COLUMBUS
CREW
2021 REGULAR SEASON:
(3-2-2, 11 pts.)
CHICAGO
FIRE FC
2021 REGULAR SEASON:
(1-5-1, 4 pts.)
Date: Saturday, June 19
Match Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Kickoff: 7:38 p.m. ET
Location: Historic Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)
Regional TV: Bally Sports Ohio Neil Sika (play-by-play) Jordan Angeli (analyst)
Brett Hiltbrand (sideline)
97.1 The Fan [Radio]: Chris Doran (play-by-play)
ColumbusCrew.com Spanish Audio Stream: Juan Valladares (play-by-play)
Columbus Crew 2021 MLS REGULAR-SEASON RECORD: OVERALL: 3-2-2 HOME: 2-0-1 AWAY: 1-2-1
OHIOHEALTH PLAYER AVAILABILITY REPORT
Out: Artur – R Hip Injury Aidan Morris – L Knee Injury Bradley Wright-Phillips – R Thigh Injury Eloy Room – Health and Safety Protocols
Questionable: Kevin Molino – L Hamstring Injury Perry Kitchen – R Thigh Injury Waylon Francis – L Thigh Injury Milton Valenzuela – R Thigh Injury Luis Diaz – R Knee Injury
Health and Safety Protocols
A player may be listed as “Questionable” or “Out” due to Health and Safety Protocols
for the following reasons:
• Quarantine due to participating in high risk behavior. • Quarantine related to being a high risk close contact. • Pending COVID-19 test results. • An inconclusive COVID-19 test result. • A positive COVID-19 test or a confirmed case of COVID-19. • Other illness not related to COVID-19.
COLUMBUS CREW VS. CHICAGO FIRE FC AT A GLANCE
Columbus Crew record: 20-26-22 (103 GF, 93 GA)
Home games: 14-11-10 (62 GF, 40 GA)
Road games: 6-16-12 (41 GF, 53 GA)
08/31/2019 CLB 1 vs. CHI 1 D Historic Crew Stadium
08/20/2020 CLB 3 vs. CHI 0 W Historic Crew Stadium
09/12/2020 CLB 2 at CHI 2 D Soldier Field
THE CREW HOSTS CHICAGO ON SATURDAY
Columbus Crew plays its final regular-season match at Historic
Crew Stadium with a contest against Chicago Fire FC on Saturday,
June 19. The match is set to be the 69th all-time regular-season
meeting between the two clubs, with the Crew holding a 14-11-10
all-time regular-season record at home against Chicago, while outscoring Fire FC 62-40 at Historic Crew Stadium.
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
The Crew and Chicago Fire FC met twice during the 2020 MLS
regular-season. The Black & Gold hosted Chicago on August 20 at
Historic Crew Stadium and recorded a 3-0 win, with goals scored
by Derrick Etienne Jr., Darlington Nagbe, and Gyasi Zardes. In the
second match, the Crew traveled to Chicago on September 12 to
face Fire FC at Soldier Field. After Chicago scored two early goals,
Columbus added two second-half goals, first from defender Fatai
Alashe and an equalizer from Gyasi Zardes for a 2-2 final score.
COACHES
Caleb Porter: 93-74-67 (Portland Timbers: ‘13 – ’17; Columbus Crew: ’19 – Present) vs.
Raphael Wicky: 6-15-9 (Chicago Fire FC: ’20 – Present)
Records listed are MLS regular-season totals
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Saturday’s home match against Chicago Fire FC begins at 7:30
p.m. ET and is set to be regionally 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. Prior
to the match, there will be a special one-hour pregame show,
beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio. The contest is
also available in English on 97.1 The Fan, as well as via stream
on 971TheFan.com, with Chris Doran calling the match. A Spanish
audio stream is available on ColumbusCrew.com, with Juan Valladares on the call.
CREW TO PLAY FINAL REGULAR-SEASON MATCH AT HISTORIC
CREW STADIUM THIS SATURDAY
Columbus Crew will face Chicago Fire FC for the Club’s final match
at Historic Crew Stadium. At the time of its construction, it was the
first soccer-specific stadium built in Major League Soccer. Since
the opening of Historic Crew Stadium on May 15, 1999, the Crew
holds a 181-84-82 record at home while outscoring opponents
559-376. In collaboration with local health authorities, Historic
Crew Stadium will be welcoming fans back in a full capacity for the
Crew’s final match at the historic venue. This will mark the first
contest at full capacity at Historic Crew Stadium since the regularseason Opening Match in 2020 (March 1).
ZARDES SCORES 50TH GOAL FOR COLUMBUS CREW
With his game-winning goal in the last match against Toronto FC,
Gyasi Zardes reached 50 tallies for the Crew across all competitions since joining the Club ahead of the 2018 season. Zardes’ goal came in the 21st minute of the match and was assisted by midfielders Pedro Santos and Derrick Etienne Jr. Additionally, Zardes’ goal took him to 45 regular-season goals for the Club and put him
ahead of Stern John on the Crew’s all-time regular-season scoring leaderboard. Zardes now holds sole possession of fourth place, behind only Jeff Cunningham (64), Brian McBride (62) and Federico
Higuain (55).
DIAZ SCORES HIS FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON
Luis Diaz scored the opening goal in the last home match against
Toronto FC (May 29). The Costa Rican midfielder received a pass
from midfielder Pedro Santos, before going on a breakaway and
scoring in the 12th minute. This was Diaz’s first goal in regularseason action since scoring in a 2019 road contest against Atlanta United (September 14).
SANTOS MAKES 100TH REGULAR-SEASON APPEARANCE, PROVIDES TWO ASSISTS
Midfielder Pedro Santos reached his 100th regular-season appearance with Columbus Crew in the 2-1 win over Toronto FC on May 29. Santos marked the occasion by registering two assists, as
he provided the through-ball pass to Luis Diaz’s 12th-minute goal
before providing the helper on Gyasi Zardes’ 21st-minute strike.
With his two assists today, Santos has now recorded 25 regularseason helpers since joining the Black & Gold during the 2017 season.
COLUMBUS CREW SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CAPS
Player National Team Caps Last Appearance
Liam Fraser Canada 5 6/5/21 vs. Aruba (FIFA World Cup qualifier)
Luis Diaz Costa Rica 4 11/13/20 vs. Qatar (friendly)
Waylon Francis Costa Rica 7 3/22/19 vs. Guatemala (friendly)
Eloy Room Curacao 40 6/15/21 vs. Panama (FIFA World Cup qualifier)
Harrison Afful Ghana 77 9/08/18 vs. Kenya (AFCoN qua.)
Jonathan Mensah Ghana 60 6/29/19 vs. Cameroon (AFCoN)
Derrick Etienne Jr. Haiti 25 6/15/21 vs. Canada (FIFA World Cup qualifier)
Kevin Molino Trinidad & Tobago 48 10/10/19 vs. Honduras (Concacaf Nations League)
Perry Kitchen United States 5 10/11/16 vs. New Zealand (friendly)
Darlington Nagbe United States 26 3/28/18 vs. Paraguay (friendly)
Gyasi Zardes United States 56 2/1/20 vs. Costa Rica (friendly)
ETIENNE JR. REGISTERS HIS FIRST ASSIST OF THE SEASON
Midfielder Derrick Etienne Jr. registered his first assist of the
2021 season in the win over Toronto FC on May 29. Etienne
Jr. provided a secondary helper on Gyasi Zardes’ 21st-minute
goal, which proved to be the game-winner. The assist was the
midfielder’s third helper in 26 regular-season appearances
(11 starts) for the Black & Gold since joining ahead of the 2020
season.
NAGBE WEARS CAPTAIN’S ARMBAND FOR FIRST TIME SINCE
JOINING THE CREW
Darlington Nagbe wore the Columbus Crew armband for the first
time since joining the Club during the Club’s match against Toronto FC (May 29). The midfielder signed with the Crew ahead of the 2020 season and has made 21 regular-season appearances
(19 starts) while registering one goal and one assist to date.
ABDUL-SALAAM APPROACHES 100 REGULAR-SEASON
APPEARANCES
With his next appearance, defender Saad Abdul-Salaam will
reach 100 regular-season appearances in Major League Soccer. Since joining Major League Soccer prior to the 2015 season, Abdul-Salaam has made 99 appearances (66 starts), scoring one
goal and providing 11 assists. This season for Columbus, he has
made five regular-season appearances (one start).
THE CREW LOOKS TO EXTEND UNDEFEATED RUN AT HOME
ACROSS ALL COMPETITIONS
Heading into Saturday’s match against Chicago Fire FC, the
Crew is on a 12-match undefeated home streak at Historic Crew
Stadium across all competitions. The Crew’s streak dates back to
October 18 of last year, when the Black & Gold defeated New York
City FC 3-1 in a regular-season contest. Over that span, the Crew
has posted a home record of 10-0-2 while outscoring opponents
24-9.
CLUB HONORS JUNETEENTH WITH SPECIAL JERSEY NUMBERS
During Saturday’s match against Chicago Fire FC, the Crew will
commemorate Juneteenth with special jersey numbers. Following
the match, the match-worn jerseys will be auctioned off with the
proceeds being donated to the VoyceNow Foundation, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to speaking up, creating equal opportunities, supporting youth sports and after-school programs
DARLINGTON NAGBE: PASS MASTER
Through six 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 five starts while completing 240 of his 248 attempted
passes for a passing accuracy percentage of 96.77%. Nagbe
joined The Crew ahead of the 2020 MLS season and has made
20 regular-season appearances (19 starts) while scoring one
goal and providing one assist. For a list of the MLS players with
the highest passing accuracy this season – which includes Crew
midfielder Isaiah Parente – please see the table below.
PLAYERS WITH HIGHEST PASSING ACCURACY*
PLAYER ATT. COMP. %
- Darlington Nagbe (CLB) ………291 281 96.56
- Jimmy Maurer (DAL)…………… 82 78 95.12
- Joel Waterman (MTL)………….. 176 164 93.18
- Judson (SJ)…………………………. 67 62 92.54
- Andy Polo (POR)………………….. 79 73 92.29
- Anibal Godoy (NSH)…………….. 363 335 93.27
- Alfredo Morales (NYC)…………. 116 107 92.24
- Maciel (NE)………………………….. 167 154 92.22
- Isaiah Parente (CLB) …………..100 92 92
- Jhohan Romana (AUS) ……… 310 284 91.61
*2021 MLS regular season (50 or more passes only, as of 5/19/2021)
COLUMBUS CREW PLAYERS SHINE ON INTERNATIONAL DUTY
Columbus Crew saw four players make international caps during
the June FIFA international break: Liam Fraser (Canada), Derrick
Etienne Jr. (Haiti), Eloy Room (Curacao) and Alex Matan (Romania
Under-23).
Room started for Curacao in both of the team’s Concacaf 2022
FIFA World Cup First-Round qualifiers. The Black & Gold goalkeeper recorded two clean sheets for Curacao, backstopping a 8-0 victory over the British Virgin Islands (June 5) and a 1-0 win
versus Guatemala (June 8). In in the first leg of the Second-Round
matches for Curacao, Room started in the match against Panama
(June 12), dropping the game 2-1 before starting in the secondleg match (June 15), saving a penalty kick and keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 result.
Etienne Jr. provided an assist for Haiti in their 10-0 victory
against Turks and Caicos Islands (June 5) and scored the matchwinning goal in a 1-0 win versus Nicaragua (June 8) in Concacaf
2022 FIFA World Cup First-Round qualifying matches. His goal
against Turks and Caicos came in the 63rd-minute of the match,
shooting from inside the 18-yard box. The midfielder played 66
minutes in the first leg of the Second-Round matches during
Haiti’s 1-0 loss to Canada (June 12), before seeing 45 minutes of
action in the second-leg 3-0 loss to the Canadian side (June 15).
Fraser started and played 90 minutes in Canada’s 7-0 victory
over Aruba (June 5) and did not make an appearance in a 4-0
win against Suriname (June 8) in Concacaf 2022 FIFA World Cup
First-Round qualifying matches. He did not make an appearance
in Canada’s 1-0 defeat of Haiti (June 12) and 3-0 victory over Haiti
in the first leg and second legs of the Second-Round matches.
Matan featured for Romania’s Under-23 National Team for friendlies against Mexico’s U-23 squad (June 5) and Australia’s U-23 team (June 8). The midfielder started in both matches, playing a
full 90 minutes in the 1-0 loss to Mexico before seeing 45 minutes
of action in a 1-0 victory over Australia.
BLACK & GOLD QUOTES
ON THE MATCHUP AGAINST CHICAGO FIRE FC
“They’ve (Chicago Fire FC) got good players, they’ve got talent. I
think they’re a team that was close last year, even though they
didn’t make the playoffs. You felt like they were a team that would
eventually get results, and it just hasn’t happened. I look at the
way they play, I look at how they press and how they play out and
how organized they are with their talent. They’re a team that can
beat anybody in the League. We have to be hungry; we have to
play well. It’s as simple as that. “
- CALEB PORTER
ON PLAYING THE LAST REGULAR-SEASON MATCH AT HISTORIC
CREW STADIUM AT FULL CAPACITY
“For us, it’s great because we play for our fans. For us, I think
it’s very good playing our last game at the stadium where we’ve
made history. To finish our last game at Historic Crew Stadium
with a full crowd is amazing. I’m happy that we have the oppor- tunity to finish the game with the full stadium, and I hope that everyone comes to the game to say goodbye to the stadium.” - PEDRO SANTOS
MILESTONES ON THE HORIZON
CALEB PORTER
• Has won 93 MLS regular-season matches as a head coach and
is seven wins away from reaching 100 all-time.
SAAD ABDUL-SALAAM
• Has made 99 regular-season appearances and needs one more
to reach 100.
WAYLON FRANCIS
• Has made 98 regular-season starts for the Crew and needs two
more to reach 100.
PEDRO SANTOS
• Has made 95 regular-season starts for the Crew and needs five
more to reach 100.
JOSH WILLIAMS
• Has made 148 regular-season appearances for he Crew and
needs two more to reach 150.
COURTESY COLUMBUS CREW COMMUNICATIONS
