The Black & Gold continue their busy month of May by hitting the road to take on the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, May 21, for a 2:30 p.m. ET kickoff — their second and final matchup in the 2017 Major League Soccer regular season. Here are the storylines to keep an eye on:
Did You Miss Us?
This will be the second matchup of the season between the two Eastern Conference clubs. In their first meeting, two weeks ago on May 6, the Black & Gold took the Revs for a 2-0 spin with goals scored by forward Ola Kamara (13’) and Federico Higuain (53’). The Revolution’s Kei Kamara missed the clubs' last matchup due to (growing) family reasons, however, he will be expected to play during Sunday’s match after returning to the lineup last week against Real Salt Lake.
Before last week, New England hadn’t won a game in more than a month, but they were able to pummel RSL 4-0 in Week 11.
Clean Sheet Steffen
In their last meeting with New England, the Black & Gold recorded their third clean sheet of the 2017 MLS regular season with the help of their backline and goalkeeper, Zack Steffen.
Steffen also entered the match third in MLS in saves and second in terms of number of shots and shots on target faced. Steffen recorded five saves against the Revs and caught four crosses to secure the shutout. The Black & Gold have now secured a clean sheet against New England in three straight games.
Not Today Nguyen
Steffen and the rest of the backline will have their work cut out for them with New England’s Kei Kamara back in the lineup as well as Lee Nguyen joining him up top. Nguyen, who has notched five goals for the Revs this season, adding a creative and highly technical element to the Revolution's attack this season.
The 30-year-old Texan ranks in the top-10 in New England club history in several categories including goals, penalty kick goals, game-winning goals, assists, shots, and shots on goal. Nguyen was also a finalist for the 2014 MLS MVP award after netting 18 goals, the most ever by a New England midfielder.
A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Gillette*
Sunday’s matchup will mark the 69th all-time meeting between Columbus and New England.
The Black & Gold hold an overall 34-22-12 record over the Revs and a 15-14-6 record when playing them in New England. The Revs are unbeaten at home so far this season, but on Sunday Afternoon they will have their work cut out for them as the face one of the top Eastern Conference heavy hitters, the Columbus Crew SC.
Crew SC next visits New England Revolution on May 21 and Toronto FC on May 26.
The Black & Gold return to MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus to host the defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders on May 31.
