Columbus Crew SC travels to Gillette Stadium to take on New England Revolution on Saturday with 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
In their first meeting of the 2018 season, Columbus and New England split points at MAPFRE Stadium. Crew SC scored first as the benefactors of Revs defender Andrew Farrell's own goal while attempting to block a shot from Milton Valenzuela. Forward Gyasi Zardes later scored a go-ahead goal near the end of the first half. New England equalized shortly after each Columbus goal, with the match ending in a 2-2 draw.
Last week, the Black & Gold closed out a series of three matches over eight days with a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Fire. In the 28th minute, Federico Higuain scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick after Zardes was fouled inside the box. In the second half, Zardes locked up his brace for Columbus, helping Crew SC win and secure its third consecutive shutout. Zardes’s two goals helped him earn MLSSoccer.com’s Team of the Week and Player of the Week honors.
New England defeated Toronto FC last Saturday at home. The Revs gained an early lead in the 4th minute with a forced turnover and counterattack near midfield, resulting in a goal from forward Cristian Penilla. Penilla completed a quick brace three minutes later on another turnover. At the beginning of the second half, the Revolution scored again, giving Toronto a three-goal gap to close. New England gave up two goals to Toronto in the second half, finishing with a 3-2 victory.
Crew SC enters Saturday looking to extend its unbeaten streak to six matches. Columbus is currently sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of New England.
Following New England, Crew SC travels to face Sporting Kansas City on Sunday May 27 at 6 p.m. ET. The Black & Gold return to MAPFRE Stadium on June 2 to host Toronto FC with a kickoff time of 7:30 p.m. ET.
