CREW SC LOOKING FOR ROAD WIN
Columbus Crew SC plays its 17th Major League Soccer regular-season match in 2015 and its eighth on the road by visiting Real Salt Lake on Saturday, June 27. Crew SC has fared well historically against RSL, with a record of 10-5-2. In Utah, the Black & Gold are 3-4-1 against the Claret & Cobalt. Saturday’s clash will be the club’s fifth-ever contest at Rio Tinto Stadium, as Crew SC’s first four matches in Salt Lake City were contested at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The two sides also have met once in the MLS Cup Playoffs, in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, a series that RSL took 4-2 on aggregate.
LAST REGULAR SEASON MEETING
On June 4, 2014, Crew SC and Real Salt Lake recorded a 1-1 draw at MAPFRE Stadium. Luis Gil opened the scoring for RSL in the 56th minute, but Black & Gold midfielder Ethan Finlay leveled the match with an 88th-minute tally, assisted by Ben Speas. Steve Clark made two saves and Justin Meram paced Crew SC in shots during the contest with four.
KAMARA MAINTAINS LEAGUE LEAD IN GOALS, SECOND IN SHOTS
Crew SC forward Kei Kamara continues to lead Major League Soccer with 12 goals on the year. Kamara’s 12 tallies are now four ahead of a three-way tie for second including Sebastian Giovinco, Kaka and Chris Wondolowski. The Crew SC forward also ranks second in MLS in both total shots (69) and shots on goal (30).
FINLAY LEADS LEAGUE IN ASSISTS
In Crew SC’s last match against New England, Ethan Finlay recorded his ninth assist of the 2015 MLS season on Kei Kamara’s second tally of the game. The helper broke a tie with Sporting Kansas City’s Benny Feilhaber for the League lead. Through just 16 games this season, Finlay’s nine assists are a new career single-season high, surpassing last season’s breakout total of seven assists. Since May 17, 2014, Finlay has recorded 13 goals and 16 assists in MLS regular season play.
CREATING CHANCES
According to the League’s official statistician, Opta, Crew SC ranks second in the League in chances created per match (11.2) and leads MLS in big chances created per match (1.2).
WHERE TO WATCH AND LISTEN
Saturday’s 10:00 p.m. ET start is available locally on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel. “Crew SC Matchday” on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel begins at 9:30 p.m. ET. Prior to that, “Massive Supporters” debuts at 8:30 p.m. ET with a look at supporter culture around the club. Dwight Burgess and Neil Sika are set to have the call of the match at 10:00 p.m. ET. A complete list of places to catch the Black & Gold on TV is available
here
. Fans can also listen to the match on the radio on Crew SC’s English-language radio partner CD102.5 FM or in Spanish on La Mega 103.1 FM.
