WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Saturday’s home contest against Atlanta United kicks-off at 7:30 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on SportsTime Ohio as well as streamed live via the FOX Sports GO App. Neil Sika, Dwight Burgess and Duncan Oughton are set to have the call in English, with pre-match and post-match coverage airing exclusively on SportsTime Ohio. Locally, the contest is available via the radio in English on 1460 AM and via stream on 971TheFan.com, with Chris Doran on the call. A Spanish radio stream is available on Colum- busCrewSC.com, with Juan Valladares on the call. For complete regional television listings, please visit ColumbusCrewSC.com/ broadcast.
CREW SC UNDEFEATED AT HOME SINCE JUNE OF 2018
Crew SC is undefeated at MAPFRE Stadium across all competi- tions dating back to June 13 of last year. Over that span, the Black & Gold have posted a winning record of 8-0-2 at home while outscoring opponents 16-8. In addition to notching eight wins at MAPFRE Stadium, the Crew has scored in all but one match, while posting four shutouts.
DOMINANCE AT HOME: CREW SC
Since the beginning of the 2017 MLS regular season, no team
has earned more points at home than Crew SC. Since then, the Crew has posted a record of 26-5-8, tallying 86 points at MAPFRE Stadium. Notably, the Black & Gold are also tied with the New York Red Bulls and Seattle Sounders FC for most wins at home (26) over that same span.
JJ WILLIAMS MAKES PROFESSIONAL DEBUT
Forward JJ Williams made his MLS and Crew SC regular-season debut in Saturday’s road contest against the Philadelphia Union. Williams came into the match as a substitute for Patrick Mullins in the 54th minute of the contest, registering two shots. Williams was selected by Columbus in the First Round of the 2019 Major League Soccer SuperDraft on January 11, 2019.
JOE BENDIK MAKES CREW SC REGULAR-SEASON DEBUT
Goalkeeper Joe Bendik made his Crew SC regular-season debut– as well as his first start for the Club – in Saturday’s road match against the Philadelphia Union. Bendik registered two saves on the night. The goalkeeper joined the Black & Gold on December 27, 2018. Since joining MLS in 2012, Bendik has made 171 regular- season appearances (168 starts) while making 546 saves and registering 22 shutouts.
ARGUDO AND SOSA MAKE 2019 REGULAR-SEASON DEBUTS
Midfielders Luis Argudo and Eduardo Sosa made their 2019 regular-season debuts in Saturday’s road match against the Philadelphia Union. Argudo entered the contest in the 65th minute as a substitute for Artur, while Sosa entered the match in the 84th minute as a replacement for Robinho. To date, Argudo has made 19 regular-season appearances (18 starts) for Crew SC, while Sosa has made 11 regular-season appearances (three starts) for the Club.
AFFUL NEARING 100TH REGULAR-SEASON APPEARANCE
Defender Harrison Afful is on the verge of making his 100th regular-season appearance for Crew SC. Afful joined the Black & Gold on July 30, 2015 and has made 99 regular-season appearances (96 starts) for the Club while scoring five goals and providing 12 assists. This season, Afful has made four regular-season appearances (all starts). With Afful's next appearance, he will become one of only six players on Crew SC’s current roster to have made at least 100 regular-season appearances for the Club.
HIGUAIN NEARING ALL-TIME CREW SC REGULAR-SEASON ASSISTS RECORD
Since joining Crew SC in 2012, midfielder Federico Higuain has provided 59 assists in regular-season action. The Argentine is second on the Crew's list of all-time regular-season assists leaders, behind only Robert Warzycha (61). Should Higuain notch three more helpers in regular-season action, he would become Crew SC’s all-time leader in this category.
TRAPP, ZARDES, AND KEITA FEATURED FOR U.S. MNT
Wil Trapp and Gyasi Zardes featured for the U.S. Men's National Team in friendlies against Ecuador (March 21) and Chile (March 26). Trapp started for the American squad in their 1-0 victory over Ecuador before coming in as a substitute against Chile to reach his 15th cap for the Star and Stripes. Zardes scored the game-winning goal against Ecuador and provided an assist in a 1-1 draw against Chile in what was his 44th cap for the U.S. Aboubacar Keita featured for the U.S. U-20 Men's National Team in friendlies against France (March 22) and Japan (March 25), providing an assist against France.
FRANCIS STARTS FOR COSTA RICA NATIONAL TEAM
Waylon Francis started for Costa Rica in a friendly against Guatemala (March 22). The international friendly was held at Estadio Mateo Flores and Francis played 63 minutes. The match marked Francis’ seventh cap for Costa Rica since making his debut for Los Ticos in 2013 during a Copa Centroamericana contest against Guatemala (January 20).
JUSTIN MERAM NAMED MVP OF INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP CHAMPIONSHIP
Midfielder Justin Meram was recently named the Most Valuable Player at the International Friendship Tournament, which was competed for between Iraq, Syria, and Jordan and was held in Basra, Iraq. Meram started for Iraq in consecutive matches, scoring the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Syria (March 20) before providing an assist in a 3-1 win over Jordan (March 26). To date, Meram has earned 31 caps for the Lions of Mesopotamia.
MENSAH FEATURED IN LATEST EPISODE OF MLSSOCCER.COM'S "BEYOND THE STANDS"
Ghanaian defender Jonathan Mensah was recently featured in the Season 3 premiere of MLSSoccer.com's "Beyond the Stands". The episode explores how the Jonathan Mensah Foundation helps children and orphans in his birthplace of Accra, Ghana. To watch the episode, visit the following link: mlssoccer.com/ videos/beyond-the-stands.
