Luis Diazcapped off a stellar week with a starting midfield spot on MLSsoccer.com's Team of the Week while Harrison Afful earned a spot as a reserve defender for his first nomination of the season.
Each of Diaz's two shots vs. Atlanta United led to a goal, first with Gyasi Zardes banging home an open rebound to equalize:
Then, Diaz committed a step-over on ATL's Miles Robinson to open up space and bend in an impressive shot from 18-yards out:
Afful played a full 90 minutes at rightback to help limit one of the League's best home teams to four shots on target overall, including zero shots on frame in the second half. The 33-year-old recorded a match-high 12 possessions gained to go along with three tackles, two clearances, and two interceptions.
The Crew's victory snapped a four-match home winning streak for Atlanta as part of a larger 11-match home unbeaten run. Additionally, Saturday was the first time since May 12 that Atlanta was held to one goal or less in regular-season play.
Crew SC's 2019 MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week honorees:
<strong>Date (& Match Week)</strong> |
<strong>Opponent(s)</strong> |
<strong>Honoree(s)</strong> |
March 2, 2019 (Week 1) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/NY_Primary.png" style="width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
Gaston Sauro - Defender |
March 9, 2019 (Week 2) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/NE_Primary.png" style="width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
Gyasi Zardes - Forward; Caleb Porter - Coach |
March 16, 2019 (Week 3) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/DAL_Primary.png" style="width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
Gaston Sauro - Defender; Zack Steffen - Goalkeeper |
March 30, 2019 (Week 5) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/ATL_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
Zack Steffen - Goalkeeper |
April 6, 2019 (Week 6) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/NE_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
Zack Steffen - Goalkeeper |
May 8 & 11, 2019 (Week 11) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/LA_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"><img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/LAFC.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 28px; height: 30px;"> |
Federico Higuain - Midfielder |
June 1, 2019 (Week 14) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/NYC_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
Pedro Santos - Midfielder |
July 20, 2019 (Week 20) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/CHI_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"><img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/MTL_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
David Accam - Midfielder |
July 27, 2019 (Week 21) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/NY_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
Pedro Santos - Forward |
Aug. 3, 2019 (Week 22) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/SJ_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
Eloy Room- Goalkeeper |
Aug. 10, 2019 (Week 23) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/CIN_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 31px;"> |
Pedro Santos - Midfielder |
Aug. 25, 2019 (Week 25) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/NYC_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"><img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/CIN_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 31px;"> |
Gyasi Zardes - Forward |
Sept. 14, 2019 (Week 28) |
<img alt="" src="https://columbus-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/elfinderimages/Club%20Logos/ATL_Primary.png" style="opacity: 0.9; width: 30px; height: 30px;"> |
Luis Diaz - Midfielder; Harrison Afful - Bench |
Up next, Crew SC travels to face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. ET.
Tune in on FOX Sports Ohio, stream on FOX Sports GO, or listen on 1460 AM The Fan or www.ColumbusCrewSC.com (English & Spanish).
