On Thursday, October 13, Columbus Crew SC travels to Bridgeview, Illinois to take of Chicago Fire in the second straight MLS regular-season match. This match concludes the 2016 regular-season meetings between the two Eastern Conference sides. Columbus is 17-24-16 against the Fire all-time, including a 6-14-9 mark visiting Chicago against the Men in Red.
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
On October 1, the Black & Gold hosted Chicago Fire at MAPFRE Stadium in front of 20,034 fans and recorded a 3-0 shutout victory at home.
LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS
07/19/2015 CLB 3 vs. CHI 1 W: MAPFRE Stadium
03/19/2016 CLB 0 at CHI 0 D: Toyota Park
10/01/2016 CLB 3 vs. CHI 0 W: MAPFRE Stadium
COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO CONCLUDES REGULAR-SEASON MATCHUP BETWEEN THE TWO EASTERN CONFERENCE FOES
Following a 0-0 draw in Bridgeview and a 3-0 victory at MAPFRE Stadium, Crew SC travels to Toyota Park to conclude the regular-season meetings between the Black & Gold and the Men in Red. This is the second straight meeting for the two clubs, last playing on October 1 before a bye week. All-time, Columbus is 17-24-16 following its last victory over the Fire. Traveling to Illinois, Crew SC holds a 6-14-9 record against the Fire. The last time Columbus traveled to Toyota Park, the match ended in a 0-0 draw on March 19.
CREW SC BEGINS THREE-MATCH ROAD STRETCH TO CONCLUDE 2016 MLS REGULAR-SEASON
The Black & Gold concluded their regular-season home schedule on Saturday, October 1, recording a 3-0 victory over the Fire in front of 20,034 fans. To end the 2016 regular-season, Crew SC goes on the road, starting at Toyota Park, taking on the Fire for the third and final time this season. Following this match, Columbus travels to Red Bull Arena on October 16 to take on the Red Bulls. For the final match of the regular-season, Crew SC travels to Yankee Stadium to face New York City FC.
SAEID REGISTERS FOUR ASSISTS IN FIVE MATCHES
Swedish midfielder Mohammed Saeid registered his fourth and fifth assist on the season in Crew SC's last match, a 3-0 victory at MAPFRE Stadium. In Columbus' last five matches, dating back to September 10 versus Vancouver, Saeid has assisted on four goals. The Black & Gold played to a 3-2-0 record in this span. The midfielder ranks third in the League this season in passing accuracy of players with a minimum of 250 passes.
MERAM RECORDS 10TH ASSIST ON SEASON, FIRST DOUBLE-DIGIT ASSIST SEASON IN CAREER
Midfielder Justin Meram recorded his 10th assist on the season in a 3-0 victory over the Fire at MAPFRE Stadium on October 1. With 23 career assists, Meram has doubled his next best assist season, five assists in the 2015 season. All 23 of his career assists have been with Columbus Crew SC, the only MLS club the midfielder has played for after being drafted 15th overall by Columbus in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. Teammate Ethan Finlay is also chasing ten assists on the season (8) for his second double-digit assist season in his career.
CLARK SET TO MAKE 100TH CAREER MLS AND CREW SC START AND APPEARANCE IN HIS NEXT MATCH PLAYED
By starting last match versus Chicago on October 1, Crew SC goalkeeper Steve Clark made his 99th 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. With 37 career regular-season victories, Clark is also second in all-time club victories history, recently passing Jon Busch's 35.
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Thursday's 8:30 p.m. ET start is available via regional television on MyTV Columbus, Time Warner Cable SportsChannel and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play-by-play) and Dwight Burgess (analyst) 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 8:00 p.m.ET with Chris Doran, and "Crew SC Post-Match" immediately follows the action only on TWCSC and BCSN2 ... MyTV Columbus' broadcast begins at 8:30 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. For complete regional television listings, click here. Internationally, the contest can be viewed on the following: Abu Dhabi Sports; Le Sports; BeIN Sports Australia; BeIN Sports Asia; Eurosport. Locally in Columbus, the Black & Gold are holding an official viewing party at Standard Hall (1100 North High St. Columbus, OH 43201) presented by Budweiser. Open to the public, all attendees 21-and-over have the opportunity to purchase $3.00 Budweiser or Bud Light 16oz aluminum bottles and have a chance to win a pair of USA versus Mexico tickets, courtesy of Budweiser.
