CREW SC HOSTS NEW ENGLAND FOR FINAL MEETING OF 2016
TICKETS: #CLBvNE
On Sunday, September 25, Columbus Crew SC returns to MAPFRE Stadium to host the New England Revolution in a nationally televised match on FS1. All-time, Columbus is 33-22-12 against New England, including an 18-18-6 mark at MAPFRE Stadium.
LAST 3 REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS
06/24/2015 CLB 2 vs NE 1: W MAPFRE Stadium
07/09/2016 CLB 1 at NE 3: L Gillette Stadium
08/20/2016 CLB 2 at NE 0: W Gillette Stadium
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Sunday's 7 p.m. ET start is available via national television on FS1 with John Strong (play-by-play), Alexi Lalas (analyst), Brad Friedel (analyst) and Julie Stewart-Binks (sideline) are set to have the call of the match. Locally, the contest is available via the radio in English on CD102.5 FM, with Neil Sika and Dwight Burgess on the call, as well as in Spanish on La Mega 103.1 FM with Juan Valladares. 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. For complete regional television listings, click here. Internationally, the contest can be viewed on the following: Globosat; Abu Dhabi Sports; FOX Latin America; Starhub; BeIN Sports Australia; EuroSport.
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
On August 20, 2016, the Black & Gold traveled to Foxborough, Mass., to take on the Revolution where goals from Ethan Finlay and Federico Higuain propelled Columbus to a 2-0 shutout win away from home.
CREW SC CONTINUES 7-MATCH STRETCH OF EASTERN CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
This match is the second of seven consecutive matches for Crew SC against Eastern Conference opponents. This stretch will conclude the 2016 Major League Soccer regular season for Columbus. Following this match, the Black & Gold will take on D.C. United at RFK Stadium, the Chicago Fire twice and the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena before finishing the regular season on October 23 at Yankee Stadium against New York City FC.
KAMARA NOTCHES 13TH GOAL OF SEASON
In Crew SC's last match, against Orlando City SC at Camping World Stadium, forward Ola Kamara netted two goals and also tallied his second assist of the season. The Norwegian's two goals gave him a total of 13 on the season in 17 starts, leading Crew SC. This was the second straight match that Kamara scored in for Columbus and also the second straight match he has scored against Orlando City SC. Kamara also added an assist in the contest, his second helper for Columbus this season.
FINLAY, MERAM CHASING DOUBLE-DIGIT ASSISTS ON SEASON
Midfielders Ethan Finlay and Justin Meram both notched assists in Crew SC's last match. Finlay's two assists brought his season-total to eight, accompanying his six goals. Meram has now recorded nine assists on the season after the last match on top of his four goals in 2016. Last season, Finlay also recorded double-digit assists with 13, while Meram is chasing his first career double-digit assist season. Finlay has 28 career assists and Meram has 22 career assists.
FINLAY NEARING 30-30 STATUS
With 29 career regular-season goals and 28 career regular-season assists, Crew SC midfielder Ethan Finlay is one goal and two assists shy of reaching "30-30" status for his MLS career. Finlay would become just the fifth player in Crew SC history to reach that total for the club. Should he reach the milestone, he would join Brian McBride (62 goals, 45 assists for Columbus), Jeff Cunningham (64 goals, 44 assists), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (33 goals, 41 assists) and Federico Higuain (39 goals, 35 assists) in the 30-30 club.
CLARK RECORDS 7 SAVES IN 4-1 WIN OVER ORLANDO CITY SC
Last week, Crew SC goalkeeper Steve Clark recorded seven saves against Orlando City SC at Camping World Stadium. This was the seventh match of the 2016 MLS regular season where Clark has recorded five or more saves, and his third with seven or more saves. Clark's all-time single-match best is eight saves, recorded on May 7, 2016 against Montreal. The goakeeper is currently tied for fourth in the League in saves, with 101 on the season, six saves back of Portland's Jake Gleeson, who is first at 107. Clark's single- season career best for saves is 114, set last year.
CLARK APPROACHING 100 REGULAR-SEASON STARTS, APPEARANCES
By starting last weekend vs. Orlando, Crew SC goalkeeper Steve Clark made his 96th career Major League Soccer regular-season start and appearance. Clark has started every regular-season match for Crew SC since his arrival to the club prior to the 2014 season. Nearing the century milestone, Clark would become just the second goalkeeper in Columbus history to make 100 regular-season starts, joining William Hesmer (130). should the goalkeeper continue his streak of starting every Crew SC match, he would hit the milestone on Thursday, October 13 at Chicago.
PARKHURST LEADS ALL DEFENDERS IN SUCCESSFUL PASSES
Among all League defenders, Michael Parkhurst has completed the most passes during the 2016 regular season, with 1,207. Teammate Harrison Afful ranks fourth in the League in the category, with 1,025.
BLACK & GOLD LEAD MLS IN PASSING ACCURACY
According to Opta, Crew SC currently leads all of Major League Soccer in passing accuracy, having recorded an 82.33 percent completion rate through 28 regular-season matches. Columbus also ranks second in the League in completed passes per match, at 396.64, as well as ranks second in attempted passes per match, at 481.79.
USMNT VS. MEXICO WORLD CUP QUALIFIER SET AT MAPFRE STADIUM
In conjunction with U.S. Soccer, MAPFRE Stadium announced this week that it will host the United States Men's National Team on Friday, November 11 against Mexico to open CONCACAF Fifth Round qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The contest will be broadcast on FS1 and Univision with kickoff time to be announced. This match begins what is commonly known as the Hexagonal for the USMNT, the final stage of qualification ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, set to be held in Russia. 2017 Crew SC Full Season Ticket Members will have the opportunity to participate in a preferred purchasing process for tickets to this highly anticipated match.
