COLUMBUS
CREW
2021 REGULAR SEASON:
(4-3-5, 17 pts.)
NEW YORK CITY
FC
2021 REGULAR SEASON:
(5-4-2, 17 pts.)
Date: Saturday, July 17
Match Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Kickoff: 7:38 p.m. ET
Location: Lower.com Field (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)
OHIOHEALTH PLAYER AVAILABILITY REPORT
OUT: Artur – R Hip Injury Aidan Morris – L Knee Injury Milton Valenzuela – R Thigh Injury Vito Wormgoor – R Thigh Injury
QUESTIONABLE: Josh Williams – L Ankle Injury Bradley Wright-Phillips – R Thigh 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
LAST MATCH RECAP
THE CREW STAGES COMEBACK AGAINST FC CINCINNATI
On July 9, Columbus Crew traveled to TQL Stadium in Cincinnati,
Ohio to face FC Cincinnati. Both sides played to a 2-2 draw. FC
Cincinnati defender Edgar Castillo opened the scoring in the first
minute and Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta added his club’s
second in the 24th minute, having already assisted on the first
goal. After Crew defender Harrison Afful received a second yellow card in the 42nd minute, midfielder Lucas Zelarayan scored a long-distance goal in first-half stoppage-time to half the deficit and
later provided an assist to substitute forward Miguel Berry, who
leveled the match for the Black & Gold in the 77th minute.
COLUMBUS CREW VS. NEW YORK CITY FC AT A GLANCE
Columbus Crew record: 6-5-4 (25 GF, 26 GA)
Home games: 4-1-3 (18 GF, 14 GA)
Road games: 2-4-1 (7 GF, 12 GA)
THE CREW HOSTS NEW YORK CITY FC ON SATURDAY
Columbus Crew returns to Lower.com Field to host New York City
FC on Saturday, July 17. The match is set to be the 16th all-time
regular-season meeting between the two sides. The Crew holds a
4-1-3 all-time home regular-season record against New York City
FC and has outscored NYCFC 18-14.
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
Columbus Crew and New York City FC last met on May 22 of this
year, when the Crew traveled to Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New
Jersey to face NYCFC. The hosts opened the scoring in the 18th
minute through forward Ishmael Tajouri-Shradi. The Crew equalized the match in the 82nd minute when midfielder Lucas Zelarayan scored from a direct free-kick. Zelarayan then scored the
game-winning goal for the Crew by converting a second free kick
in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, giving the Crew a
2-1. The win was the Black & Gold’s first road victory of the 2021
MLS regular season.
COACHES
Caleb Porter: 94-75-70 (Portland Timbers: ‘13 – ’17; Columbus Crew: ’19 – Present)
vs.
Ronny Delia: 17-12-5 (New York City FC ’20 – Present)
Records listed are MLS regular-season totals
2021 REGULAR-SEASON SNAPSHOT
COLUMBUS CREW NEW YORK CITY FC
2021 MLS Regular Season: 2021 MLS Regular Season:
Points: 17 Points: 17
Points Per Game: 1.42 Points Per Game: 1.55
Eastern Conference: Eighth Eastern Conference: Sixth
Home: 3-0-2 Home: 3-2-1
Away: 1-3-3 Away: 2-2-1
Goals For: 13 Goals For: 19
Goals Against: 11 Goals Against: 13
+/-: 2 +/-: -6
2021 Regular-Season Leaders
Goals: Zardes, Zelarayan (4) Goals: Medina (5)
Assists: Etienne Jr., Santos (2) Assists: Tinnerholm (4)
Shots: Zelarayan (28) Shots: Castellanos (45)
Shots on Goal: Zelarayan (13) Shots on Goal: Castellanos (17)
Fouls Suffered: Zelarayan (25) Fouls Suffered: Jasson (23)
Fouls Committed: Santos (20) Fouls Committed: Castellanos (30)
Yellow Cards Issued: Mensah (3) Yellow Cards Issued: Castellanos (4)
Saves Leader: Room (23) Saves Leader: Johnson (26)
GAA Leader: Room (0.90) GAA Leader: Johnson (1.1)
Wins: Room (3) Wins: Johnson (5)
BLACK & GOLD NOTES
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Saturday’s home match against New York City 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.
ZELARAYAN SCORES, PROVIDES ASSIST AGAINST FC
CINCINNATI
Midfielder Lucas Zelarayan scored a goal in first-half stoppage
time in Friday’s match against FC Cincinnati. The goal was the
midfielder’s fourth regular-season goal this season, tying Gyasi
Zardes to lead the Black & Gold in scoring, and was was voted
as MLSsoccer.com’s Goal of the Week for Week 12. Additionally,
Zelarayan assisted on Miguel Berry’s 77th-minute game-tying
goal. The helper was Zelarayan’s first of the 2021 regularseason and his fifth regular-season assist as a member of the
Crew. Following his performance against FCC, Zelarayan was
named to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week for Week 12.
This marks Zelarayan’s third appearance on the Team of the
Week this season, having been named to the team for Week 4
and Week 6.
BERRY SCORES FIRST GOAL FOR COLUMBUS CREW
Forward Miguel Berry scored his first MLS and Columbus Crew
goal in the 77th minute in Friday’s match against FC Cincinnati. Berry signed with the Crew on February 27, 2020 after
previously being selected as the seventh overall pick at the
2020 MLS SuperDraft on January 9, 2020. Berry has made two
regular-season appearances with the Crew this season and
most recently played on loan for USL Championship side San
Diego Loyal SC, scoring three goals and providing an assist.
CREW FIRST TEAM IN MLS HISTORY TO RECORD A DRAW ON
THE ROAD AFTER BEING DOWN TWO GOALS AND A PLAYER
With its result in Friday’s road contest against FC Cincinnati, the
Crew be came the first team in MLS history to recover from a
two-goal deficit and down a man to force a draw. Additionally,
the Black & Gold are one of only six teams to perform the feat
in League history. For a list of the other teams, see the table
below:
TEAM OPPONENT DATE San Jose Earthquakes NE Revolution 07/24/2004
Real Salt Lake NY Metrostars 07/04/2005
Real Sale Lake NE Revolution 07/04/2011
New York City FC Chicago Fire FC 05/15/2015
D.C. United Toronto FC 07/13/2020*
Columbus Crew Cincinnati FC 07/09/2021
*Played at a neutral venue as part of MLS Is Back Tournament
Italics: Home Tea
COLUMBUS CREW SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CAPS
Player National Team Caps Last Appearance
Liam Fraser Canada 6 7/11/21 vs. Martinique (Concacaf Gold Cup)
Luis Diaz Costa Rica 5 7/12/21 vs. Guadeloupe (Concacaf Gold Cup)
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 29 7/11/21 vs. United States (Concacaf Gold Cup)
Kevin Molino Trinidad & Tobago 51 7/10/21 vs. Mexico (Concacaf Gold Cup)
Perry Kitchen United States 5 10/11/16 vs. New Zealand (friendly)
Darlington Nagbe United States 25 3/28/18 vs. Paraguay (friendly)
Gyasi Zardes United States 57 7/11/21 vs. Haiti (Concacaf Gold Cup)
SANTOS, AFFUL REACH MILESTONES WITH COLUMBUS CREW
Midfielder Pedro Santos made his 100th regular-season start
for the Crew in the Club’s last match against FC Cincinnati
(July 9). Santos has made 105 appearances since joining the
Black & Gold during the 2017 season, scoring 18 goals and
providing 25 assists. Additionally, defender Harrison Afful
recorded his 150th regular-season appearance for Columbus
in the road match against FC Cincinnati. Afful has scored six
goals and assisted 17 times after joining the Crew during the
2015 season.
HURTADO MAKES BLACK & GOLD DEBUT
Forward Erik Hurtado made his first Columbus Crew appearance during the match at FC Cincinnati (July 9). Hurtado joined the Black & Gold after being acquired in a trade with CF Montreal on July 8. With Montreal, he made seven appearances (two starts) in the beginning of the 2021 season. Hurtado is
a nine-season MLS veteran, having made 141 appearances
(60 starts) since 2013. He has recorded 19 goals in his career
while providing 11 assists.
FRANCIS APPROACHING 100 REGULAR-SEASON STARTS
FOR COLUMBUS CREW
With his next start, defender Waylon Francis will reach the
100 regular-season start for the Crew. In his first stint with
Columbus from 2014 to 2017, Francis made 83 appearances
(75 starts). After making 11 appearances (5 starts) for Seattle
Sounders FC in 2018, Francis returned to the Black & Gold
before the 2019 season and has made 31 appearances (24
starts).
COLUMBUS CREW LEADS LEAGUE IN GOALS SCORED OUT- SIDE OF THE 18-YARD BOX
Through 12 matches of the 2021 MLS regular-season, the
Black & Gold currently lead Major League Soccer in goals
scored outside of the 18-yard box, having scored five goals
from outside the 18. Midfielder Lucas Zelarayan leads the
team with four goals scored from the range. For a list of teams
with the most goals scored outside of the 18-yard box, please
see the table below.
GOALS SCORED FROM OUTSIDE OF THE 18-YARD BOX*
TEAM GOALS
- Columbus Crew 5
T-2. New York Red Bulls 4
T-2. San Jose Earthquakes 4 - Five teams tied 3
*2021 MLS regular season (as of 7/14/2021)
COLUMBUS CREW PLAYERS ON INTERNATIONAL DUTY
Through the first stage of group matches at the 2021 Concacaf
Gold Cup, five Crew players have earned international caps:
Liam Fraser (Canada), Derrick Etienne Jr. (Haiti), Kevin Molino
(Trinidad & Tobago), Gyasi Zardes (United States) and Luis Diaz
(Costa Rica).Fraser appeared as a substitute in Canada’s first
Group Stage against Martinique (July 11) as Canada took a 4-1
win. Etienne Jr. started in Haiti’s 1-0 loss to the United States
(July 11). Molino appeared as a substitute as Trinidad and
Tobago held Mexico to a scoreless draw (July 10) before start- ing and serving as the captain against El Salvador (July 14).
Zardes started for the United States in their opening Group
Stage match against Haiti (July 11) and provided an assist
in the their 1-0 victory. With the assist, Zardes became the second fastest United States men’s national team player to reach the double-digit goals and assists mark, reaching the total
in his 57th cap. Diaz appeared as a substitute in Costa Rica’s
Group Stage match against Guadeloupe (July 12) and provided
an assist in their 3-1 win.
NAGBE AND HAIRSTON: PASS MASTERS
Through 12 matches in the 2021 MLS regular season, midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Marlon Hairston lead the
League in passing accuracy among players who have attempted 50 or more passes. Nagbe has made 11 starts while
completing 535 of his 555 attempted passes for a passing
accuracy percentage of 96.4%, while Hairston has made four
appearances and completed 130 of his 136 attempted passes
for a passing accuracy percentage of 95.59%. For a list of the
five MLS players with the highest passing accuracy this season, please see the table below.
PLAYERS WITH HIGHEST PASSING ACCURACY*
PLAYER ATT. COMP. %
- Darlington Nagbe (CLB) 555 535 96.4
- Marlon Hairston (CLB) 136 130 95.59
- Edwin Cerillo (DAL) 97 92 94.85
- Joel Waterman (MTL) 176 164 93.18
- Anibal Godoy (NSC) 547 508 92.87
*2021 MLS regular season (50 or more passes only, as of 7/14/2021)
BLACK & GOLD QUOTES
ON HIS MENTALITY GOING FORWARD
“I just take it day-by-day and contribute in training. It’s doing
your job and doing what you’re asked to do and perform- ing every day. I’m a young guy who has to earn every single
minute. It’s doing that every day. It’s great that I scored a goal,
but that’s not what I want my career to be. You have to keep
fighting every single day.”
- MIGUEL BERRY
ON HOW THE LAST MATCH CHANGED HIS OUTLOOK ON THE
TEAM’S POTENTIAL
“What I love is the mentality to come back twice in a row,
which isn’t easy. It says a lot about our group. It says a lot
about confirming how we play as well. I think our unity in our
locker room and our spirit is better because of last game, and
that never hurts. It’s a real positive. We’re going to need that
tough mentality and resiliency more than ever.” - CALEB PORTER
MILESTONES ON THE HORIZON
CALEB PORTER
• Has won 94 MLS regular-season matches as a head coach and is six
wins away from reaching 100 all-time.
HARRISON AFFUL
• Has made 145 regular-season starts for the Crew and needs five more
to reach 150.
DERRICK ETIENNE JR.
• Has made 94 MLS regular-season appearances and needs six more to
reach 100.
WAYLON FRANCIS
• Has made 99 regular-season starts for the Crew and needs one more to
reach 100.
ERIK HURTADO
• Has made 141 MLS regular-season appearances and needs nine more
to reach 150.
KEVIN MOLINO
• Has made 93 MLS regular-season starts and needs seven more to reach
100.
DARLINGTON NAGBE
• Has made 296 MLS regular-season appearances and needs four more
to reach 300.
JOSH WILLIAMS
• Has made 149 regular-season appearances for the Crew and needs one
more to reach 150.
GYASI ZARDES
• Has made 92 regular-season appearances for the Crew and needs eight
more to reach 100.
COURTESY COLUMBUS CREW COMMUNICATIONS
