Crew SC will open a three-match road swing on Saturday making its first stop in Bridgeview to play the Chicago Fire. There’s a long history between these two MLS originals and a heated rivalry. Dive into these stats to get familiar with the teams ahead of kickoff at Toyota Park.
CREW SC TRAVELS TO TOYOTA PARK TO BEGIN THREE-MATCH MLS ROAD SWING
Columbus plays its third 2016 MLS regular-season contest and its second on the road to meet the Chicago Fire. This is set to be the 56th all-time regular-season meeting between both clubs.
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
On July 19, 2015, Crew SC closed a home-and-home regular-season series with a 3-1 win over Chicago at MAPFRE Stadium. Federico Higuain, Kei Kamara and Ethan Finlay all scored for the Black & Gold.
LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS
05/22/2015: CLB 2 vs. CHI 2 D MAPFRE Stadium
07/15/2015: CLB 1 at CHI 0 W Toyota Park
07/19/2015: CLB 3 vs. CHI 1 W MAPFRE Stadium
CREW SC LOOKING TO EXTEND UNBEATEN STREAK AGAINST CHICAGO
The Black & Gold enter this match against the Fire holding a six-match unbeaten streak against Chicago. Crew SC is 4-0-2 against the Fire over their last six meetings, dating back to September 21, 2013 when Columbus won 3-0 over Chicago at MAPFRE Stadium. The streak contains a win and a draw at Toyota Park, including last season's 1-0 Crew SC victory in BridÂgeview on July 15, 2015. That match began a series that saw Columbus and Chicago play twice in five days, with both matches won by the Black & Gold, including a return 3-1 victory at MAPFRE Stadium on July 19.
FINLAY NEARING THE CENTURY MARK
Crew SC midfielder Ethan Finlay's next Major League Soccer regular-season appearance will be his 100th in the League since joining the Black & Gold ahead of the 2012 season. Finlay was selected 10th overall in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft by Crew SC. 63 of Finlay's 99 career appearances to date have come over the 2014 and 2015 regular seasons, during which he expeÂrienced a breakout to the tune of 23 goals and 20 assists in regular-season play. He was named MLS Best XI for the first time in his career last season following a season in which he notched 12 goals and 13 assists, becoming the second Columbus player to ever reach double figures in each category during a single regular season.
ATTEMPTS ON GOAL
Columbus has notched exactly 19 shots in each of its first two matches in 2016 (March 6 at Portland and March 12 vs. Philadelphia), hitting at least that total in consecutive matches for the first time since August 31 and September 4, 2013 when the club reached 24 shots versus Seattle and 20 against Houston. Through two matches played, Crew SC's 38 shots leads all of Major League Soccer (two ahead of Portland, 36).
POSSESSION AND PASSING
Through two matches in the 2016 Major League Soccer regular season, Columbus Crew SC ranks second in the League in possession percentage and third in overall passing accuracy, according to the League's official statistician, Opta. Crew SC's 2016 possession (59.9%) trails only Sporting Kansas City (62.7%), and its passing accuracy (81.2%) is behind Sporting (85.0%) and Orlando City SC (84.2%). In 2015, Crew SC ranked second in Major League Soccer in both categories, registering a possession percentage of 53.8% and a passing accuracy rate of 81.4%.
BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVALRY
There are 19 players in MLS history to have played at least one regular-season contest for both Columbus and Chicago: Tenywa Bonseu, Jon Busch, Matt Chulis, Dilly Duka, Shaun Francis, Eric Gehrig, Andy Herron, Richie Kotschau, Manny Lagos, Matt Lampson, Brian McBride, Dominic Oduro, Daniel Paladini, Ante Razov, Jorge Salcedo, Tony Sanneh, Tim Ward, Andy Williams and John Wolyniec.
ROAD SWING BEGINS FOR CREW SC
Crew SC begins a three-match Major League Soccer regular-season road swing with this clash at Chicago. Following this contest, Columbus plays at FC Dallas on April 2 and at Montreal on April 9. This is tied for the longest such road series of Crew SC's regular season, as the Black & Gold will conclude the 2016 campaign with three road contests, also beginning that stretch with a match at Chicago. Crew SC finishes the 2016 regular season at Chicago (October 13), at the New York Red Bulls (October 16) and at New York City FC (October 23).
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Saturday’s 5:00 p.m. ET start is available via regional television on both FOX-28 and Time Warner Cable SportsChannel. Neil Sika (play-by-play) and Dwight Burgess (analyst) are set to have the call of the match on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, “Crew SC Matchday,” the exclusive pre-match show, starts at 4:30 p.m. ET with Chris Doran, and “Crew SC Post-Match” immediately follows the action only on TWCSC. The FOX-28 broadcast begins at 5:00 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. The game can be watched internationally via the following: Abu Dhabi Sports, BeIN Sports Australia, Eurosport.
