THE CREW'S PLAYOFF PUSH CONTINUES IN PHILLY
THE CREW TRAVELS TO PHILADELPHIA
Columbus Crew travels to Chester, Pennsylvania for a match against the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, October 3 at Subaru Park. The match is set to be the 30th all-time regular-season meeting between the two clubs, with the Crew holding a 15-10-4 all-time regular-season record against Philadelphia.
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
Columbus Crew and the Philadelphia Union last met on June 23 of this season, when the Crew traveled to Pennsylvania to face the Union at Subaru Park. The Union scored the match's lone goal in the 24th minute from midfielder Jamiro Monteiro to take a 1-0 victory. Midfielder Kevin Molino made his first regular-season start for the Crew and defender Marlon Hairston made his Black & Gold debut as a second-half substitute.
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Sunday's road match against the Philadelphia Union begins at 4:00 p.m. ET and is set to be locally televised on Bally Sports Ohio and via stream on the Bally Sports App. Neil Sika, Jordan Angeli and Brett Hiltbrand are slated to have the call in English. Pre-match coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio. The contest is also available in English on 97.1 The Fan and streaming via "Listen Live" on 971TheFan.com, with Chris Doran calling the match. A Spanish audio stream is available on ColumbusCrew.com, with Juan Valladares on the call.
CALEB PORTER NEARS 100 MLS REGULAR-SEASON VICTORIES
following the Black & Gold's 2-1 victory over CF Montreal on September 25, Crew Head Coach Caleb Porter brought his all-time MLS regular-season total to 99 victories, and is now only one win away from reaching the 100 victory mark. Porter joined MLS in 2013 and has since won two MLS Cups (2015 with Portland Timbers, 2020 with Columbus Crew) while posting a record of 99-83-72. Currently, there are only 10 other MLS head coaches in the League's history to win 100 or more regular-season matches
COLUMBUS CREW WINS FIRST INTERNATIONAL TROPHY
With its 2-0 win over Liga MX side Cruz Azul on Wednesday, the Crew secured its first international trophy. Midfielder Lucas Zelarayan was named GEICO Man of the Match. Head Coach Caleb Porter became the first American head coach to claim the trophy, while Zelarayan and Darlington Nagbe became the only players to win the Campeones Cup twice. The Black & Gold became the first team to register a shutout in the competition's history, as they held Cruz Azul scoreless for the entirety of the match.
ZARDES RECORDS SECOND BRACE OF SEASON, NINTH AS MEMBER OF THE CREW
Gyasi Zardes' brace last Saturday against CF Montreal marks the second time this season that he has recorded a brace in a regular-season contest, having previously done so against Chicago Fire FC on June 19. Zardes has now scored nine braces for the Club since joining prior to the 2018 season. In addition, the two-goal game was his second in his Crew career against CF Montreal, with Zardes previously doing so against Montreal on March 10, 2018. Zardes is in second place for the Club alltime in multi-goal games with 10, just below Stern John (12). Notably, the Crew are undefeated when Zardes scores two or more goals in a match. For a list of matches in which Zardes has scored two or more goals, please see the table on the next page.
