The second match of Columbus Crew SC's three-match home stand ushers the New England Revolution into MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday night for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

GET TO KNOW CREW SC

LAST MATCH RECAP

FINLAY RECORDS 30^TH CAREER ASSIST

Last week, the Black & Gold hosted New York City FC at MAPFRE Stadium. New York City opened the scoreline in the eighth minute through Jack Harrison. Crew SC drew level with a goal from Federico Higuain in the 29th minute. The hosts extended their lead at the beginning of the second half when Ola Kamara put away a pass from Ethan Finlay in the 49th minute. With the assist, Finlay became one of only five Crew SC players to record at least 30 goals and 30 assists for the club in the regular season. New York City tied things up in the 64th minute through Yangel Herrera. Herrera then assisted Jack Harrison, who made it 3-2 for New York City in the 76th minute.

CREW SC & NEW ENGLAND AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew SC all-time regular-season record: 34-22-12 (106 GF, 84 GA)
Home games: 19-8-6 (62 GF, 37 GA)
Road games: 15-14-6 (42 GF, 47 GA)

LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS

CREW SC FACES REVOLUTION

Thiis weekend’s match marks the 69^th all-time regular-season meeting between the two clubs, with the Black & Gold holding a 34-22-12 record against the New England Revolution. The match will be the first of two regular-season meetings between the clubs in 2017 with a second meeting scheduled later this month on May 21 at Gillette Stadium. Crew SC has a 2-1-0 record against New England in its last three regular-season matches.

LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING

On September 25, 2016, Crew SC played the New England Revolution at MAPFRE Stadium. Black & Gold Forward Ola Kamara scored a goal in the 42^nd minute and a second one in the 84^th minute to record a brace and give Crew SC a 2-0 victory. It was the Black & Gold’s second win over New England in 2016.

COACHES

Gregg Berhalter (41-39-31, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Jay Heaps (67-70-42, New England Revolution: ‘12 - Present)

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN

Saturday’s contest kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on The CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play- by-play), Dwight Burgess (analyst) and Marisa Contipelli (sideline) are set to have the call in English. Coverage on The CW Columbus begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Exclusively on Spectrum Sports and BCSN2, “Crew SC Matchday,” the prematch show, begins at 7 p.m. ET, with “Crew SC Post-Match” immediately following the action. 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. The Spanish radio calls are also set to be streamed in Spanish on the LaMega1 App and via Tunein Radio as WVKOFM. The game can be watched internationally via the following: FOX Sports Latin America, Abu Dhabi Sports (Middle East and North Africa), BeIN Sports (Australia).

THOUGHTS AHEAD OF THE MATCH

On how to get back on track against New England...

“We need to do what we do best. We need to keep the ball, keep moving the ball quickly and then we need to continue to take our chances when they come up.”

►Defender Jonathan Mensah

On Crew SC playing three matches in eight days...

“With three games in seven or eight days, its about taking it day by day: Recovering well, resting well and staying focused.”

►Goalkeeper Zack Steffen

MANNEH MAKES REGULAR-SEASON DEBUT FOR CREW SC

Midfielder Kekuta Manneh made his regular-season debut for Crew SC in Saturday night’s contest against New York City FC, coming into the match as a substitute for Ethan Finlay in the 81st minute. Manneh is the eighth player to make his regular-season debut with the club in the 2017 MLS regular season. The other players are: Artur, Mohammed Abu, Alex Crognale, Connor Maloney, Jonathan Mensah, Jukka Raitala and Zack Steffen.

IRON MAN: ZACK STEFFEN

Through nine regular-season matches this year, one player leads the Black & Gold when it comes to minutes played: Zack Steffen. The goalkeeper has played 810 minutes to date, playing every minute of every match for the club in the 2017 MLS season.

FINLAY JOINS THE 30/30 CLUB...

Ethan Finlay registered his 30^th career regular-season assist for Crew SC in Saturday’s night match against New York City FC and is now a member of the 30/30 Club. With 30 goals and 30 assists, Finlay is now one of only five Crew SC players to have registered at least 30 goals and 30 assists in the regular season for the club. The other four players on that list are Jeff Cunningham (64 goals, 44 assists), Brian McBride (62 goals, 45 assists), Guillermo Schelotto (33 goals, 41 assists) and current teammate Federico Higuain (41 goals, 39 assists). Finlay is currently in eighth place in the all-time assist list for the Black & Gold.

...HIGUAIN ON THE VERGE OF JOINING THE 40/40 CLUB

Federico Higuain — who scored his second goal of the season in Saturday’s contest against New York City FC — is on the verge of becoming one of only three players in Crew SC history to have recorded 40 goals and 40 assists or more for the club. To date, only two other players have achieved this feat: Jeff Cunningham (64 goals, 44 assists) and Brian McBride (41 goals, 39 assists). Since joining the club in 2012, Higuain has made 131 regular-season appearances (126 starts) for the Black & Gold, recording 41 goals and 39 assists.

HIGUAIN NOMINATED FOR MLSSOCCER.COM’S GOAL OF THE WEEK

Federico Higuain’s 29th-minute goal against New York City FC this past weekend was among those nominated for MLSSoccer.com’s Goal of the Week. The Argentine midfielder received a cross from Jukka Raitala inside the box and beat New York City goalkeeper Sean Johnson with a half-volley. The goal was Higuain’s 41st regular-season goal in MLS and his second goal this season.

CREW SC: CREATING CHANCES

Through nine matches in the 2017 MLS season, Crew SC has created 41 scoring chances (including assists), according to Opta. Leading the way
is midfielder Federico Higuain, with 11 chances created in eight matches played — more than 25 percent of the Black & Gold’s total chances. Behind Higuain are Justin Meram, who has created seven chances in nine matches, and defender Jukka Raitala, with five chances created through eight matches.

STEFFEN AMONG TOP GK IN MLS

Through nine matches in the 2017 MLS season, goalkeeper Zack Steffen is third when it comes to saves (29) amongst all goalkeepers in the League, per Opta. Similarly, Steffen has faced the second-highest number of shots (112) and shots on target (41). The 22-year-old is also the youngest goalkeeper in the League this season to have made more than five appearances, have faced at least 100 shots, have faced at least 20 shots on target and have made at least 15 saves. On being given the starting role at the age of 22, Steffen gave the following quote a er training this week:

“It’s really good for my career and development, to get these minutes at such a young age. It’s not some- thing I think anyone takes for granted.”

TRAPP COULD MAKE 100^TH START VS. REVOLUTION

Midfielder and Captain Wil Trapp is on the cusp of making his 100^th regular-season start for the Black & Gold. Trapp — who recently made his 100^th appearance for the club — was signed by Crew SC as a Homegrown Player on December 13, 2012. Since then, he has made 102 appearances (99 starts) while scoring one goal and notching nine assists.

MERAM PERFORMS WELL AT HOME

With four goals and three assists to his name through the first nine matches of the season, midfielder Justin Meram has had a great start to his season. He has been particularly successful at home, as all four of his goals and two of his assists have come while playing at MAPFRE Stadium. Meram has tallied at least one assist or one goal in each of Crew SC’s five home matches: he assisted Ethan Finlay’s goal against Chicago on Opening Match (March 4); he scored the opening goal against Portland (March 25); he recorded a brace against Orlando (April 1); he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC (April 15); and he assisted Higuain’s goal against New York City (April 29). To date, Meram has made 163 regular-season appearances (111 starts), scored 28 goals and provided 29 assists.

CREW SC KEEPS SCORING AT MAPFRE STADIUM

Crew SC has scored in every regular-season home match in 2017. The Black & Gold scored one goal in a 1-1 draw against Chicago (March 4), three goals in a 3-2 win against Portland (March 25), two goals in a 2-0 win against Orlando (April 1), two goals in a 2-1 win against Toronto FC (April 15) and two goals in a 2-3 loss against New York City FC (April 29) for a total of 10 goals at home. Crew SC’s 10 goals at home rank third best in MLS this season. Additionally, the club has now scored in each of its last 16 regular-season home matches, dating back to a 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls last season (June 25).