CREW SC HOSTS MLS CUP AT MAPFRE STADIUM
Columbus Crew SC concludes its 13th all-time Major League Soccer postseason run by facing-off against Portland Timbers FC in the 2015 MLS Cup. This match is the first-ever postseason meeting between Portland and Columbus, two clubs that have met six times in all-time regular-season play. Crew SC is 2-2-2 all-time against Portland, with a record of 2-1-0 against Timbers FC at MAPFRE Stadium.
CREW SC CLINCHES EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP AT RED BULL ARENA
On Sunday, November 29, Columbus Crew SC clinched the Eastern Conference Championship by virtue of a 2-1 aggregate series win over the New York Red Bulls. A 2-0 Black & Gold win in the First Leg at MAPFRE Stadium was followed by a 1-0 Red Bulls scoreline in the Second Leg at Red Bull Arena, enough to send Columbus through. Crew SC clinched the Eastern Conference Championship for the second time in club history and the first time since 2008.
CENTRAL OHIO’S FIRST HOMETOWN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
By earning the right to host MLS Cup as the higher-finishing club in the 2015 Major League Soccer regular-season standings, Crew SC becomes the first major professional sports team from Columbus to play for a championship on Central Ohio soil.
MLS CUP RETURNS TO MAPFRE STADIUM
This is the second time that Major League Soccer’s annual championship match will be played at America’s first soccer-specific stadium, as MAPFRE Stadium previously hosted MLS Cup as a neutral-site venue on October 21, 2001 between the San Jose Earthquakes and the LA Galaxy. In that title match, San Jose lifted the trophy with a 2-1 extra time victory over LA. Landon Donovan scored to tie the match in the 43rd minute, with Dwayne De Rosario scoring in the 96th minute to clinch the title for the Earthquakes. 21,626 spectators were in attendance for the contest.
CLARK MAKES FIVE STOPS IN SECOND LEG, RANKS SECOND ALL-TIME IN POSTSEASON SAVES PER APPEARANCE
In the Second Leg of the Eastern Conference Championship, Crew SC goalkeeper Steve Clark made five stops to help the Black & Gold advance to MLS Cup. Clark has now made at least five saves in five of his six career postseason starts. Averaging 5.5 saves per MLS Cup Playoffs appearance, Clark ranks second in Major League Soccer postseason history in saves per appearance among all goalkeepers with at least four games played. Only Adin Brown, who made postseason appearances for Colorado and New England (59 saves in 10 games, 5.9 saves per appearance), has recorded a higher such ratio.
DECEMBER SOCCER A FIRST FOR CREW SC
The 2015 MLS Cup will be the first-ever December regular-season or postseason match that the Black & Gold have ever played. Previously, the Second Leg against New York was the latest-ever such contest for Crew SC (November 29). Crew SC has never played a regular-season match in November; its latest-ever regular-season contest is October 28, 2012 against Toronto FC. The 2008 MLS Cup was held on November 23, 2008.
FRANCIS SHINES IN SECOND LEG
In the Second Leg of the Eastern Conference Championship at Red Bull Arena, Crew SC left back Waylon Francis recorded 10 tackles in helping the Black & Gold advance to MLS Cup. That is the highest amount of tackles registered by any one player in any Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs contest this season. No other League-wide player has exceeded seven tackles in any given postseason contest this year. On Sunday, Francis also notched nine interceptions and four clearances.
OUT OF HARM’S WAY
Gaston Sauro’s 15 clearances in the Second Leg of the Eastern Conference Championship are the single highest amount of clearances that any one player has recorded in any MLS postseason match this season.
ALL-TIME MAPFRE STADIUM ATTENDANCE RECORDS SET THIS SEASON
This year at MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus Crew SC set a number of attendance records at America’s first soccer-specific stadium. Including the postseason, through the Eastern Conference Championship, Crew SC’s six regular-season and postseason sellouts combined is an all-time club record. For the First Leg against the Red Bulls, the match attendance of 21,617 was the largest-ever home postseason attendance in Columbus Crew SC history and the first official sellout in Black & Gold home postseason history. Additionally, Crew SC’s three consecutive sellouts from August 22 against Sporting Kansas City through September 26 versus Portland was an all-time venue record. The attendance of 22,719 against Portland was the eighth-largest in MAPFRE Stadium regular-season history and the largest since the stage at the north end of the venue was constructed prior to the 2008 season.
MERAM STRIKES FOR FASTEST-EVER MLS CUP PLAYOFFS GOAL
Crew SC forward Justin Meram scored nine seconds into the First Leg of the Eastern Conference Championship against the Red Bulls at MAPFRE Stadium on Sunday, November 22, setting a new all-time MLS Cup Playoffs record for the fastest goal. Previously, the record was also held by Columbus, as Adrian Paz scored 26 seconds in on September 28, 1996 at Tampa Bay. Those two goals are also the only first-minute goals in MLS postseason history.
SAEID MAKES POSTSEASON DEBUT
By coming on as a second-half substitute to help Crew SC close out advancement in the Second Leg of the Eastern Conference Championship at Red Bull Arena, the Black & Gold’s Mohammed Saeid made his MLS Cup Playoffs debut. Saeid played four minutes in the contest after replacing Justin Meram in the 86th minute.
KAMARA LEADS MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER WITH THREE POST- SEASON GOALS
Kei Kamara’s second-half tally in the First Leg of the Eastern Conference Championship against New York was his fourth-ever postseason goal and his team- and League-leading third goal of the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs. Kamara also leads the 2015 postseason in shots (17) and shots on goal (10), and the forward is the only player to record a multi-goal performance in this postseason.
FINLAY, KAMARA SET COLUMBUS DUO RECORD
In the 2015 regular season, Ethan Finlay (12 goals, 13 assists) and Kei Kamara (22 goals, eight assists) totaled 55 combined goals and assists between them. That is the most ever combined goals and assists by a Black & Gold duo in a single regular season in club history.
KAMARA FINISHES REGULAR SEASON IN EXCLUSIVE CLUB WITH 22 NON-PENALTIES
In the 2015 regular season, Kei Kamara’s 22 non-penalty goals led MLS by three goals over Sebastian Giovinco, who had 19 non-penalties. In Major League Soccer history, only three other players have recorded more non-penalty goals. Among them is Crew SC legend Stern John, who shares the all-time record with 25 non-penalties in 1998.
KAMARA’S RECORD-SETTING REGULAR SEASON
Forward Kei Kamara set several Black & Gold regular-season records this season, including: most shots, single season (135); most shots on goal, single season (57); and most game-winning goals, single season (7). In addition, Kamara finished one behind Stern John’s 1998 campaign for the most combined goals and assists in one regular season (John: 26-5--31, Kamara: 22-8--30), as well as four goals behind John for the most single-year regular-season tallies in Black & Gold history. For his work in the Central Ohio community and with charitable organization Schools for Salone, the Crew SC forward also captured the 2015 Humanitarian of the Year Award, presented by Advocare.
STRONG REGULAR SEASON
A two-match winning streak for the Black & Gold to close the 2015 regular season gave the club a final 2015 regular-season record of 15-11-8 (53 points), which is the second-highest point total in club history. This season’s point total was only surpassed by the 2008 season (17-7-6, 57 points), the year that the Black & Gold won MLS Cup and the first major professional championship for the city of Columbus.
CREW SC OFFENSE AMONG BLACK & GOLD’S BEST-EVER
In the 2015 regular season, Columbus Crew SC’s 58 goals scored was the third-highest single-season total in club history and the most that the Black & Gold have recorded in a single campaign since 1998. Crew SC scored 67 goals that year as well as 59 in its inaugural season of 1996. Under Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter, Crew SC has scored at least 50 goals in back-to-back seasons for the first time in overall club history.
21 MULTI-GOAL GAMES SETS NEW BLACK & GOLD MARK
During the 2015 MLS regular season, Crew SC notched 21 matches with two or more goals, setting a new all-time club record for the most team multi-goal performances. The Black & Gold recorded 19 multi-goal performances in 1996 and 1998 to tie for second place. During the MLS Cup championship year of 2008, Crew SC registered 17 multi-goal performances, the same number it had in 2014 during Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter’s first season.
SEVEN STRAIGHT MULTI-GOAL GAMES AMONG BEST-EVER STREAKS
From July 19, 2015 versus Chicago through August 29, 2015 at New York City, Crew SC notched a multi-goal performance for seven straight games, tied for the third-longest such streak in team history.
BLACK & GOLD HIT 60 ASSISTS FOR FIFTH TIME
Columbus Crew SC’s 66 assists in the 2015 regular season matches the second-highest total for any one campaign in club history, tying the 2001 squad for that mark. The Black & Gold hit 90 assists in 1998. Overall, Crew SC reached the 60-assist plateau for the fifth time in club history and the first time since 2002 (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2015).
IRONMAN FINLAY
Ethan Finlay was one of only two outfield players to start all 34 regular-season matches League-wide in 2015, joining New York’s Felipe Martins.
HIGUAIN LEADS MLS IN CORNER KICKS
This season, Federico Higuain’s 142 corner kicks led all of Major League Soccer in the category. San Jose’s Matias Perez Garcia ranked second with 127 corner kicks. Higuain has notched 21 corners in the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playofs, ranking second in the League during the postseason. In his Black & Gold career, Higuain has taken 432 corner kicks (regular season), which ranks second in team history behind Robert Warzycha’s 503. Higuain recently passed fellow Argentine Guillermo Barros Schelotto for second all-time, as the 2008 MLS Cup champion took 423 corners during his Black & Gold career.
CREW SC’S PROLIFIC CROSSING AS A TEAM ...
During the 2015 regular season, Crew SC led all of MLS with 675 crosses from open play, 115 more crosses attempted than any other club. The Black & Gold’s 184 successful crosses also led MLS by 60, and Crew SC’s 27.3% crossing accuracy ranked second in the League, trailing only FC Dallas.
... AND AS INDIVIDUALS
Individually, among players who attempted at least 100 crosses from open play this year, Ethan Finlay (30.7%) and Waylon Francis (28.3%) ranked first and second in the League in accuracy, respectively. Francis (34) and Finlay (31) were two of just three players to reach 30 successful crosses from open play this season, joining New England’s Chris Tierney.
KEEPING THE BALL
In the 2015 regular season, Crew SC finished with 53.8% possession, second-most in Major League Soccer. The Black & Gold trailed only the New York Red Bulls (55.2%) in that regard this season.
CLARK SECOND IN MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER IN SAVES
This year, Steve Clark finished the MLS regular season second in the League in total saves (114), trailing only New York City FC’s Josh Saunders (124). Clark’s 225 saves rank sixth all-time in Crew SC history.
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. ET start is available via national television on ESPN, with Adrian Healey, Taylor Twellman and Monica Gonzalez on the call. Locally, the contest is available via the radio in English on CD102.5 FM and in Spanish on La Mega 103.1 FM. Dwight Burgess and Neil Sika are set to have the call of the match on CD102.5, with Juan Valladares on the microphone on La Mega 103.1. The match is also televised on UniMas, TSN and RDS. A complete list of places to catch the Black & Gold on TV is available here. The game is also slated to be broadcast internationally via the following outlets: M. East & N. Africa, Abu Dhabi Sports / Africa, FOX / Brazil, Globosat / China, LETV / Europe (exl UK & Eire), Eurosport / Doha, Thailand, Hong Kong, BeIN Sports (ASIA AUS) / Indonesia, Philippines, BeIN Sports (ASIA) / Taiwan, Sportcast / UK & Eire, Sky Sports / UK, SNTV / Singapore, Starhub.
