TONIGHT'S LINEUP
NAGBE RETURNS FROM INJURY, COMPLETES EVERY SINGLE PASS MADE AGAINST THE HOUSTON DYNAMO
Midfielder Darlington Nagbe completed every one of his pass attempts during Saturday’s road match against the Houston Dynamo. Nagbe, who returned to the pitch for the first time in eight matches, successfully completed 40 passes during his 62 minutes played against the Dynamo Saturday night. This was the third time during the 2020 regular-season that the midfielder successfully completed each pass attempted – the first two coming against Atlanta United (July 21) and FC Cincinnati (September 6).
NEMETH MAKES FIRST CREW SC REGULAR-SEASON DEBUT
Forward Krisztian Nemeth made his first regular-season appearance and start for Crew SC during Saturday’s road contest against the Houston Dynamo. The Hungarian forward saw 77 minutes of action on the pitch against the Dynamo, making one shot, one cross and making one key pass per Opta. Saturday’s start was Nemeth’s first in MLS since the 2019 regular-season when he started on the road at FC Dallas while a member of Sporting Kansas City (October 6). In all, Nemeth has made a total of 83 appearances (53 starts) in MLS regular-season action.
CREW SC ONE OF ONLY FIVE MLS TEAMS TO REACH THE MLS CUP PLAYOFFS 16+ TIMES
Columbus Crew SC officially clinched a spot in the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs on Sunday, October 18 by virtue of its 3-1 win against New York City FC. This marked the Club’s 16th all-time postseason berth, making the Crew one of only five clubs to make the playoffs 16 or more times in the League’s 25-year history, behind only the New York Red Bulls (20), the LA Galaxy (19), FC Dallas (17) and Sporting Kansas City (17). Of those 16 playoffs berths, the Black & Gold have reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals on 13 occasions, the Eastern Conference Championships on seven occasions and MLS Cup in 2008 and 2015, winning the title in 2008.
GYASI ZARDES AMONG MLS GOLDEN BOOT RACE LEADERS
With 11 goals through 18 regular-season appearances in 2020, Gyasi Zardes is currently in second place in this year's MLS Golden Boot standings. The forward - who is scoring at a rate of 0.68 goals per 90 minutes - sits behind only Los Angeles FC’s Diego Rossi (12 goals).
AFFUL AMONG MLS LEADERS IN INTERCEPTIONS
Through 18 regular-season appearances in the 2020 MLS season, defender Harrison Afful has made 52 interceptions. Afful is second among all MLS players in interceptions, behind only Chicago Fire FC defender Francisco Calvo (60 interceptions). Additionally, since making his MLS regular-season debut for Crew SC on August 1, 2015, Afful has made 300 interceptions in regular-season action, the fourth-most out of any MLS player during that span, behind only FC Dallas' Matt Hedges (377), Chicago Fire FC's Johan Kappelhof (326) and the Montreal Impact's Victor Cabrera (302).
