On Saturday, Columbus Crew SC hosts the San Jose Earthquakes at MAPFRE Stadium for the lone 2016 regular-season meeting between the two inter-Conference opponents. Columbus enters the contest with a strong 12-3-3 record against San Jose all-time in Central Ohio.
LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS
03/16/2013 CLB 1 vs. SJ 1 D: MAPFRE Stadium
04/13/2014 CLB 1 at SJ 1 D: Buck Shaw Stadium
05/16/2015 CLB 0 at SJ 2 L: Avaya Stadium
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
On May 16, 2015, Columbus played its first-ever match at Avaya Stadium, the new home of the San Jose Earthquakes, falling to the home side by a 2-0 final. Steve Clark made six stops in the contest for the Black & Gold.
BLACK & GOLD CONCLUDE 2-MATCH HOMESTAND
This clash against the Earthquakes ends a two-match homestand for Columbus, which began with Wednesday's midweek contest against the Union. This stretch of matches represents the final time that Columbus plays consecutive games at home in the 2016 regular season.
CREW SC FACES 3 CONSECUTIVE MATCHES AGAINST WESTERN CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
By hosting the San Jose Earthquakes for this match, Columbus is beginning a string of three consecutive matches that sees the club take on Western Conference sides. Crew SC visits the LA Galaxy next September 3 before returning to MAPFRE Stadium to host Vancouver Whitecaps FC on September 10. Columbus then concludes the 2016 regular-season with seven straight matches against Eastern Conference foes.
QUAKES MAKING FIRST VISIT TO MAPFRE STADIUM SINCE 2013
This contest represents San Jose's first Central Ohio trip since March 16, 2013, a span of more than three years. That gap represents the longest current stretch between any League opponent's most recent MAPFRE Stadium clash by more than one year. The second-longest gap is Vancouver, which is set to come to MAPFRE Stadium on September 10.
ADAM JAHN OPENS #CREWSC SCORING ACCOUNT...
During Crew SC's last match, on Wednesday at MAPFRE Stadium against Philadelphia, forward Adam Jahn scored his first career Black & Gold goal by tapping in a close-range shot in the 73rd minute. It was Jahn's seventh career MLS goal as well as his second overall in the 2016 regular season.
...AND NOW FACES HIS FORMER TEAM
Forward Adam Jahn is slated to face his former club in the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday. Jahn was acquired via trade by Columbus from San Jose in exchange for Targeted Allocation Money on July 30. With the Quakes, Jahn played in 62 Major League Soccer regular-season matches (22 starts), scoring six goals from 2013 through 2016. He was originally drafted by the Earthquakes in the First Round (15th overall) of the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft.
TRAPP, SAEID AMONG LEADING PASSERS
Crew SC Homegrown midfielder Wil Trapp currently ranks second in MLS in completed passes with 1,481. Meanwhile, among all players having more than 200 passes attempted, Mohammed Saeid ranks third in the League in passing accuracy (90.58 percent). Saeid is one of just three players passing at over a 90 percent accuracy rate, joining Seattle's Osvaldo Alonso and Portland's Darlington Nagbe.
PARKHURST LEADS ALL DEFENDERS IN SUCCESSFUL PASSES
Among all League defenders, Michael Parkhurst has completed the most passes during the 2016 regular season, with 1,044. Teammate Harrison Afful ranks fifth in the League in the category, with 896.
BLACK & GOLD LEAD IN PASSING ACCURACY
According to Opta, Crew SC currently leads all of Major League Soccer in passing accuracy, having recorded an 82.37 percent completion rate through 24 regular-season matches. Columbus also ranks second in the League in completed passes per match, at 399, as well as in attempted passes per match, at 484.42.
CREW SC AMONG BEST IN POSSESSION, CHANCES CREATED
According to the League’s official statistician, Opta, Columbus Crew SC ranks second in the League in possession (55.59 percent) and fourth in MLS in chances created per match (10.42). Columbus is one of eight clubs in the League averaging more than 10 chances created per match .
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Saturday's 7:30 p.m. ET start is available via regional television on The CW Columbus, Time Warner Cable SportsChannel and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play-by-play), Dwight Burgess (analyst) and Clay Hall (sideline) 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 7:00 p.m. ET with Chris Doran, and “Crew SC Post-Match” immediately follows the action only on TWCSC and BCSN2. The CW Columbus' broadcast begins at 7:30 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. Internationally, the match can be viewed via the following: TVN, Abu Dhabi Sports, BeIN Sports Australia, Eurosport.
