Columbus Crew SC’s 3-2 come from behind victory over Orlando City SC on Saturday night was an action-packed match that included an unbelievable screamer of a goal by captain Wil Trapp. With that said, while the number six – Trapp’s number – will take all the headlines, it was the number three that had a recurring theme throughout the match. Read below to find out why three was the number of the night.
THREE GOALS
Saturday’s contest featured three goals, two by forward Gyasi Zardes in the 50th and 88th minute respectively, and a stunner by Wil Trapp in second-half stoppage time. The three strikes took some of the pressure off of Columbus’ attack, which had not scored in its last two matches.
THIRD BRACE FOR GYASI
Gyasi Zardes’ brace against Orlando City was his third since joining the Black & Gold ahead of the 2018 MLS season. The forward had previously registered a brace in a 3-2 win over the Montreal Impact (March 10) and in a 3-0 win over the Chicago Fire (May 12). All three braces have come at MAPFRE Stadium, where Zardes has scored 12 of his 13 goals this season.
HARRY’S THIRD ASSIST OF THE SEASON
Harrison Afful was awarded a secondary assist on Zardes’ opening goal, as the Ghanaian defender played a through ball to Niko Hansen, who then crossed the ball for Zardes to finish. With the helper, Afful brought his 2018 total to three assists in regular-season action, equaling his MLS single-season high which he had achieved in the 2016 regular season.
THREE GOALS IN A WIN FOR THE THIRD TIME IN 2018
Saturday marked the third time this season that Crew SC has managed to win while scoring three goals in a single match. The Black & Gold managed to score three goals in victories over the Montreal Impact 3-2 (March 10) and the Chicago Fire 3-0 (May 12). All three matches took place at MAPFRE Stadium.
THREE SUBSTITUTES
Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter made three substitutions against the Lions, handing Patrick Mullins and Edward Opoku their regular-season debuts with the club in the 68th minute before bringing in Mike Grella in the 84th minute. The substitutions paid off, as Mullins earned the penalty kick that led to the equalizer in the 88th minute, while Grella provided the game-winning assist.
THREE SAVES
Zack Steffen’s performance may have taken a backseat to those of Gyasi Zardes and Wil Trapp, but the goalkeeper still produced some highlight moments including an unbelievable stop on Mohamed El-Munir in the 62nd minute. In all, Steffen registered three saves, allowing Crew SC to remain in the game and eventually come back and win it all.
THIRD VICTORY OVER ORLANDO CITY SC AT MAPFRE STADIUM
Although the Black & Gold have a great record against Orlando City SC - having an all-time winning regular-season record of 4-1-3 – Saturday was just the third time that Crew SC defeated the Lions at home. The result brought Crew SC’s all-time regular-season record at home against Orlando to 3-0-1 since 2015, with the Black & Gold outscoring the Lions 10-4 over that span.
THREE POINTS
Sure, Saturday’s match may have been a six-point game as Gregg Berhalter pointed in his post-match conference, but on paper Crew SC walked away with the three points. After having dropped consecutive matches against the LA Galaxy and New York City FC, this win gets the Black & Gold back on track ahead of their trip to the New York Red Bulls.
And finally...
THAT THIRD GOAL
Wil Trapp's game-winner in the 92nd minute was the best of the bunch and a contender for this week’s Goal of the Week over at MLSSoccer.com. Make sure you vote for it!
Up next, Crew SC travels to Red Bull Arena to take on the New York Red Bulls this Saturday, July 28 (7:00 p.m. ET / CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports, BCSN2, CD102.5 FM, English and Spanish audio broadcasts available on ColumbusCrewSC.com).
