UNBEATEN STREAK EXTENDED TO 9
With the win against Orlando City SC this past Sunday, Crew SC extended its unbeaten streak to nine consecutive matches dating back to a 3-1 home victory over the Chicago Fire (August 12). Since then, the Black & Gold have compiled a record of 6-0-3, outscoring opponents 17-8. This is the longest unbeaten streak for the club under Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter, who took charge of Crew SC ahead of the 2014 MLS season.
SEEDING SCENARIOS ON DECISION DAY
- Columbus Crew SC will clinch the No. 2 seed, a Knockout Round bye and home field advantage in the Eastern Conference IF Crew SC defeats New York City FC on October 22, AND Atlanta United FC ties or loses vs. Toronto FC on October 22, AND the Chicago Fire ties or loses vs. the Houston Dynamo on October 22
- Columbus Crew SC will clinch the No. 3 seed and home field advantage in the Knockout Round vs. the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference IF Crew SC defeats New York City FC on October 22, AND Atlanta United FC wins vs. Toronto FC on October 22, AND the Chicago Fire ties or loses vs. the Houston Dynamo on October 22 — OR— IF the Chicago Fire win vs. the Houston Dynamo on October 22, AND Atlanta United FC loses or draws vs. Toronto FC on October 22
- Columbus Crew SC will clinch the No. 4 seed and home field advantage in the Knockout Round vs. the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference IF Crew SC defeats New York City FC, AND Atlanta United FC wins vs. Toronto FC on October 22, AND the Chicago Fire wins vs. the Houston Dynamo on October 22 — OR— Crew SC draws with New York City FC on October 22 AND Atlanta United FC loses vs. Toronto FC on October 22
- Columbus Crew SC will clinch the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference IF Crew SC loses to New York City FC on October 22
TIED FOR 2ND-MOST WINS IN MLS
With their 1-0 win over Orlando City SC this past Sunday, the Black & Gold are now tied with New York City FC and the Chicago Fire for second-most wins in the 2017 MLS regular season (16). Crew SC is behind only Toronto FC, which has registered 20 wins. Additionally, this is the highest number of regular-season wins for the Black & Gold since the 2008 MLS season, when the club finished the regular season with 17 wins before going on to win MLS Cup.
KAMARA SETS CAREER-HIGH IN GOALS
Forward Ola Kamara scored his 17th goal of the 2017 MLS regular season in Sunday’s match against Orlando City SC, setting a new regular-season MLS career-high. Kamara’s goal came in the 66th minute when he received a pass from Hector Jimenez inside the box which he then sent to the back of the net, scoring the game-winner for Crew SC. Kamara’s 17 strikes this season also tie him with Brian McBride for fourth place on Crew SC’s list of most goals scored in a single regular-season. Following the conclusion of the match against Orlando, Kamara gave the following quote on scoring his 17th goal: “I feel very good. Scoring on my birthday, so it’s good. It’s always good. And I scored 16 last year so scoring 17 this year is good and there’s still one more game so it feels amazing.” In 2017, Kamara has made 33 regular-season appearances (32 starts), registering 17 goals and three assists.
KAMARA TIES RECORD FOR SCORING VS. MOST OPPONENTS IN SEASON
This past Sunday, Orlando City SC became the 15th team that Ola Kamara has scored against during the 2017 MLS regular season. With his goal against the Lions, Kamara tied Mike Magee’s MLS record of most teams scored against in a single regular season, which he achieved in 2013. Kamara and Magee are ahead of Chris Wondolowski, who scored against 14 different clubs during the 2015 MLS regular season. This season, Ola Kamara has scored against the following teams: Houston Dynamo (March 11), D.C. United (March 18), Portland Timbers (March 25), Toronto FC (April 15), New York City FC (April 29), New England Revolution (May 6), Seattle Sounders FC (May 31), Montreal Impact (June 24), Real Salt Lake (July 28), Chicago Fire (August 12), LA Galaxy (August 23), FC Dallas (August 26), Sporting Kansas City (September 10), Vancouver Whitecaps FC (September 16) and Orlando City SC (October 15).
KAMARA RISES SCORING CHARTS
This past Sunday, Norwegian forward Ola Kamara tallied his 33rd regular-season goal for Crew SC since joining the club ahead of the 2016 MLS season. With his goal against Orlando, Kamara tied Guillermo Barros Schelotto for eighth-place in Crew SC’s list of all-time regular-season goal scorers. Kamara is now behind only Jeff Cunningham (64 goals), Brian McBride (62 goals), Federico Higuain (48 goals), Stern John (44 goals), Edson Buddle (42 goals), Justin Meram (37 goals) and Eddie Gaven (35 goals). Since joining Crew SC in 2016, Ola Kamara has made 58 regular-season appearances (52 starts), scoring 33 goals and providing five assists. When asked about Kamara’s proficiency in front of goal following the match against Orlando, Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said the following: “Ola is just exceptional with his movement. When he gets into position, he’s a very good finisher. We need our strikers to be mobile, we need him to be running behind the opponent’s back line. Ola is a very good fit for that type of striker.”
TRIO PROVING DEADLY IN THE FINAL THIRD
33 matches into the 2017 MLS regular season, Federico Higuain has tallied nine goals and recorded 12 assists, Ola Kamara has registered 17 goals and provided three helpers, and Justin Meram has scored 13 goals while notching seven assists. This marks the first time in club history that three players have registered a combined total of 20 or more goals and assists each during a single regular-season. Between the three of them, Higuain, Kamara and Meram have scored 39 of Crew SC’s 51 goals, while also registering 22 assists. Of those 51 goals, nine have been game-winning goals, while seven of the 22 helpers have been game-winning assists.
HIGUAIN TIED ATOP GAME-WINNING ASSISTS CHART
On Sunday, October 15, Federico Higuain helped set up Ola Kamara’s 66th-minute game-winning goal against Orlando City SC, registering his 12th assist of the 2017 MLS regular season. Higuain played a through ball to Hector Jimenez, who then slid a ball across the box for Kamara to finish. This was Federico Higuain’s 16th game-winning helper since joining Crew SC in 2012, which ties him with Robert Warzycha for first place in Crew SC’s list of all-time game-winning assist leaders. In 2017, Higuain has registered five game-winning assists in regular-season action and currently leads the club in that category.
UNDEFEATED WHEN PIPA ASSISTS
33 matches into the 2017 MLS regular season, Crew SC boasts an undefeated record of 8-0-0 when Federico Higuain registers an assist. The Argentine midfielder has registered an MLS regular-season career-best 12 assists this year, and currently leads the club in both assists (12) and game-winning assists (five). In 2017, Higuain has made 25 regular-season appearances, registering nine goals and 12 assists.
JIMENEZ RECORDS 3RD ASSIST
Midfielder Hector Jimenez registered his third assist of the 2017 MLS regular season by providing the game-winning assist on Ola Kamara’s 66th-minute goal against Orlando City SC this past Sunday. Jimenez received a through ball from Federico Higuain which he then crossed into the box for Ola Kamara to finish. In addition to providing the assist, Jimenez played the entire 90 minutes and finished the match with 59 touches, 46 passes and two tackles. In 2017, Jimenez has made 19 appearances (15 starts) while registering three assists.
STEFFEN SETS RECORD FOR GKS IN 1ST YEAR OF PLAY
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen registered his 16th regular-season win of 2017 and his ninth regular-season shutout of the year in Sunday’s 1-0 road victory against Orlando City SC. With the clean sheet, Steffen becomes the first Crew SC goalkeeper to reach nine shutouts in his first year of MLS play, surpassing Steve Clark’s previous record of eight shutouts which was achieved in 2014. In 2017, Steffen has made 33 appearances (all starts), registering 91 saves and nine shutouts.
