In the final match before the Concacaf Gold Cup break, Columbus Crew SC (6-9-2, 17 pts.) fought New York City FC to a 2-2 draw on Saturday, June 1 at MAPFRE Stadium.
The Black & Gold struck first in the 28th minute when Pedro Santos was tripped up inside of New York City's 18-yard box. Forward Gyasi Zardes stepped up to the penalty spot and calmly placed the ball past NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson for his sixth goal of the 2019 regular season.
New York City leveled the match in the 57th minute when Heber finished a deflected touch from Maximiliano Morales inside the near post. Four minutes later, Crew SC responded when David Accam laid a ball off to Santos who placed it inside the far post. The play marked Accam's first assist for the Black & Gold and Santos' fourth goal of the 2019 regular season.
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who played in his final match with the Black & Gold tonight, came up big in the 73rd minute when he deflected a shot from Ismael Tajouri-Shradi outside the frame of the goal.
New York City FC had the final say, however, when Alexander Ring played a pass to Valentin Castellanos who struck the ball from well outside the box and into the far post past a diving Steffen in the 76th minute.
Notably, defender Connor Maloney made his Crew SC debut for the 2019 regular season.
Up next, Crew SC begins its run in the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup when the Club plays host to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at MAPFRE Stadium on Tuesday, June 11 at 7 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+.
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Goal Scoring Rundown:
CLB - Gyasi Zardes, 28th minute: Zardes places from the spot to the left post. CLB 1, NYC 0
NYC - Heber (Maximiliano Morales, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi), 57th minute: Heber finishes a deflected ball from Morales to the near post. CLB 1, NYC 1
CLB - Pedro Santos (David Accam), 61st minute: Santos places a ball from Accam to the far post. CLB 2, NYC 1
NYC - Valentin Castellanos (Alexander Ring): Castellanos drives a shot from outside the box to the far post. CLB 2, NYC 2 | FINAL
Lineups:
Columbus Crew SC
New York City FC
Match Notes:
Gyasi Zardes recorded his sixth goal of the 2019 regular season during tonightās match against New York City FC. The goal came in the 28th minute via a penalty kick, as Zardes converted a penalty kick attempt following a foul on Pedro Santos inside NYCFCās box. With his strike in tonightās match, Zardes has now scored 25 regular-season goals and provided one assist in 44 regular-season appearances (all starts) since joining Crew SC ahead of the 2018 season. The goal was Zardesā second tally in as many matches, as he had previously scored in last weekās road contest against the Colorado Rapids (May 25). Notably, tonightās penalty kick marked the fourth time Zardes has converted a penalty kick for Crew SC, as he had previously scored three penalty kick goals during the 2018 regular-season.
Midfielder Pedro Santos recorded his fourth goal of the 2019 regular-season for Crew SC in tonightās contest against New York City FC. Santosā goal came in the 61st minute after connecting on a cross from David Accam. With his strike in tonightās match, Santos has now scored second in two consecutive matches for Crew SC. Santos played the entire 90 minutes, registering 74 touches and attempting 37 passes. In 2019, the midfielder has made 15 regular-season appearances (14 starts), while scoring four goals (one game-winning goal) and providing two assists (both game-winning assists). To date, Santos has scored five goals and recorded 11 assists since joining the Black & Gold in 2017.
Midfielder David Accam registered his first assist since joining the Black & Gold on May 8. Accam found Pedro Santos in the 61st minute of tonightās contest against New York City FC. Accam registered 42 touches and attempted 13 passes. The midfielder joined the Crew from the Philadelphia Union. Prior to joining the Black & Gold, Accam played for the Chicago Fire from 2015 ā 2017 and the Philadelphia Union from 2018-2019. In all, Accam has made 113 regular-season appearances (85 starts), scoring 38 goals and providing 18 assists.
Defender Connor Maloney made his 2019 regular-season debut for Crew SC during tonightās home contest against New York City FC. Maloney came into the match as a substitute for Josh Williams in the 75th minute and recorded 16 touches, attempted eight passes and finished with a passing percentage of 75. Since joining the Black and Gold ahead of the 2017 regular-season, Maloney has recorded four regular-season appearances (two starts) and registered three assists.
Tonightās contest against New York City FC marked Zack Steffenās final contest for the Black & Gold. Steffen joined Crew SC on July 22, 2016. Over that span, Steffen made 76 regular-season appearances (all starts), making 203 saves, registering 23 shutouts and posting 33 wins. During his time here, Steffen set a Club record for longest regular-season shutout, keeping a clean sheet for 525 consecutive minutes, from April 28 to June 13 of 2018. Additionally, Steffen also earned the following honors and awards while with the Crew: 2017 Crew SC Defender of the Year, 2018 MLS All-Star, 2018 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and 2018 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year.
With the 2-2 draw against the New York City FC in todayās match, Crew SCās 2019 regular-season record is now 5-9-2 (17 points). Next up in MLS regular-season action, Crew SC has a home contest against Sporting Kansas City at MAPFRE Stadium on Sunday, June 23 (5:30 p.m. ET / Fox Sports Ohio, FOX Sports GO / 97.1 The Fan and streaming online via the āListen Liveā button at 971TheFan.com / Spanish audio stream on ColumbusCrewSC.com). Crew SC plays a home Fourth Round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Tuesday, June 11 at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+).
