On Wednesday, Columbus Crew SC hosts the Philadelphia Union for their second visit to Central Ohio during the regular season. Philadelphia enters with a 9-9-7 record while keeping pace in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
All-time, Crew SC has a record of 6-1-1 at home against the Union, with Philadelphia's only victory at MAPFRE Stadium coming earlier this season on March 12. Columbus opened the all-time series history with seven consecutive unbeaten matches at home against the Union, dating back to October 24, 2010.
LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS
09/12/2015 CLB 2 at PHI 1 W: Talen Energy Stadium
03/12/2016 CLB 1 vs. PHI 2 L: MAPFRE Stadium
06/01/2016 CLB 2 at PHI 3 L: Talen Energy Stadium
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
On June 1, Cristian Martinez scored at Talen Energy Stadium to become Columbus' youngest-ever regular-season goal-scorer, but Philadelphia won by a 3-2 final.
BLACK & GOLD KICK-OFF 2-MATCH HOMESTAND
This clash against the Union begins a two-match homestand for Columbus, as San Jose visits MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday, August 27 (7:30 p.m. ET / MyTV Columbus, Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, BCSN2, CD102.5 FM, La Mega 103.1 FM, English radio stream available on ColumbusCrewSC.com).
ETHAN FINLAY SCORES FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE MATCH
In the Black & Gold's last match, on August 20 at New England, midfielder Ethan Finlay opened the scoring for Columbus in the eighth minute. It was his third goal over his last two matches for Columbus as well as the 27th of his regular-season career. Finlay now has four goals and six assists in the 2016 regular season.
FEDERICO HIGUAIN NOTCHES FIRST GOAL SINCE RETURN FROM INJURY
Against New England last Saturday, Federico Higuain's 49th-minute goal was his fourth of the 2016 regular season as well as his first since returning from hernia repair. Higuain now has 39 career regular-season goals for Columbus, ranking fifth in team history.
MERAM REGISTERS ANOTHER HELPER; LEADS CLUB IN CATEGORY
Justin Meram provided an assist on Finlay's goal against New England, extending his regular-season career-best campaign in the category with his seventh in 2016. Meram leads Crew SC in regular-season assists this year, as he is one ahead of Finlay, who has six.
KAMARA, JIMENEZ RECORD FIRST ASSISTS OF CAMPAIGN
Hector Jimenez registered an assist on Finlay's goal, his first of the 2016 regular season as well as his 10th in Black & Gold all-time. It was also his 16th in his Major League Soccer career. Meanwhile, forward Ola Kamara, the club's leading goalscorer, recorded his first Major League Soccer helper by assisting on Higuain's goal.
STEVE CLARK KEEPS 19TH CAREER REGULAR-SEASON CLEAN SHEET; TIED FOR 3RD ALL-TIME
Against New England, Columbus Crew SC and goalkeeper Steve Clark kept their fifth clean sheet of the 2016 regular season. It was Clark's 19th career MLS regular-season shutout. By earning the victory, Clark also tied Mark Dougherty for third place in club history with 33 wins in the regular season for Columbus.
LONGEST HOME REGULAR-SEASON UNBEATEN STREAK SINCE 2012
Following a 3-3 draw against New York City FC on Aug. 13 in Columbus' last home match, the Black & Gold are currently on an active 11-match unbeaten streak at home, tied for the third-longest in club history. The streak dates back to April 16 of this year when Columbus defeated NYCFC at MAPFRE Stadium. The 11-contest streak is the longest such run by the Black & Gold since 2012, when Crew SC went on a 12-match un- beaten run at MAPFRE Stadium that began on July 21, 2012 and extended into the 2013 season, through April 27 of that year. This is the fifth time in Black & Gold history that the team has gone on a home regular-season unbeaten streak of at least 10 games. The club record is 22 matches, a streak that began on June 28, 2008 through September 26, 2009. A win or a draw in this match against Philadelphia would tie the 2012 streak for the second- longest unbeaten run in club history.
TRAPP, SAEID AMONG MLS LEADING PASSERS
Crew SC Homegrown midfielder Wil Trapp currently ranks second in MLS in completed passes with 1,424. Meanwhile, among all players having over 200 passes attempted, Mohammed Saeid ranks third in the League in passing accuracy (90.58 percent). Saeid is one of just three players passing at over a 90 percent accuracy rate, joining Seattle's Osvaldo Alonso and Portland's Darlington Nagbe.
PARKHURST LEADS MLS DEFENDERS IN SUCCESSFUL PASSES
Among all League defenders, Michael Parkhurst has completed the most passes during the 2016 regular season, with 992. Teammate Harrison Afful ranks fifth in the League in the category, with 853.
TCHANI AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION
After serving a one-match suspension for yellow-card accumulation last Saturday at New England, Black & Gold midfielder Tony Tchani will be eligible for selection in this contest against the Philadelphia Union.
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. ET start is available via regional television on MyTV Columbus, Time Warner Cable SportsChannel and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play-by-play), Dwight Burgess (analyst) and Clay Hall (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 Chris Doran, and “Crew SC Post-Match” immediately follows the action only on TWCSC and BCSN2. MyTV 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. Internationally, the match can be viewed via the following: TVN, Abu Dhabi Sports, BeIN Sports Australia, Eurosport.
