A full week vacation from MLS play was just what Crew SC needed.
The Black & Gold were swift and aggressive, and created plenty of opportunities vs. the New England Revolution. That, combined with Kei Kamara’s fourth brace of the season, amounted to Crew SC coming away with a 2-1 victory.
Despite trailing not even a minute into the match, Crew SC went on to create an advantage in most stat categories on Wednesday night. Lets take a look at those stats and analyze how they played a factor in the Black & Gold's fifth home win of the season.
2
Saturday’s match got off to a ferocious start after the two teams combined for two goals within the first four minutes of play. Lee Nguyen registered New England’s first shot 35 seconds into the match, and it bounced under Steve Clark's outstretched arm into the back of the net. Just three minutes later, Kei Kamara took advantage of a rebound off the crossbar, lunged at the loose ball and headed it in to tie the match at one apiece.
4
Kamara tacked on another goal in the 50th minute, securing his fourth brace of the season. That brings Kamara’s League-leading goal total to 12, four ahead of the rest of the pack, and sets his new personal MLS-career high with over half of the season still left to play. Ethan Finlay recorded the primary assist on Kamara’s second goal, bringing his League-leading assist total up to nine, one ahead of second-place Benny Feilhaber.
25
The cumulative number of fouls registered by both teams. Justin Meram foreshadowed this level of physicality, saying there's no love lost between the two teams. A total of seven yellow cards were issued and players were hitting the ground frequently. Amazingly, the number doesn’t live up to the 30 fouls earned between the two sides when they last met.
34
Though the Revolution produced several legitimate scoring opportunities after Nguyen’s early goal, they spent a lot of time on their heels. Their 34 clearances indicate Crew SC’s dominance in the attacking third and the frequency of chances they accumulated.
42
Speaking of Crew SC's compelling offense, they ripped off 42 crosses, while only conceding 14. This stat is made even more remarkable considering Crew SC possessed the ball 56.2% of the time; an advantage, yes, but not complete dominance. As we alluded to from the start, Crew SC played quickly, and it didn’t take long for each of its opportunities to come to fruition.
