Columbus Crew SC returns to MAPFRE Stadium to host the Montreal Impact in its seventh home match and 14th overall of the regular season on Saturday evening. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the third meeting between the Black & Gold and the Impact.
LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS
07/11/2015 CLB 0 at MTL 3: L Saputo Stadium
04/09/2016 CLB 0 at MTL 2: L Olympic Stadium
05/07/2016 CLB 4 vs. MTL 4: D MAPFRE Stadium
BLACK & GOLD DEFEAT TAMPA BAY ROWDIES IN 2016 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP
Crew SC's 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday sent the Black & Gold through to the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. The four-goal margin of victory was Columbus' largest in the U.S. Open Cup since a 5-1 win over the Carolina Dynamo on June 27, 2001.
HIGUAIN UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY
On Thursday, June 16, Columbus Crew SC announced that that midfielder Federico Higuain underwent a successful surgery to repair a hernia injury. Higuain is set to begin recovery immediately and will be sidelined for approximately five to seven weeks. The successful procedure was performed by Dr. Richard Cattey at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday.
CREW SC LEADS MLS IN TEAM PASSING ACCURACY, SUCCESSFUL PASSES PER MATCH
According to the League’s official statistician, Opta, Columbus Crew SC currently leads MLS in both overall passing accuracy as well as successful passes per match. This weekend's opponent, Montreal, currently ranks third in passing accuracy.
SAEID, SARAVIA TOP THREE IN ALL OF MLS IN PASSING ACCURACY
Among players with at least 100 passes attempted, Crew SC midfielder Mohammed Saeid leads all of MLS in passing accuracy (92.6%), with Rodrigo Saravia in third place (91.5%). Meanwhile, Homegrown Player Wil Trapp ranks second in the League in successful passes, with 812.
CREW SC INTERNATIONAL ROUNDUP
Over the recent international window, several members of Crew SC earned call-ups. Ghanaian defender Harrison Afful earned his 61st cap as the Black Stars clinched qualification for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (June 5). Rodrigo Saravia earned his fourth cap in a start for Guatemala in a friendly against Venezuela (June 1). Emil Larsen registered a hat trick against Nigeria's Under-23s as part of a pre-Olympic tournament (June 4). Cedrick Mabwati earned his 17th cap in an international friendly against Romania (May 25). Finally, Cristian Martinez captained the Panama U-20s in two friendlies against Peru, scoring a goal in the first contest as each team won one match (June 7, June 9).
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. Internationally, the match can be viewed via the following: Abu Dhabi Sports, BeIN Sports Australia, Eurosport.
