COLUMBUS —The Black & Gold fell 2-1 on the road Sunday afternoon against the New England Revolution in the pair's second and final matchup of the 2017 Major League Soccer regular season. Forward Ola Kamaragave Columbus the early lead with a masterful outside-of-the-boot volley from the top of the box in the 20th minute.
Despite an early chance by forward Kekuta Manneh and midfielder Federico Higuain in the 4th minute of action, Kamara put Crew SC ahead with his perfect right-footed screamer to the left corner in the 20th minute off a long ball from Captain Wil Trapp — his 10th career assist.
The celebrations didn’t last long thanks to a turnaround goal four minutes later by Diego Fagundez in the 24th minute off a build-up play by Kei Kamara and Lee Nguyen. Fagundez found the back of the net once more 10 minutes later, solidifying the Revs’ eventual victory.
Despite the goal deficit, the Black & Gold put up a good fight with 524 passes with a 85 percent passing accuracy. They also maintained a 64.2 percent possession and completed 28 crosses. Crew SC produced plenty of good chances — including a high shot attempt by defender Waylon Francis in the 29th minute and a Justin Meram header off the crossbar in the 59th. Columbus also gained a slight advantage in second half stoppage time when a straight red card was shown to Andrew Farrell, bringing the Revs down to 10-men.
Crew SC next visits 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.
Scoring Summary
20’ – CLB – Ola Kamara (Wil Trapp)
24’ – NE – Diego Fagundez (Kei Kamara, Lee Nguyen)
34’ – NE– Diego Fagundez
NOTES
Trapp with 10
Trapp added his 10th career assist after his part in Kamara’s 20th minute goal. In addition to his assist, Trapp also tallied 51 successful passes in New England’s half and 30 in the Black & Gold’s.
Trapp’s last assist came in a home contest against New York City FC last season (August 13, 2017). The midfielder also completed 81 passes in tonight’s match, more than any other player on the field and 48 passes more than any player for the Revolution.
Kamara is clicking
Forward Ola Kamara tallied his seventh goal of the season and his 23rd goal for Crew SC in 38 regular-season appearances (32 starts) by scoring in today’s match. This was the third consecutive regular-season match against the Revs in which Kamara scored a goal. He has tallied four goals over Crew SC’s last three regular-season clashes against the Revolution. Kamara has made 13 appearances (12 starts) this season and is currently tied for first place with Justin Meram in goals scored (7) for the club in the 2017 MLS regular season.
Naess makes 25th appearance & start
Defender Nico Naess reached a milestone in today’s match against the Revolution, as he made his 25th regular-season appearance (all starts) for Crew SC since joining the club on July 21, 2016. This season, Naess has made 12 appearances (all starts), featuring in all but one regular-season match for the club.
All-time
Today’s match marked the 70th all-time regular-season meeting between the Black & Gold and the Revs. Crew SC’s all-time regular-season record against the Revolution is now 36-23-12. The Black & Gold is 2-1-0 in its last three regular-season matches against the Revs.
Up next
Crew SC will play the last of its three-match road swing next weekend when it travels to Canada to take on Toronto FC for the third and final match of the Trillium Cup series in 2017. The trophy, which has been awarded since the 2008 season, is given to the team that secures the most points via wins (three points) or draws (one point) in the regular-season series each year.
