BRIDGEVIEW – Columbus Crew SC had a couple of defensive bright spots Saturday in their 1-0 loss to the Chicago Fire as goalkeeper Zack Steffen and defender Nicolai Naess made awe-inspiring plays. Steffen and Naess are the only members of the Black & Gold to have played every minute of the Major League Soccer season to date.
Six games and 540 minutes have been the production thus far for Steffen and Naess. The two members of the Columbus defense made masterful plays to prevent two goals during the second half at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.
Steffen made an impressive diving save in the 76th minute on a free-kick attempt by Chicago midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger. The young goalkeeper knocked away the upper-90 attempt by the newly-acquired German superstar to keep the match within striking distance for Crew SC.
Steffen’s stat sheet also included three saves on shots from inside the box. Steffen has had two shutouts in the past three games for Crew SC. This is his first season as a starter in the MLS.
Naess made his jaw-dropping play on a rare occasion when Steffen was out of position. The 81st minute saw Naess make an incredible goal-line clearance on an attempt by Chicago midfielder Daniel Johnson.
“That was a little bit of a broken play that they got a chance on,” Crew SC and Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said. “They didn’t have many chances in the second half at all that I remember. Nico did a good job following up on that. You always want your defenders getting back into the goal and covering up the goal.”
Outside of his amazing off-the-line clearance, Naess also recorded 37 successful passes on his own half, two clearances, a tackle won and an interception. He also completed eight long passes and 15 passes in the opposition half.
The Black & Gold defense has only allowed seven goals in six games this season. Naess and Steffen have been patrolling the Crew SC half for every bit of those six games.
The Black & Gold then return home for the first leg of the Trillium Cup against Toronto FC on April 15 for an 8 p.m. kickoff at MAPFRE Stadium.
