LAST MATCH RECAP

CREW SC WINS 3-1 OVER CHICAGO FIRE, SCORES 1,000^TH REGULAR- SEASON GOAL IN CLUB HISTORY

On Saturday, August 12, Crew SC hosted the Chicago Fire at MAPFRE Stadium. Chicago took the lead in the 13th minute through a Michael de Leeuw goal, assisted by Dax McCarty. Kekuta Manneh answered for the Black & Gold with an 18th-minute goal, tying the match 1-1. Crew SC midfielder Justin Meram gave Columbus the lead in the 73rd minute, assisted by Waylon Francis and Wil Trapp in what was Crew SC’s 1,000th regular- season goal in club history. The Black & Gold struck once more in the 88th minute, when Ola Kamara converted a penalty kick to make it 3-1 for Crew SC.

CREW SC & ORLANDO CITY SC AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew SC record: 3-1-2 (15 GF, 10 GA)
Home games: 2-0-1 (7 GF, 2 GA)
Road games: 1-1-1 (8 GF, 8 GA)

LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS

CREW SC TO FACE ORLANDO CITY SC IN SECOND OF THREE REGULAR- SEASON MEETINGS OF 2017

Columbus Crew SC and Orlando City SC will face each other this Saturday at Orlando City Stadium for the second of three regular-season meetings between the two clubs this season. This is just the seventh regular-season match between the two clubs, with Columbus holding a record of 3-1-2 against Orlando. The match also marks Crew SC’s first trip to the Lions’ new home, Orlando City Stadium.

LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING

Crew SC and Orlando City SC met for the first time in the 2017 MLS regular season at MAPFRE Stadium on April 1. The Black & Gold took the lead with a 13th-minute goal scored by Justin Meram. Meram scored again in the 77th minute. This was Meram’s first multi-goal game of the 2017 MLS regular season. Crew SC ended the night with the 2-0 win over Orlando.

COACHES

Gregg Berhalter (48-47-32, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Jason Kreis (113-104-74, Real Salt Lake: ‘07-’13; New York City FC: ‘15; Orlando City SC: ‘16 – Present)

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN

Saturday’s contest against Orlando City SC kicks-o at 7:30 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on e 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 e CW Columbus begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Exclusively on Spectrum Sports and BCSN2, “Crew SC Matchday,” the pre-match show, begins at 7:00 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. e 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. Internationally, the contest can be viewed on the following: Abu Dhabi Sports (Middle East and North Africa), DSports/ATR (India), StarHub (Singapore), BeIN Sports (Asia, Australia), Sportcast (Taiwan), FOX Sports Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa), EuroSport (Pan Europe) and Sky Sports (United Kingdom).

BLACK & GOLD REACH 1,000^TH GOAL ALL-TIME IN REGULAR-SEASON ACTION

In Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire, Crew SC reached its 1,000th MLS regular-season goal dating back to the beginning of the 1996 MLS season. The Black & Gold’s 1,000th goal was scored by Justin Meram in the 73rd minute. In the 88th minute, Ola Kamara increased Crew SC’s all-time regular-season tally to 1,001 goals by converting a penalty kick. With the goals against the Fire, Crew SC becomes one of only five teams to have scored 1,000 goals or more in regular-season action since 1996, joining the LA Galaxy (1,093), D.C. United (1,033), the New York Red Bulls (1,032) and FC Dallas (1,013).

KEKUTA MANNEH REACHES 25^TH MLS CAREER GOAL

Forward Kekuta Manneh tallied his third goal of the 2017 MLS season in Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire. Manneh scored in the 18th minute to bring the Black & Gold level with the Fire 1-1. This was Manneh’s 25th career goal in MLS regular-season action and his third goal for Crew SC since joining the club in March of this year. Through 114 regular-season appearances (70 starts) in MLS, Manneh has registered 25 goals and 13 assists.

JUSTIN MERAM SCORES GAME-WINNER AGAINST CHICAGO FIRE, REACHES 10 REGULAR-SEASON GOALS IN 2017

Justin Meram tallied his 10th goal of the 2017 MLS regular season in Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire. Meram scored Crew SC’s game- winning goal in the 73rd minute and was assisted by Waylon Francis and Wil Trapp. Additionally, this was Meram’s fifth game-winning strike of the 2017 MLS regular season. This year, Meram has made 25 regular-season appearances (24 starts) while registering 10 goals and seven assists. Since joining Crew SC in 2011, Meram has made 179 regular-season appearances (126 starts) while scoring 34 goals and notching 33 assists. In 2017, Crew SC is undefeated with a record of 7-0-0 in regular-season matches in which Meram has scored a goal.

OLA KAMARA SCORES 28^TH REGULAR-SEASON GOAL FOR CREW SC, TIES DANTE WASHINGTON ON CREW SC’S ALL-TIME SCORING CHARTS

Ola Kamara scored Crew SC’s third goal in Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire. Kamara’s goal came in the 88th minute, as he converted a penalty kick to score his 28th regular-season goal for Crew SC since joining the club in February of 2016. This season, Kamara has made 25 regular-season appearances (24 starts) and is currently the leading scorer for the Black & Gold in the 2017 MLS regular season with 12 goals.

OLA KAMARA LEADS CREW SC IN REGULAR-SEASON GOALS IN 2017

Through 25 appearances (24 starts) in the 2017 MLS regular season, forward Ola Kamara has scored 12 goals, more than any other Black & Gold player this season. Kamara is currently ahead of Justin Meram (10 goals) and Federico Higuain (nine goals). Since joining the Black & Gold, Kamara has scored 28 regular-season goals for Crew SC in 50 regular-season appearances (44 starts) and is one of only 12 players in Black & Gold history to have scored 25 or more goals in regular-season action. Kamara’s goal per 90 minutes rate since the beginning of the 2016 MLS season is 0.64.

GOAL-A: KAMARA AMONG TOP FIVE SCORERS IN MLS SINCE 2016

Since the beginning of the 2016 MLS season, Ola Kamara has recorded 28 goals with only three other players scoring more than the Norwegian forward in that time span: David Villa (41), Bradley Wright-Phillips (38) and Sebastian Giovinco (28). Additionally, out of active MLS players who have played a minimum of 900 minutes since the beginning of the 2016 season, Ola Kamara has the fifth highest goals per 90 minutes average with 0.64, behind only David Villa (0.77), Bradley Wright-Phillips (0.73), Nemanja Nikolic (0.70) and Roland Alberg (0.65).

OLA KAMARA MAKES 50^TH REGULAR-SEASON APPEARANCE FOR CREW SC

Forward Ola Kamara made his 50th regular-season appearance (44th start) for Crew SC in Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire, scoring in the 88th minute. With his appearance, Kamara is now one of only eight players on the current Black & Gold roster to have achieved this 50-appearance feat while with the club, joining Harrison Afful (55 appearances, 54 starts), Waylon Francis (81 appearances, 73 starts), Federico Higuain (141 appearances, 136 starts), Hector Jimenez (84 appearances, 53 starts), Justin Meram (179 appearances, 126 starts), Wil Trapp (118 appearances, 115 starts) and Josh Williams (84 appearances, 75 starts).

JOSH WILLIAMS MAKES MILESTONE 75^TH START FOR CREW SC

Defender Josh Williams made his 75th start (84th appearance) for Crew SC in Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire. Williams played the entire 90 minutes, completing 37 passes and making one tackle. In 2017, Williams has made 13 regular-season appearances (10 starts).

ROOKIE DEFENDER LALAS ABUBAKAR & MIDFIELDER JUSTIN MERAM NAMED TO MLSSOCCER.COM’S TEAM OF THE WEEK

Rookie defender Lalas Abubakar and midfielder Justin Meram were named to MLSSoccer.com’s Team of the Week following their performance in Crew SC’s 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire this past Saturday. Abubakar, who played the entire 90 minutes, led the team in tackles (five) and in passing accuracy (92.7%). In 2017, Abubakar has made four regular-season appearances (all starts) for the Black & Gold. Meanwhile, Meram played 89 minutes, scoring one goal, registering two shots, creating one chance and making three tackles. In 2017, Meram has made 25 regular-season appearances (24 starts), recording 10 goals and seven assists.

WAYLON FRANCIS REGISTERS 1^ST REGULAR-SEASON ASSIST OF 2017

Defender Waylon Francis recorded his first regular-season assist of 2017 in Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire. Francis provided the pass thatled to Justin Meram’s 73rd-minute, game-winning goal after receiving a pass from Wil Trapp. In 2017, Francis has made 10 regular-season appearances (eight starts), recording one assist. Since joining the Black & Gold in November of 2013, Francis has made 81 regular-season appearances (73 starts), recording 17 assists for Crew SC. Following Saturday’s match, Francis gave the following quote in a post-match interview: “I was feeling it tonight, I was really positive to perform well in this game. When the game started that’s what I was thinking about.”

WIL TRAPP PROVIDES GAME-WINNING ASSIST, TIES CAREER-BEST ASSIST NUMBER

In Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire, midfielder Wil Trapp registered his fourth assist of 2017 in regular-season action, tying his career best which he achieved during the 2014 MLS regular season. Trapp provided an assist on Justin Meram’s game-winning goal in the 73rd minute. This year, Trapp has made 25 appearances (all starts) for the Black & Gold, providing four assists.

BLACK & GOLD ROOKIES MAKING AN IMPACT

25 matches into the 2017 MLS regular-season, Black & Gold rookies are making an impact on the field. Lalas Abubakar, Alex Crognale, Niko Hansen and Connor Maloney have played a combined total of 1,929 minutes. In terms of appearances, Crognale leads the pack having made 16 appearances (12 starts). He is trailed by Hansen, who has made 13 appearances (three starts). Meanwhile, Abubakar has made four appearances (all starts) and Maloney has made two appearances (one start). In terms of impact on the field, the rookies have assisted on four of Crew SC’s 37 goals this season, with Niko Hansen notching two assists while Crognale and Maloney have provided one assist each.