Columbus Crew SC will travel to Minnesota after a quick three-day turnaround from Atlanta United. Crew SC will be meeting the 23^rd Major League Expansion club Minnesota United FC for the first time at TCF Bank Stadium on July 4 for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.

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.

Columbus returns to MLS action at home on July 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Philadelphia Union.

FINLAY REACHES MILESTONE

In Saturday’s match against Atlanta United FC, midfielder Ethan Finlay made his 100^th regular-season start for Crew SC in 147 regular-season appearances. Finlay played 61 minutes, creating one chance and performing two tackles. The midfielder is one of only three players on the current roster to have made 100 starts for the Black & Gold, joining Federico Higuain (135 starts) and Justin Meram (120 starts). Additionally, Finlay is one of only four Crew SC players on the current roster to have scored at least 25 regular-season goals for the club. In 2017, Ethan Finlay has made 16 appearances (12 starts), recording one goal and one assist.

PLAYERS ON CURRENT ROSTER WITH 100+ STARTS FOR THE CLUB

PLAYERS ON CURRENT ROSTER WITH 25+ GOALS

HIGUAIN ON HIS WAY TO CAREER SEASON

Midfielder Federico Higuain, currently in his sixth season with Crew SC, is on his way to having his best statistical regular season to date with the Black & Gold. Through 18 regular-season appearances (all starts), Higuain has registered nine goals and five assists. Higuain’s best statistical season came in 2013, when he recorded 11 goals and nine assists.  When asked about his numbers this season, Higuain shared the following quote last week following a training session:

“I don’t look too much to the numbers or stats. I try to play good soccer, to help my teammates, to make this team bigger.”

HIGUAIN IN MLS: BY THE NUMBERS

HIGUAIN'S CONSECUTIVE-MATCH STREAK ENDS

Federico Higuain’s consecutive-match goal scoring streak came to an end this past Saturday. Previously, Higuain had scored against Seattle Sounders FC (May 31), the Colorado Rapids (June 3), Atlanta United FC (June 17) and against the Montreal Impact (June 24). The midfielder is one of only seven players in club history to have a scoring streak of four or more consecutive matches, per club historian Steve Sirk. The other players to have achieved this feat are Jeff Cunningham, Ross Paule, Ethan Finlay, Brian McBride and Stern John; John achieved this feat on three different occasions. This was the first time that Higuain scored in four consecutive regular-season matches.

KAMARA & HIGUAIN: CO-LEADERS IN 2017

Currently, forward Ola Kamara and midfielder Federico Higuain are tied as co-leading scorers for the Black & Gold in the 2017 MLS regular season, with nine goals each. Kamara has registered nine goals and three assists in 18 appearances (17 starts), while Higuain has notched nine goals and five assists in 18 appearances (all starts). Behind Kamara and Higuain is midfielder Justin Meram, who has scored eight goals and provided six assists in 18 appearances (all starts) this season.

BLACK & GOLD GOALS: BY THE NUMBERS

SCORERS IN 2017

Through the first 19 matches of the 2017 MLS season, the Black & Gold have scored a total of 29 goals. So far, Crew SC’s 29 goals have come from six different players: Federico Higuain (9), Ola Kamara (9), Justin Meram (8), Ethan Finlay (1), Niko Hansen (1) and Kekuta Manneh (1). Of those 29 goals, 21 have been scored with the right foot, seven have been scored with the left foot and one has been a header; 22 of the 29 goals have been scored from inside the box and seven 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).

TRIO OF INTERNATIONAL CAPS

Mohammed Abu, Harrison Afful and Jonathan Mensah all earned caps with the Ghana National Team this past week. Afful and Mensah both started in Ghana’s friendly match against Mexico (June 29). Afful captained the Black Stars before being substituted in the 60^th minute, at which point he handed Mensah the captain’s armband. Abu made a substitute appearance against Mexico, coming on in the 55^th minute, before making a start against the United States in a friendly (July 1).

MAPFRE STADIUM SELLS OUT 

This past Saturday’s match between Crew SC and Atlanta United FC was MAPFRE Stadium’s first sellout of the year, with an announced attendance of 20,391. The match also marked the largest attendance at MAPFRE Stadium for a regular-season match since September 26, 2015 when the Black & Gold hosted the Portland Timbers.

CREW SC TO HOST BUNDESLIGA SIDE

Crew SC is set to host Eintracht Frankfurt of the German Bundesliga in an international friendly at MAPFRE Stadium on Monday, July 17. Kickoff time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The friendly match against the Bundesliga side is classified as Special Match A for Crew SC Season Ticket Members and is included in their membership.

Columbus returns to MLS action at home on July 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Philadelphia Union.