STEFFEN MAKES 5 SAVES, CREW SC LOSE IN NEW YORK

Last week, the Black & Gold traveled to Red Bull Arena to take on the New York Red Bulls. The hosts scored first in the 11^th minute through Alex Muyl, who was assisted by Kemar Lawrence and Sacha Kljestan. The Red Bulls added a second goal in the 38^th minute when Daniel Royer converted a penalty kick to make it 2-0.

Federico Higuain made his 125th regular-season start for the Black & Gold, playing the entire 90 minutes against the Red Bulls. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen recorded a regular-season and MLS career-high five saves in the contest. It was the fourth consecutive match in which Steffen recorded four or more saves.

CREW SC AND NYCFC AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew SC regular-season record vs. NYCFC: 2-1-2 (11 GF, 12 GA)
Home games: 1-0-2
Road games: 1-1-0

LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS 

CREW SC TO FACE NYCFC FOR THE 1^ST MEETING IN 2017

This weekend’s match marks the fifth all-time regular-season meeting between the two clubs, with the Black & Gold holding a 2-1-2 record against New York City FC. The match will be the fiurst of two regular-season meetings between the clubs in 2017. Crew SC has a 1-1-1 record against New York City in its last three regular-season matches.

LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING

On October 23, 2016, Crew SC played New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. The match remained scoreless until the end of the first half, when Steven Mendoza opened the scoreline for the hosts (45’). Ola Kamara drew level for Crew SC (59’) before goals by Jack Harrison (75’), Khiry Shelton (77’) and David Villa (90+3’) gave New York City a 4-1 win.

COACHES

Gregg Berhalter (41-38-31, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Patrick Vieira (18-13-10, New York City FC: ‘16 - Present)

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN

Saturday’s contest kicks-off at 7:30 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on The CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play-by-play), Dwight Burgess (analyst) and Alex Stec (sideline) 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 7:00 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), BeIN Sports (Australia, Asia), Sportscast (Taiwan).

THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH VS. NYCFC

On the match against New York City FC...

“It’s going to be a fight for the ball – who gets to keep the ball – because they want to keep it, we want to keep it. It’s going to be a fun game. Those are always good games.”

►Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter

On the importance of the three-match homestand...

“It’s going to be very crucial. We have some very important, but tough, games. Most of all, it’ll be nice to have these next three games at home.”

►Goalkeeper Zack Steffen

On Crew SC returning to MAPFRE Stadium, where it is undefeated...

“We have a lot of confidence when we play at MAPFRE Stadium. We have our supporters behind us and we have played well at MAPFRE Stadium this year. Of course, we’re looking forward to playing [at] home again and hopefully we can get a win there against New York City.”

►Defender Nico Naess

IRON MEN: ZACK STEFFEN AND NICO NAESS

Through eight regular-season matches this year, two players lead the club when it comes to minutes played: Goalkeeper Zack Steffen and defender Nico Naess have all played 720 minutes to date, playing every minute of every match for the club in the 2017 MLS season.

HIGUAIN MAKES 125^TH REGULAR-SEASON START

Midfielder Federico Higuain made his 125^th regular-season start for the Black & Gold this past Saturday against the New York Red Bulls. Higuain, who signed with Crew SC as a Designated Player on July 27, 2012, has made 130 regular-season appearances to date. With his start against the Red Bulls, Higuain climbed to 10^th place in the all-time list of games started for Crew SC, a list that also includes Chad Marshall (250), Mike Clark (216), Eddie Gaven (198), Brian Maisonneuve (159), Brian McBride (158), Frankie Hejduk (143), Danny O’Rourke (137), Robert Warzycha (134) and William Hesmer (130). The Argentine playmaker also ranks fifth in all-time goals (40) and assists (39) for the club.

ZACK STEFFEN AMONG TOP GOALKEEPERS IN MLS

Through eight matches in the 2017 MLS season, goalkeeper Zack Steffen is second when it comes to saves (26) amongst all goalkeepers in the League, per Opta. Similarly, Steffen has faced the second-highest number of shots (102) and shots on target (36). According to Opta, Steffen holds the third- highest save percentage (72.22) for goalkeepers who have faced 30 or more shots on target.

TRAPP LEADS MLS IN PASSING CATEGORIES

Through eight matches in the 2017 MLS regular season, Wil Trapp leads the League in attempted passes (609), successful passes (557) and is in third place when it comes to successful passes in the opponent’s half (250) according to Opta. Additionally, Trapp leads MLS in passing accuracy for players who have attempted 200 or more passes (91.46%) and ranks fourth in passing accuracy in the opponent’s half (88.03%).

CREW SC: PASSING TO THE TOP

Eight matches into the 2017 MLS season, Crew SC leads the League in touches (5,570), passes (4,100), completed passes (3,364) and passing ac- curacy percentage (82.05%) according to Opta. The Black & Gold also lead the League in passes in the opponent’s half (2,214) and successful passes in the opponent’s half (1,676).

ARTUR UNDERGOES SURGERY

Midfielder Artur underwent successful left wrist surgery on Monday, April 24 and is expected to be sidelined for Crew SC’s upcoming three-match homestand (April 29 – May 10). The procedure to repair a left distal radius fracture was performed by Dr. Marlo Van Steyn at Orthopedic One in Columbus, Ohio. The midfielder is currently recovering in Columbus.

MERAM PERFORMS WELL AT HOME

Midfielder Justin Meram has been performing well at home this season and has played a pivotal role in the Black & Gold’s undefeated streak at MAPFRE Stadium. With four goals and two assists to his name through the first eight matches, the midfielder has been particularly successful at home, as all four of his goals and one of his assists have come while playing at MAPFRE Stadium. Meram has tallied at least one assist or one goal in each of Crew SC’s four home matches: he assisted Ethan Finlay’s goal against Chicago on Opening Match (March 4), he scored the opening goal against Portland (March 25), he recorded a brace against Orlando (April 1) and he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC (April 15). To date, Meram has made 162 regular-season appearances (110 starts), scored 28 goals and provided 28 assists.

UNDEFEATED AT MAPFRE STADIUM 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 consecutive wins at home against Portland (March 25), Orlando (April 1) and Toronto (April 15). The last time the club went four or more matches undefeated at home was last season, from April 16 – August 13, with the club posting a 4-0-7 record in that 11-match span.

THREE-MATCH WINNING STREAK AT HOME

The Black & Gold is on a three-match winning streak at MAPFRE Stadium, having defeated Portland (March 25), Orlando (April 1) and Toronto (April 15) in their last three matches. The last time Crew SC went on a three-game winning streak at home was in 2015, when the club won three consecutive matches during a window from June 24 – July 19.

CREW SC SCORES AT MAPFRE STADIUM

In addition to being undefeated at home this season, Crew SC has also scored in every regular-season home match in 2017. The Black & Gold scored one goal in a 1-1 draw against Chicago (March 4), three goals in a 3-2 win against Portland (March 25), two goals in a 2-0 win against Orlando (April 1) and two goals in a 2-1 win against Toronto FC (April 15) for a total of eight goals at home. Additionally, the club has now scored in each of its last 15 regular-season home matches, dating back to a 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls last season (June 25).