Columbus Crew SC next visits the New York Red Bulls on April 22 for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff — the game will be broadcast on The CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports, BCSN2 and the English-language radio call will be on CD102.5 FM while the Spanish-language call will be on La Mega 103.1 FM. The English radio stream will be available on ColumbusCrewSC.com.

The Black & Gold return to MAPFRE Stadium on April 29 for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff against Andrea Pirlo, David Villa and New York City FC. 

LAST MATCH RECAP

CREW SC BEATS TORONTO FC 2-1

Last Saturday, Crew SC hosted Toronto FC at MAPFRE Stadium for the first match of the Trillium Cup in 2017. Toronto took a lead in the 21^st minute when Jozy Altidore scored, assisted by Victor Vazquez. Crew SC equalized with an Ola Kamara goal, assisted by Niko Hansen, in the 37^th minute. In the 44^th minute, Justin Meram put the hosts ahead in the 44^th thanks to a helper from Alex Crognale, giving the Black & Gold a 2-1 win. Crew SC captain Wil Trapp made his 100^th career regular-season appearance for the Black & Gold. With the win, Crew SC takes the lead in the Trillium Cup series in 2017, with the second match set to take place on May 10 at MAPFRE Stadium.

CREW SC & NEW YORK RED BULLS AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew SC head-to-head regular-season record: 26-29-10 (80 GF, 93 GA)
Home games: 16-12-5
Road games: 10-17-5 

LAST 3 REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS

CREW SC TO FACE NEW YORK RED BULLS IN 2017

This weekend’s match marks the 66^th all-time regular-season meeting between the two clubs, with the Black & Gold holding a 26-29-10 record against the Red Bulls. The match will be the first of two regular-season meetings between the clubs in 2017. Crew SC has scored at least one goal in each of its last three regular-season matches against the Red Bulls.

LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING

On October 16, 2016, Crew SC played the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena. The match remained scoreless until the second half, when Mike Grella opened the scoreline for the Red Bulls (53’). Bradley Wright-Phillips scored a brace (58’, 70’) before Adam Jahn (73’) and Harrison Afful (80’) tallied a goal each to bring the Black & Gold’s deficit to one goal. The match ended 3-2 in favor of the hosts.

COACHES

Gregg Berhalter (41-37-31, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Jesse Marsch (49-38-22, Montreal Impact: 2012, New York Red Bulls: ‘15 - Present)

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN

Saturday’s contest kicks-off 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 The 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 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. The 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 game can be watched internationally via the following: Abu Dhabi Sports (Middle East and North Africa), Le Sports (China), DSports/ATR (India), BeIN Sports (Australia, Asia), Fox Sports Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa)

THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH AGAINST TORONTO FC

On the contribution of Crew SC’s young players...

“It’s everything. Without those guys contributing, our team wouldn’t be as good. There is no question the way that Zack [Steffen] has played, the way Alex [Crognale] has played, Niko [Hansen] got his number called today and stepped up and played really well. So these guys have made the di erence.”

►Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter

On Crew SC’s players’ attitude this year...

“We knew we were better this year. Everybody is in better shape and the chemistry is just better this year. But still, that win in D.C. did a lot, and it was a clean sheet and we closed two goals and it was an away win. We gained that confidence and then we wanted [to win] the next one and then we [just] keep going. We are creating some momentum and we never did that last year.”

►Forward Ola Kamara

STEFFEN NOMINATED FOR SAVE OF THE WEEK

Black & Gold goalkeeper Zack Steffen’s 25^th minute stop against Toronto FC this past Saturday was nominated for MLSSoccer.com’s Save of the Week. Steffen dove to his right to deny Sebastian Giovinco’s curling left-footed shot. This is the third time this season that the goalkeeper has earned a nomination for MLSSoccer.com’s Save of the Week and his second consecutive nomination. His previous two nominations came from saves he made against D.C. (March 18) and Chicago (April 15).

DUO NAMED TO MLS TEAM OF THE WEEK

Midfielder Justin Meram and defender Nicolai Naess were named to MLSSoccer.com’s Team of the Week following their performances against Toronto FC on Saturday. This marks the fourth time this season that two or more Black & Gold players were featured in MLSSoccer.com’s Team of the Week.

MERAM RIDES HOT STREAK AT HOME

Justin Meram scored the winning goal in Saturday’s 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Toronto FC. It was the midfielder’s fourth goal at MAPFRE Stadium this season, where he has managed to score a goal or provide an assist in each of Crew SC’s four home matches. Meram’s performance against Toronto was good enough to earn him a spot in MLSSoccer.com’s Team of the Week, the second time he has earned that honor this season. Meram has directly contributed to six of the Black & Gold’s 11 goals during the 2017 MLS regular season. To date, Meram has made 161 regular-season appearances (109 starts), scored 28 goals and provided 28 assists.

TRAPP MAKES 100^th APPEARANCE...

Midfielder and Crew SC Captain Wil Trapp made his 100^th regular-season appearance this past Saturday against Toronto FC, becoming the first Crew SC Homegrown Player to reach the century mark in that category. He also became one of only 27 players to have made 100 or more appearances for the Black & Gold. The Crew SC Academy product signed as a Homegrown Player for the club on December 13, 2012, at the age of 19 and was named Vice-Captain of the team in 2014. Trapp is currently in his fifh season with the Black & Gold and was named Captain of the club ahead of the 2017 MLS season. On Wil Trapp’s 100^th regular-season appearance, Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter had the following quote after the match: “I think it’s a great hundredth game. Wil [Trapp] had an excellent performance, I thought. His tenacity to make plays, to make it difficult on the opponent was certainly there and then on the ball, nice and controlled. It was a special hundredth game.”

...TRAPP LEADS PASSING CATEGORIES

Through seven matches in the 2017 MLS regular season, Wil Trapp leads the League in attempted passes (537), successful passes (491) and successful passes in the opponent’s half (222). Additionally, Trapp leads MLS in passing accuracy for players who have attempted 200 or more passes (91.43%).

ROOKIES DOING THEIR PART

Rookies Niko Hansen and Alex Crognale each recorded their first regular-season assists for Crew SC this past weekend. Hansen made his first start for the club in Saturday’s contest against Toronto and provided the helper on Ola Kamara’s opening goal. Previously, Hansen had made three substitute appearances, and scored one goal — the game-winning goal against Portland (March 25). Crognale provided the assist on the second goal against Toronto, helping set up Justin Meram’s game-winning goal. To date, Crognale has made five regular-season appearances (four starts) for the Black & Gold.

IRON MEN: STEFFEN AND NAESS

Through seven regular-season matches this year, two players lead Crew SC when it comes to minutes played: Goalkeeper Zack Steffen and defender Nicolai Naess. The two players have each played 630 minutes to date, meaning they have played every minute of every match for the Black & Gold in the 2017 MLS season. The defensive duo have each been named to MLSSoccer. com’s Team of the Week once this year, with Steffen earning the nod following his shutout performance against D.C. United (March 18) while Naess earned a nod this year for his performance against Toronto FC this past weekend.

STEFFEN AMONG TOP GK IN MLS

Through four home matches in the 2017 MLS season, goalkeeper Zack Steffen is tied in fourth place when it comes to saves (21) amongst all goalkeepers in the League, per Opta. Similarly, Steffen has faced the fourth-highest number of shots on target (29), while holding the fifth-highest save percentage (72.41) for goalkeepers who have faced 20 or more shots on target.

UNDEFEATED AT HOME IN 2017

Through four home matches in the 2017 MLS season, Crew SC is undefeated at home. Following a 1-1 draw against Chicago during Opening Match (March 4), presented by MAPFRE Insurance, the Black & Gold have recorded three back-to-back wins at home against Portland (March 25), Orlando (April 1) and Toronto (April 15). Additionally, the Black & Gold have scored in each of their home matches, with eight of their 11 goals this season coming at MAPFRE Stadium.

PASSING ITS WAY TO THE TOP

Seven matches into the 2017 MLS season, Crew SC leads the League in touches (4,830), passes (3,579), completed passes (2,942) and passing accuracy percentage (82.2%) according to Opta. The Black & Gold also lead the League in passes in the opponent’s half (1,967) and successful passes in the opponent’s half (1,494). Per Opta, Wil Trapp has attempted and completed the highest number of passes for the Black & Gold (491 out of 537) for a passing accuracy percentage of 91.43 percent, the highest on the team. He also leads the way when it comes to completed passes in the opponent’s half, having completed 222.