LAST MATCH RECAP

PEDRO SANTOS, MOHAMMED ABU RECORD FIRST MLS CAREER ASSISTS IN CREW SC’S 2-0 SHUTOUT WIN AGAINST THE LA GALAXY

On Wednesday, August 23, Crew SC hosted the LA Galaxy at MAPFRE Stadium. Forward Ola Kamara put the Black & Gold ahead in the 45th minute, as he netted home a pass from midfielder Pedro Santos. Crew SC extended its lead with a 90th-minute Justin Meram goal, who was assisted by forward Kekuta Manneh and midfielder Mohammed Abu. The assists by Santos and Abu were the first of their MLS careers. The match ended 2-0, giving the Black & Gold the victory and their seventh shutout of the 2017 MLS regular season.

CREW SC & FC DALLAS AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew SC record: 18-17-10 (61 GF, 62 GA)
Home matches: 12-5-7 (36 GF, 25 GA)
Road matches: 6-12-3 (25 GF, 37 GA) 

LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS

CREW SC TO FACE FC DALLAS IN LONE REGULAR-SEASON MEETING OF 2017 

Columbus Crew SC and FC Dallas will face-off this Saturday at MAPFRE Stadium for the only regular-season meeting between the two clubs this season. This is the 46th regular-season match between the two clubs, with Columbus holding a record of 18-17-10 against Dallas. The Black & Gold have scored a total of 61 goals against FC Dallas all-time. Crew SC and FC Dallas met for the only time in the 2016 MLS regular season at Toyota Stadium on April 2, 2016. the Black & Gold took the lead off of a ninth-minute Justin Meram goal and Federico Higuain assist. Tesho Akindele leveled for Dallas in the 77th minute. Crew SC and Dallas ended the night sharing a point in a 1-1 draw.

COACHES

Gregg Berhalter (49-47-33, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Oscar Pareja (85-66-43, Colorado Rapids ‘12-’13; FC Dallas: ‘14-Present)

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN

Saturday’s contest against FC Dallas 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 pre-match show, begins at 7:00 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 complete list of places to catch the Black & Gold on TV is available at ColumbusCrewSC.com in the drop-down item “Crew SC Bars” under the “Supporters” tab. For complete regional television listings, please visit http:// bit. ly/2017CrewSCBroadcast. Internationally, the contest can be viewed on the following: Abu Dhabi Sports (Middle East and North Africa), BeIN Sports (Asia, Australia).

OLA KAMARA SCORES GAME-WINNING GOAL AGAINST THE LA GALAXY

Ola Kamara scored Crew SC’s game-winning goal in Wednesday’s 2-0 victory against the LA Galaxy. Kamara’s goal came in the 45th minute, as he latched onto a through ball by Pedro Santos and put it past LA’s goalkeeper Jon Kempin. This was Kamara’s 29th regular-season goal for Crew SC since joining the club in February of 2016. This season, Kamara has made 27 regular-season appearances (26 starts) and is currently the leading scorer for the Black & Gold in the 2017 MLS regular season with 13 goals.

OLA KAMARA LEADS CREW SC IN REGULAR-SEASON GOALS IN 2017

Through 27 appearances (26 starts) in the 2017 MLS regular season, forward Ola Kamara has scored 13 goals, more than any other Black & Gold player this season and ahead of Justin Meram (11 goals) and Federico Higuain (nine goals). Since joining the Black & Gold, Kamara has scored 29 regular-season goals for Crew SC in 50 regular-season appearances (44 starts) and is one of only 12 players in Black & Gold history to have scored 25 or more goals in regular-season action. Kamara’s goal per 90 minutes rate since the beginning of the 2016 MLS season is 0.63.

GOAL-A: KAMARA AMONG TOP FIVE SCORERS IN MLS SINCE 2016

Since the beginning of the 2016 MLS season, Ola Kamara has recorded 29 goals with only four other players scoring more than the Norwegian forward in that time span: David Villa (42), Bradley Wright-Phillips (38), Ignacio Piatti (31) and Sebastian Giovinco (30). Additionally, out of active MLS players who have played a minimum of 900 minutes since the beginning of the 2016 season, Ola Kamara has the seventh-highest goals per 90 minutes average with 0.63, behind only David Villa (0.77), Bradley Wright-Phillips (0.73), Nemanja Nikolic (0.67), Roland Alberg (0.67), Sebastian Giovinco (0.65) and Ignacio Piatti (0.64). 

JUSTIN MERAM SCORES 11^TH GOAL OF 2017 MLS REGULAR SEASON

Justin Meram tallied his 11th goal of the 2017 MLS regular season in Wednesday’s match against the LA Galaxy. Meram scored in the 90th minute and was assisted by Kekuta Manneh and Mohammed Abu. This year, Meram has made 27 regular-season appearances (26 starts) while registering a career-high 11 goals and seven assists. Since joining Crew SC in 2011, Meram has made 181 regular-season appearances (128 starts) and registered 35 goals and 33 assists.

PEDRO SANTOS MARKS HIS MAPFRE STADIUM DEBUT WITH A GAME-WINNING ASSIST

Crew SC’s newest Designated Player, midfielder Pedro Santos, made his MAPFRE Stadium debut in Wednesday’s match, providing the assist on Ola Kamara’s 45th-minute goal. This was Santos’ second appearance (first start) for the Black & Gold following his appearance in Saturday’s match against Orlando City SC. Santos was acquired as a Designated Player via a Discovery Signing on August 8, 2017. He is the sixth Designated Player in club history for the Black & Gold.

MOHAMMED ABU REGISTERS FIRST MLS CAREER ASSIST

Midfielder Mohammed Abu registered his first MLS career assist in Wednesday’s match against the LA Galaxy, as he provided a helper on Justin Meram’s 90th-minute goal. In addition to his assist, Abu played the entire 90 minutes and had more touches (88), more passes (81) and more tackles (3) than anyone on either team on the night. This season, Abu has made 15 appearances (nine starts), registering one assist.

CREW SC’S GHANAIAN CONTINGENT

With Mohammed Abu’s assist in Wednesday night’s match against the LA Galaxy, all four Ghanaians on Crew SC’s current roster have now either assisted or scored a goal for Crew SC in 2017. Harrison Afful provided a helper in a road contest against Atlanta United FC (June 17); Jonathan Mensah registered an assist in a road match against the San Jose Earthquakes (August 5); and Lalas Abubakar scored in a road contest against Orlando City SC (August 19).

PLAYMAKER FEDERICO HIGUAIN RETURNS TO ACTION

Midfielder Federico Higuain returned to Crew SC’s lineup for the first time since a start against Atlanta United FC (July 1). Higuain played 63 minutes and created five scoring chances, more than any player on either team. This was Higuain’s 19th regular-season appearance (19th start) in 2017. Through 19 matches in the 2017 MLS season, Higuain has registered nine goals and five assists.

WAYLON FRANCIS REACHES MILESTONE APPEARANCE FOR CREW SC

In Wednesday’s match against the LA Galaxy, defender Waylon Francis reached a milestone appearance, as he made his 75th start (83rd appearance) for Crew SC. Francis played 33 minutes, making 12 passes before coming off with a left thigh injury. In 2017, Francis has made 12 regular-season appearances (10 starts), recording two assists.

CREW SC FIELDS THREE DESIGNATED PLAYERS AT THE SAME TIME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN CLUB HISTORY

Wednesday’s match against the LA Galaxy marked the first time in club history that Crew SC fielded three Designated Players at the same time, as Jonathan Mensah, Federico Higuain and Pedro Santos all started for the Black & Gold in Saturday’s contest. 

BLACK & GOLD REGISTER SEVENTH REGULAR-SEASON SHUTOUT OF 2017

Crew SC registered its seventh shutout of the 2017 MLS regular season against the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night. The Black & Gold backline did not allow a single shot on target en route to earning the clean sheet. This was Crew SC’s first shutout since a 1-0 home victory over the Philadelphia Union on July 22 of this year.

WIL TRAPP: TOP PASSER IN MLS

Through 27 matches in the 2017 MLS regular season, midfielder Wil Trapp leads the League in passes (1,827) and successful passes (1,638) according to Opta. Additionally, Trapp is in second place in touches (2,121), in third place in passes in the opponent’s half (928) and in third place in successful passes in the opponent’s half (894) and in successful passes in the opponent’s half (801). He is currently fourth in the League in touches (1,181). 

TOP PASSERS FOR CREW SC

Midfielder Wil Trapp leads the Black & Gold in passes (1,827) and successful passes (1,638) through 27 matches in the 2017 MLS regular season. Coming in second place is midfielder Federico Higuain, who has made 969 passes. In third place is midfielder Artur, with 917 passes. Defender Jonathan Mensah is in fourth place with 909 passes, ahead of Nico Naess, who has 872 passes.

BLACK & GOLD ROOKIES MAKING AN IMPACT

Twenty-seven matches into the 2017 MLS regular-season, Black & Gold rookies are making an impact on the field. Lalas Abubakar, Alex Crognale, Niko Hansen and Connor Maloney have played a combined total of 1,929 minutes. In terms of appearances, Crognale leads the pack having made 16 appearances (12 starts). He is trailed by Hansen, who has made 13 appearances (three starts). Meanwhile, Abubakar has made five appearances (all starts) and Maloney has made two appearances (one start). In terms of impact on the field, the rookies have scored two goals, one by Niko Hansen and one by Lalas Abubakar. Additionally, they have assisted on four of Crew SC’s 40 goals this season, with Hansen notching two assists while Crognale and Maloney have provided one assist each.

JONATHAN MENSAH: USING HIS HEAD

Defender Jonathan Mensah leads Crew SC in aerial duels won (52) and headed clearances (59). He is trailed by forward Ola Kamara (43 aerial duels won, 10 headed clearances) and fellow defenders Alex Crognale (26 aerial duels won, 45 headed clearances) and Josh Williams (26 aerial duels won, 28 headed clearances). Not far behind them are Jukka Raitala (22 aerial duels won, 19 headed clearances) and Nico Naess (16 aerial duels won, 17 headed clearances).