INTERNATIONAL RECAP
A pair of Crew SC players have returned to the team following international duty and are available for selection for the match against Vancouver ... midfielder Justin Meram earned two caps for the Iraq National Team in two separate friendlies against DR Congo in Dubai ... Meram started both matches, which Iraq won 2-1 (March 28) and 1-0 (March 31) ... the former University of Michigan midfielder now has 13 caps for Iraq ... meanwhile, defender Waylon Francis earned his second cap for Costa Rica with a start against Paraguay (March 26) in a 0-0 draw.
HIGUAIN UNAVAILABLE
Following a red card against the New York Red Bulls on March 28, Federico Higuain is set to be unavailable for the match against Vancouver as a result of the following suspension ... Higuain is slated to be available for selection in Crew SC’s next match, on April 11 at New England.
FREQUENT FLYERS
Crew SC is set to embark on a two-match, cross-continent road trip that will see the club play at Vancouver on Wednesday, April 8 and at New England on Saturday, April 11 ... over the course of the week, the Black & Gold are slated to travel 5,560 air miles from start to finish.
PASSING MACHINE: AS A TEAM ...
Crew SC ranks second in passing accuracy, trailing only Orlando City SC ... the Black & Gold also rank in the top five in passing accuracy in their own half (fourth), passing accuracy in the opponent’s half (third) and passing accuracy in the final third (fourth).
... AND ON THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
Among all MLS players that have attempted at least 80 passes, Waylon Francis (95.1%), Mohammed Saeid (90.3%) and Wil Trapp (89.9%) are the top three passers in the League on an accuracy basis.
KEEPING THE BALL
After finishing the 2014 campaign fourth in total possession time, Crew SC has continued to play strong possession soccer this season ... the Black & Gold’s mark of 56.3% possession leads MLS.
GOING FOR GOAL
The match against Vancouver is set to pit the top two shooting clubs in Major League Soccer against each other ... the Black & Gold rank first in the League in shots per game, with Vancouver ranking second.
SHOOTING STARS
Columbus Crew SC’s Justin Meram, Kei Kamara and Tony Tchani have each found the back of the net once this season ... among all MLS players, Meram, Kamara and Tchani rank first, second and fourth respectively in total shots per match ... Vancouver’s Kekuta Manneh, Octavio Rivero and Pedro Morales are all in the top 11.
CROSSING CONSISTENCY
On a per-match basis, no club has been more effective at crossing the ball than Crew SC this season ... the Black & Gold lead MLS in crosses from open play per game, as well as total number of successful crosses from open play and crossing accuracy.
INTO THE BOX
Among players recording at least 10 crosses from open play, Crew SC rightback Hernan Grana ranks first in crosses from open play per match ... the Argentine is also in the top three in total crosses, successful crosses and crossing accuracy.
