LAST MATCH RECAP 

LALAS ABUBAKAR SCORES 1^ST MLS CAREER GOAL IN CREW SC’S 1-1 DRAW AGAINST ORLANDO CITY SC

On Saturday, August 19, Crew SC traveled to take on Orlando City SC at Orlando City Stadium. Rookie defender Lalas Abubakar put the Black & Gold ahead in the 35th minute, as he headed in a ball from Waylon Francis to score his first MLS career goal. Forward Giles Barnes leveled for the Lions in the 67th minute, making it 1-1. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen made seven stops for the Black & Gold, setting a new MLS career-high number of saves in a single match.

CREW SC & LA GALAXY AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew SC record: 16-15-10 (56 GF, 52 GA)
Home matches: 9-4-6 (31 GF, 21 GA)
Road matches: 7-11-4 (25 GF, 31 GA) 

LAST THREE REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS

CREW SC TO FACE LA GALAXY IN LONE REGULAR-SEASON MEETING OF 2017

Columbus Crew SC and the LA Galaxy will face-off this Wednesday at MAPFRE Stadium for the only regular-season meeting between the two clubs this season. This is the 42nd regular-season match between the two clubs, with Columbus holding a record of 16-15-10 against the Galaxy. The Black & Gold have scored a total of 56 goals against the Galaxy all-time.

LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING

Crew SC and the LA Galaxy met for the only time in the 2016 MLS regular season at the StubHub Center on September 4th, 2016. The Galaxy took the lead scoring two quick goals with a 78th-minute goal by Baggio Huisdic and an 82nd minute tally by Giovani Dos Santos. Adam Jahn put Crew SC on the board in the second minute of stoppage time. Crew SC fell 2-1 in LA.

COACHES

Gregg Berhalter (48-47-32, Columbus Crew SC: ‘14 - Present)
vs.
Sigi Schmid (228-167-114, Columbus Crew SC: ‘06-’08; Seattle Sounders FC: ‘09 - ‘17; LA Galaxy: ‘99-’04, ‘17- Present) 

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN

Wednesday’s contest against the LA Galaxy kicks-off at 7:30 p.m. ET and is set to be televised regionally on MyTV Columbus, Spectrum Sports and BCSN2. Neil Sika (play-by-play), Dwight Burgess (analyst) and Alex Stec (sideline) are set to have the call in English. Coverage on MyTV Columbus begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Exclusively on Spectrum Sports and BCSN2, “Crew SC Matchday,” the pre-match show, begins at 7:00 p.m. ET, with “Crew SC Post-Match” immediately following the action. Locally, the contest is available via the radio in English on CD102.5 FM and in Spanish on La Mega 103.1 FM. The English radio broadcast also is set to stream live on ColumbusCrewSC.com. The Spanish radio calls are also set to be streamed in Spanish on the LaMega1 App and via Tunein Radio as WVKOFM. The complete list of places to catch the Black & Gold on TV is available at ColumbusCrewSC.com in the drop-down item “Crew SC Bars” under the “Supporters” tab. For complete regional television listings, please visit http:// bit.ly/2017CrewSCBroadcast. 

ROOKIE DEFENDER LALAS ABUBAKAR SCORES 1^ST MLS CAREER GOAL

Rookie defender Lalas Abubakar tallied his first career MLS goal in Saturday’s road contest against Orlando City SC. Abubakar scored for Crew SC in the 35th minute, as he headed in a ball from Waylon Francis. The defender played the entire 90 minutes, registering one shot, one tackle and making 30 passes. In 2017, Abubakar has made five appearances (all starts), scoring one goal.

GOALKEEPER ZACK STEFFEN SETS NEW MLS CAREER HIGH IN SAVES

Zack Steffen set a new MLS regular-season career-high for number of saves in a single match this past Saturday in Crew SC’s match against Orlando City SC. Steffen registered seven stops on the night, surpassing his previous career-best of five saves in a single match. In 2017, Steffen has made 26 regular-season appearances (all starts), recording six shutouts and 79 saves.

STEFFEN REACHES 75 SAVES IN REGULAR-SEASON ACTION

Zack Steffen reached 75 saves for Crew SC in Saturday’s match against Orlando City SC. The goalkeeper, who was sitting on 72 stops coming into the match against the Lions, made seven stops on the night, reaching and then surpassing 75 saves. In 2017, Steffen has made 26 regular-season appearances (all starts), recording six shutouts and 79 saves.

GOALKEEPER ZACK STEFFEN NAMED TO MLSSOCCER.COM’S TEAM OF THE WEEK

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen was named to MLSSoccer.com ’s Team of the Week following his performance in Crew SC’s 1-1 draw on the road against Orlando City SC this past Saturday. Steffen registered seven stops on the night, surpassing his previous career-best of five saves in a single match. This is the second time this season that the goalkeeper was named to MLSSoccer.com ’s Team of the Week having previously earned the honor for his performance in Crew SC’s 2-0 shutout road victory over D.C. United (March 18).

DESIGNATED PLAYER PEDRO SANTOS MAKES CREW SC & MLS DEBUT

Crew SC’s newest Designated Player, midfielder Pedro Santos, made his debut this past Saturday in the Black & Gold’s road contest against Orlando City SC. Santos came in as a substitute for midfielder Cristian Martinez in the 62nd minute, playing for 28 minutes on the night. Santos was acquired as a Designated Player via a Discovery Signing on August 8, 2017. He is the sixth Designated Player in club history for Crew SC.

CRISTIAN MARTINEZ MAKES 1^ST START OF 2017 MLS REGULAR SEASON

Midfielder Cristian Martinez made his first regular-season start of 2017 in Saturday’s match against Orlando City SC. Martinez played 62 minutes, completing 80% of his passes and making three tackles. In 2017, Martinez has made five regular-season appearances (one start).

DEFENDER WAYLON FRANCIS REGISTERS 2^ND CONSECUTIVE ASSIST

In Saturday’s match, defender Waylon Francis recorded his second regular-season assist of 2017. Francis provided the pass that led to Crew SC’s opening goal in the 35th minute. In 2017, Francis has made 11 regularseason appearances (nine starts), recording two assists. Since joining the Black & Gold in November of 2013, Francis has made 82 regular-season appearances (74 starts), recording 18 assists for Crew SC.

BLACK & GOLD’S GHANAIAN QUARTET PLAY TOGETHER FOR THE 1^ST TIME IN THE 2017 MLS REGULAR-SEASON

Crew SC’s match on Saturday against Orlando City SC marked the first time that the club’s four Ghanaian players (Mohammed Abu, Lalas Abubakar, Harrison Afful and Jonathan Mensah) all played in the same lineup in regular-season action. Additionally, all four Ghanaian players started for the Black & Gold, with defender Lalas Abubakar also registering a goal. 

OLA KAMARA LEADS CREW SC IN REGULAR-SEASON GOALS IN 2017

Through 26 appearances (25 starts) in the 2017 MLS regular season, forward Ola Kamara has scored 12 goals, more than any other Black & Gold player this season. Since joining the Black & Gold, Kamara has scored 28 regular-season goals for Crew SC in 51 regular-season appearances (45 starts) and is one of only 12 players in Black & Gold history to have scored 25 or more goals in regular-season action. Kamara’s goal per 90 minutes rate since the beginning of the 2016 MLS season is 0.62.

GOAL-A: KAMARA AMONG TOP FIVE SCORERS IN MLS SINCE 2016

Since the beginning of the 2016 MLS season, Ola Kamara has recorded 28 goals with only four other players scoring more than the Norwegian forward in that time span: David Villa (41), Bradley Wright-Phillips (38), Ignacio Piatti (31) and Sebastian Giovinco (29). Additionally, out of active MLS players who have played a minimum of 900 minutes since the beginning of the 2016 season, Ola Kamara has the fifth highest goals per 90 minutes average with 0.62, behind only David Villa (0.77), Bradley WrightPhillips (0.73), Nemanja Nikolic (0.67), Roland Alberg (0.67), Igancio Piatti (0.64) and Sebastian Giovinco (0.64).

WIL TRAPP: TOP PASSER IN MLS

Through 26 matches in the 2017 MLS regular season, midfielder Wil Trapp leads the League in passes (1,757), successful passes (1,573) and touches (2,044) according to Opta. Additionally, Trapp is in third place in passes in the opponent’s half (1,017) according to Opta. Trapp is also in second place when it comes to successful passes in the opponent’s half (894) and in successful passes in the opponent’s half (770).

BLACK & GOLD ROOKIES MAKING AN IMPACT

Twenty-six matches into the 2017 MLS regular-season, Black & Gold rookies are making an impact on the field. Lalas Abubakar, Alex Crognale, Niko Hansen and Connor Maloney have played a combined total of 1,929 minutes. In terms of appearances, Crognale leads the pack having made 16 appearances (12 starts). He is trailed by Hansen has made 13 appearances (three starts) Meanwhile, Abubakar has made four appearances (all starts) and Maloney has made two appearances (one start). In terms of impact on the field, the rookies have scored two goals, one by Niko Hansen and one by Lalas Abubakar. Additionally, they have assisted on four of Crew SC’s 37 goals this season, with Hansen notching two assists while Crognale and Maloney have provided one assist each. On the performance of Crew SC’s rookies in 2017, Sporting Director & Head Coach Gregg Berhalter gave the following quote this week at practice: “I think it says a lot about the veterans in this group [and] it says a lot about the quality of the rookies that we have.”

CREW SC ROOKIES LEAVING THEIR MARK ON THE SCORESHEET

With Lalas Abubakar’s goal in Saturday’s match against Orlando City SC, all four of Crew SC’s rookie field players in 2017 have either scored or provided an assist in regular-season action. Niko Hansen has registered one goal and two assists; Lalas Abubakar has scored one goal; Alex Crognale has provided one assist; and Connor Maloney has recorded one assist.