TONIGHT'S XI
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
The two sides met three times during the 2020 regular season. The clubs opened the 2020 MLS regular-season on March 1 at Historic Crew Stadium, with The Crew taking a 1-0 victory through midfielder Lucas Zelarayan's first Crew goal in the 57th minute. On August 24, Columbus Crew traveled to Red Bull Arena, with New York City snagging a 1-0 victory off a 59th-minute Alexander Ring goal. The clubs met again on October 18 at Historic Crew Stadium, with the Black & Gold earning a 3-1 victory through goals by midfielders Artur and Pedro Santos as well as forward Gyasi Zardes.
DARLINGTON NAGBE: A LEAGUE-LEADING PASSER
Through four matches in the 2021 MLS regular season, midfielder Darlington Nagbe leads the League in passing accuracy among players who have attempted 50 or more passes. The midfielder has made four starts while completing 184 of his 191 attempted passes for a passing accuracy percentage of 96.34%. Nagbe joined The Crew ahead of the 2020 MLS season and has made 19 regular-season appearances (18 starts) while scoring one goal and providing one assist.
A CHANCE TO CLIMB THE RECORD BOOKS FOR GYASI ZARDES
Should Gyasi Zardes score one or more goals in tonight's match, this would take him to 45 regular-season goals for the Club and he would pass Stern John on The Crew's all-time regular-season scoring leaderboard. Zardes would gain sole possession of fourth place, behind only Jeff Cunningham (64), Brian McBride (62) and Federico Higuain (55).
MENSAH REACHES 100 STARTS FOR THE CREW
Defender Jonathan Mensah made his 100th start for Columbus Crew during the Club's match against Toronto FC on May 12. Mensah joined the Black & Gold in January 2017 and has added three goals and one assist across all competitions. Mensah made 23 appearances last season at center-back (all starts) and was named to MLS Team of the Week in Round 2 of the MLS is Back Tournament. In the 2020 post-season, Mensah provided the game-winning assist against the New England Revolution (December 6) to help The Crew advance to the MLS Cup.
THE CREW WITH TWO REGULAR-SEASON MATCHES REMAINING AT HISTORIC CREW STADIUM
After a 3-1 victory against D.C. United in their last home match (May 8), the Black & Gold return to MLS regular season play at Historic Crew Stadium on May 29 when The Crew hosts Toronto FC for the second of two Trillium Cup matches. Columbus Crew's final match at Historic Crew Stadium against Chicago Fire FC is set to take place on June 19 and will celebrate Major League Soccer’s first soccer-specific stadium.
