 1 vs. MTL: 2 L MAPFRE Stadium
07/11/2015 CLB 0 at MTL: 3 L Saputo Stadium
04/09/2016 CLB 0 at MTL: 2 L Olympic Stadium
CREW SC CONTINUES REGULAR-SEASON SERIES AGAINST IMPACT WITH FIRST 2016 MEETING IN CENTRAL OHIO
This is the second of three regular-season clashes between Crew SC and Montreal and the first of year at MAPFRE Stadium. Montreal returns to Central Ohio for the final regular-season clash between the Impact and Crew SC on June 18. Overall, Columbus is 5-1-0 against Montreal at MAPFRE Stadium in regular-season play, outscoring the Impact by an 11-4 margin over that span.
OHIOHEALTH TITLE NIGHT AT MAPFRE STADIUM
Saturday's contest is presented by OhioHealth, the Official Healthcare Provider of Columbus Crew SC. The first 5,000 children ages 14 and under to enter MAPFRE Stadium's gates on Saturday will receive a free OhioHealth mini soccer ball. Additionally, the first 200 supporters to share matchday photos via social media using #CrewSC and #GiveEmHealth on Twitter or Instagram will receive a free OhioHealth t-shirt.
CLARK TIES REGULAR-SEASON CAREER BEST IN SAVES AT SEATTLE
Last weekend at CenturyLink Field against Sounders FC, goalkeeper Steve Clark made seven stops for Crew SC, tying his regular-season Major League Soccer single-match best. Clark previously registered seven saves on one other regular-season occasion, at Orlando City SC (May 30, 2015). Including postseason play, Clark's career best in saves is nine, recorded against this weekend's opponent, Montreal, in the Second Leg of the last year's Eastern Conference Semifinals at MAPFRE Stadium (November 8, 2015).
HIGUAIN APPROACHING CORNER KICKS RECORD
Crew SC midfielder Federico Higuain is closing in on the most regular-season corner kicks in club history. The Argentine has sent in 38 corner kicks this season, putting him at 475 for his Black & Gold career. Higuain only trails Robert Warzycha by 28 regular-season corners for most in the history of the club, at 503.
CREW SC LEADS MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER IN PASSING ACCURACY
According to the League’s official statistician, Opta, Columbus Crew SC currently leads MLS in overall passing accuracy (82.5%). Columbus also leads the League in completed passes per match (407.5) and ranks second in passes attempted per match (494.1).
BLACK & GOLD PLAYERS LEAD MLS IN PASSING STATISTICS
Through his first seven matches in the 2016 Major League Soccer regular season, Crew SC midfielder Wil Trapp leads the League in successful passes, with 523. Meanwhile, Federico Higuain and Trapp rank in the top six in MLS in successful passes in the opposing half (264 and 244, respectively). Finally, among players with at least 100 passes attempted, Mohammed Saeid leads all of MLS in passing accuracy (92.1%).
BLACK & GOLD APPROACHING MATCH MILESTONES
Ethan Finlay and Wil Trapp, both midfielders, will reach 70 regular-season starts for Crew SC upon each player's next start. Finlay has made 105 total regular-season appearances for Columbus, while Trapp has made 71. Meanwhile, last weekend in Seattle, leftback Waylon Francis made his 60th regular-season appearance and start for Columbus.
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. ET start is available via regional television on The CW Columbus, Time Warner Cable SportsChannel and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play-by-play), Dwight Burgess (analyst) and Marisa Contipelli (sideline) are set to have the call of the match on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel and BCSN2, “Crew SC Matchday,” the exclusive pre-match show, starts at 7:00 p.m. ET with Contipelli and Chris Doran, and “Crew SC Post-Match” immediately follows the action only on TWCSC and BCSN2. The CW Columbus' broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. 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. A complete list of places to catch the Black & Gold on TV is available here. The game can be watched internationally via the following: Abu Dhabi Sports, LETV, BeIN Sports Australia, BeIN Sports Asia, Sportcast, Eurosport, Sky Sports.