SAN JOSE, Calif. — With the final whistle coming well after midnight in the Eastern Time Zone, Columbus Crew SC concluded its mid-summer three-match road trip with a 2-1 loss against the San Jose Earthquakes. The match marked several milestones for Black & Gold outfield players: midfielder Justin Meram made his 125th Major League Soccer and Crew SC start and registered an assist, forward Adam Jahn scored his first goal in the 2017 MLS regular season and defender Jonathan Mensah contributed his first MLS assist.
Jahn's 76th minute strike came just two minutes after the California-native subbed into the match. A corner kick taken by Meram found Mensah's forehead at the back post before the ball dropped inside the 6-yard box for Jahn to deposit for his first goal of the season. It was the 6-foot-3 forward's 12th goal in MLS and sixth for the Black & Gold. Not only was this his first goal of the 2017 MLS regular season, but it is also comes against his former club. Jahn was acquired by Crew SC in a trade with the San Jose Earthquakes last year.
San Jose's Marco Urena scored in the 42nd and Chris Wondolowski in the second half. Urena set up his goal himself, staying with the ball in traffic inside the penalty area long enough to poke the ball past Crew SC's Zack Steffen. Wondolowski finished his strike from inside the penalty box off a centered ball by Tommy Thompson in the 56th minute.
The match saw Crew SC outshot 20-10 (7-4 on-target) while Steffen made five saves.
Crew SC then returns home to MAPFRE Stadium to host Bastian Schweinsteiger and the Chicago Fire on August 12 for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
MATCH INFO:
Venue: Avaya Stadium (San Jose, CA)
Referee: Alan Kelly
Assistants: Michael Kampmeinert, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz
Video Assistant Referee: Jon Freemon
Attendance: 18,000
Weather: 73 degrees and clear
GOALS/ASSISTS
SJ – Marco Urena (Shea Salinas) 42’
SJ – Chris Wondolowski (Tommy Thompson) 56’
CLB – Adam Jahn (Jonathan Mensah, Justin Meram) 76’
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
CLB – Jonathan Mensah (caution) 26’
SJ – Shea Salinas (caution) 90+1’
LINEUPS
Columbus Crew SC: Zack Steffen; Jonathan Mensah, Alex Crognale (Adam Jahn 74’), Nicolai Naess; Hector Jimenez, Artur, Wil Trapp ©, Jukka Raitala (Waylon Francis 86’); Kekuta Manneh (Cristian Martinez 56’), Justin Meram; Ola Kamara
Substitutes not used: Brad Stuver, Josh Williams, Mohammed Abu, Ethan Finlay
San Jose Earthquakes: David Bingham; Florian Jungwirth, Victor Bernardez, Andres Imperiale; Nick Lima, Jackson Yueill (Fatai Alashe 90’), Tommy Thompson, Darwin Ceren, Shea Salinas; Chris Wondolowski ©, Marco Urena (Valeri Kazaishvili 80’)
Substitutes not used: Andrew Tarbell; Kofi Sarkodie, Danny Hoesen, Quincy Amarikwa, Simon Dawkins
NOTES
Meram's 125th
Justin Meram made his 125th regular-season start (178th start) in MLS and for Crew SC in tonight’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes. He is one of only two players in Crew SC’s current roster to have made 125 or more regular-season starts for the Black & Gold, behind Federico Higuain (136 starts). In 2017, Meram has made 24 regular-season appearances (23 starts) while registering nine goals and seven assists. Since joining Crew SC in 2011, Meram has made 178 regular-season appearances (125 starts) and recorded 33 goals and 33 assists.
Millenium Milestone Approaching
Crew SC is on the verge of scoring its 1,000th MLS regular-season goal. Scoring one goal in tonight’s match, the Black & Gold have scored 998 regular-season goals dating back to the beginning of the 1996 MLS season. Currently there are only four teams to have scored 1,000 goals or more. The teams on this list are the LA Galaxy (1,092), D.C. United (1,033), the New York Red Bulls (1,023) and FC Dallas (1,013).
Jolt from Jahn
Forward Adam Jahn scored his first goal of the 2017 MLS regular season, assisted by Jonathan Mensah and Justin Meram. The goal was Jahn’s 12th goal in MLS and sixth for the Black & Gold. Not only was this his first goal of the 2017 MLS regular season, but it is also comes against his former club. Jahn was acquired by Crew SC in a trade with the San Jose Earthquakes last year.
