DESPITE 2013 LOSSES, BLACK & GOLD HAVE REVS’ NUMBER ...
Saturday’s meeting will be the 61st regular-season meeting between the two teams, the Crew’s most-faced opponent during the season since 1996 ... the Crew’s 29 wins (29-20-11) against the Revs are the most versus any opponent in Black & Gold history, more than D.C. United (24 wins against), New York (24 wins against) or Sporting KC (21 wins).
... AND A STRONG STRETCH AGAINST THE REVS HAS HELPED
Although the Revs won the regular-season series in 2013 with three victories, the Black & Gold have found success against the Revs over the last seven seasons ... in the last 18 meetings, dating back to 2007, the Crew is 8-6-4 against the Revs ... during that stretch, the Revs won the regular-season series once: last year ... other than that, the Crew has won the regular-season series four times and the two teams have split results two other times ... from 1996 through 2000, and again from 2002 through 2006, the two conference foes met four times a year.
THE CAPTAIN & THE ALL-STAR...
Major League Soccer announced on July 19 that Columbus Crew captain and de- fender Michael Parkhurst has been named to the 23-man roster for the 2014 AT&T MLS All-Star Game ... the experienced roster will take on Bayern Munich on August 6 at Providence Park, home of the Portland Timbers (live on ESPN 2, UniMas, and in Canada on TSN and RDS starting at 9:30 p.m. ET) ... the Rhode Island native is the first Crew player to be named to the All-Star roster in four years and is the first selection since the duo of Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Chad Marshall in 2010 ... Parkhurst has played in two previous MLS All-Star matches.
... PARKHURST RETURNS TO NEW ENGLAND
Saturday’s clash is the first for Crew Captain Michael Parkhurst against his former club, New England ... drafted by the Revs in the first round (ninth overall) in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, Parkhurst played every single minute of his first season as a professional and earned MLS Rookie of the Year honors en route to the first of three consecutive MLS Cup Final appearances with New England ... following the 2006 season – in which he was named MLS Humanitarian of the Year – the defender was a part of the club’s first-ever title in 2007 when the Revs secured the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup ... that season, Parkhurst was also named MLS Defender of the Year and a member of MLS Best XI ... 2007 also marked the first of two consecutive seasons in which he earned the MLS Fair Play Award, as the defender was not issued a red card in four seasons of action ... with Parkhurst, the Revs won the 2008 Superliga title the following season in his final campaign in New England.
