COLUMBUS CREW vs. D.C. UNITED
LOWER.com FIELD, Columbus, Ohio Wednesday, August 4, 2021 (Week 17, MLS Game #220)
7:30 p.m. ET (Bally Sports OH; NBCS-Wash / TeleXitos)

2021 SEASON RECORDS

GP W-L-T PTS GF GA
Crew 16 6-4-6 24 17 16
at home 7 4-0-3 15 11 5
D.C. United 16 6-7-3 21 21 18
on road 9 1-5-3 6 9 14

LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD

ALL-TIME: Crew 30 wins (0 shootout), 104 goals …
United 31 wins (5 shootout), 97 goals … Ties 11
AT COLUMBUS: Crew 20 wins (0 shootout), 58 goals …
United 8 wins (2 shootout), 29 goals … Ties 7
2021 (MLS):
5/8: CLB 3, DC 1 (Zelarayan 20; own goal 63, 83 — Kamara 82)

UPCOMING MATCHES

CREW
Sat. Aug. 7 Atlanta
Sun. Aug. 15 at Chicago
Wed. Aug. 18 at Red Bulls
Sat. Aug. 21 Seattle

D.C. UNITED
Sun. Aug. 8 Montreal
Sun. Aug. 15 at Nashville
Wed. Aug. 18 at New England
Sat. Aug. 21 Atlanta

REFEREES
REFEREE: Victor Rivas.
AR1 (bench): Andrew Bigelow; AR2 (opposite): Meghan Mullen;
4th: Kevin Broadley; VAR: Robert Sibiga; AVAR: Craig Lowry

TEAM NEWS
SUSPENDED: DC: Moses Nyeman (through Aug. 4); Joseph Mora (through Aug. 4)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CLB: Pedro Santos … DC: Brendan Hines-Ike
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CLB: Waylon Francis … DC: Andy Najar, Kevin
Paredes
INJURED LIST: CLB: Aidan Morris … DC: Brendan Hines-Ike
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

LAST LEAGUE MATCHES

NEW YORK CITY FC 4
COLUMBUS CREW 1
Scoring Summary:
NYC–Castellanos 6 (Medina 2) 14
NYC–Thiago Andrade 3 (Morales 3) 35
NYC–Parks 3 (Thiago Andrade 1) 51
NYC–Rodriguez 1 (Moralez 5) 71
CLB–Santos 1 (penalty kick) 97+
COLUMBUS CREW–Eloy Room, Harrison Afful
(Saad Abdul-Salaam 62), Jonathan Mensah,
Aboubacar Keita, Pedro Santos, Luis Diaz (Derrick
Etienne Jr. 62), Darlington Nagbe (Liam Fraser 82),
Lucas Zelarayan (Waylon Francis 75), Kevin Molino,
Marlon Hairston, Bradley Wright-Phillips (Erik
Hurtado 62).

FC CINCINNATI 0
D.C. UNITED 0
D.C. UNITED–Bill Hamid, Andy Najar, Steve
Birnbaum, Antonio Alfaro, Julian Gressel (Chris
Odoi-Atsem 85), Junior Moreno, Moses Nyeman
(Ejected 52), Joseph Mora (Ejected 92+), Drew
Skundrich (Felipe Martins 55), Yordy Reyna (Erik
Sorga 75), Kevin Paredes (Yamil Asad 75).

TEAM LEADERS

CREW
G: 5 Zelarayan
A: 3 Santos
SHT: 39 Zelarayan
SOG: 14 Zelarayan
FC: 25 Santos
FS: 34 Zelarayan
OF: 5 Wright-Phillips/Zardes
C: 4 Francis/Santos
E: 1 Afful

D.C. UNITED
G: 7 Kamara
A: 3 Gressel/Moreno
SHT: 25 Gressel
SOG: 10 Kamara
FC: 19 Canouse/Hines-Ike
FS: 20 Najar
OF: 5 Kamara
C: 4 Hines-Ike
E: 1 Mora/Nyeman

Date: Wedneday, August 4
Match Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Kickoff: 7:38 p.m. ET
Location: Lower.com Field (Columbus, OH)
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 Perry Kitchen – L Knee Injury Aidan Morris – L Knee Injury Milton Valenzuela – R Thigh Injury
QUESTIONABLE: Josh Williams – L Ankle Injury Vito Wormgoor – 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.

MISCELLANEOUS TEAM NOTES

COLUMBUS CREW FALLS TO NEW YORK CITY FC
On Friday, Columbus Crew traveled to Yankee Stadium to face New
York City FC. NYCFC opened the scoring in the 14th minute through
Valentin Castellanos and added a second goal in the 35th minute
through Thiago. Keaton Parks scored NYCFC’s third goal in the 51st
minute before Santiago Rodriguez made it 4-0 in the 71st minute.
Columbus was awarded a penalty kick in second-half stoppage
time and midfielder Pedro Santos converted the opportunity, scoring his first goal of the 2021 MLS regular season.

COLUMBUS CREW VS. D.C. UNITED AT A GLANCE

Columbus Crew record: 30-31-11 (103 GF, 97 GA)
Home games: 20-8-7 (58 GF, 29 GA)
Road games: 10-23-4 (46 GF, 68 GA)
05/04/2019 CLB 1 vs DC 3 L Audi Field
10/28/2020 CLB 0 vs DC 1 L Audi Field
05/08/2021 CLB 3 vs. DC 1 W Historic Crew Stadium

THE CREW HOSTS D.C. UNITED ON WEDNESDAY
Columbus Crew returns to Lower.com Field when it hosts D.C.
United on Wednesday, August 4. The match is set to be the 73rd
all-time regular-season meeting between the two sides. At home,
the Crew has a 20-8-7 regular-season record and has outscored
D.C. United 58-29.

LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING
On May 8, Columbus Crew hosted D.C. United at Historic Crew Sta- dium. Midfielder Lucas Zelarayan opened the scoring for the Crew in the 20th minute with a direct free-kick goal. The Black & Gold
added a second goal in the 63rd minute after D.C. United defender
Frederic Brillant scored an own goal. After D.C. United forward
Ola Kamara scored in the 82nd minute to half the deficit, the Crew
added a third goal a minute later with another D.C. United own
goal, this time from defender Tony Alfaro. The Crew recorded their
first win of the 2021 regular season with their 3-1 victory over D.C.
United.

COACHES
Caleb Porter: 96-76-71 (Portland Timbers: ‘13 – ’17; Columbus Crew: ’19 – Present) vs.
Hernan Losada: 6-7-3 (D.C. United ’21 – Present)
Records listed are MLS regular-season totals

2021 REGULAR-SEASON SNAPSHOT

COLUMBUS CREW D.C. UNITED

2021 MLS Regular Season: 2021 MLS Regular Season:
Points: 24 Points: 21
Points Per Game: 1.5 Points Per Game: 1.31
Eastern Conference: Sixth Eastern Conference: Eighth
Home: 4-0-3 Home: 5-2-0
Away: 2-4-3 Away: 1-5-3
Goals For: 17 Goals For: 21
Goals Against: 16 Goals Against: 18
+/-: +1 +/-: +3
2021 Regular-Season Leaders
Goals: Zelarayan (5) Goals: Kamara (7)
Assists: Santos (3) Assists: Gressel, Moreno (3)
Shots: Zelarayan (39) Shots: Gressel (25)
Shots on Goal: Zelarayan (14) Shots on Goal: Kamara (10)
Fouls Suffered: Zelarayan (34) Fouls Suffered: Najar (20)
Fouls Committed: Santos (25) Fouls Committed: Canouse (19)
Yellow Cards Issued: Francis, Santos (4) Yellow Cards Issued: Hines-Ike (4)
Saves Leader: Room (40) Saves Leader: Hamid (19)
GAA Leader: Bush, Room (1.00) GAA Leader: Kempin (0.67)
Wins: Room (5) Wins: Hamid (4)

BLACK & GOLD NOTES

WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Wednesday’s home match against D.C. United begins at 7:30
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 7:00 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.

SANTOS SCORES FIRST REGULAR-SEASON GOAL OF 2021
Midfielder Pedro Santos scored his first goal of the regular
season in Friday’s match at New York City FC, scoring via a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time. The goal was Santos’s first regular season goal for the Crew since October 18, 2020,
also scored against New York City FC. The penalty kick was
the Black & Gold’s first penalty kick opportunity of the regular
season and the second of 2021, after Santos scored the Club’s
previous opportunity in the Round of 16 of the Concacaf Champions League at Real Esteli FC (April 8).

NAGBE REACHES 300TH MLS REGULAR-SEASON
APPEARANCE
With his start in Friday’s road contest against New York City
FC, midfielder Darlington Nagbe made his 300th appearance in
Major League Soccer regular-season action. Nagbe joined Major League Soccer prior to the 2011 season. During that time, he has played for the Portland Timbers, Atlanta United, and the
Crew, scoring 31 goals while providing 39 assists. He has won
three MLS Cup titles, having won with the Portland Timbers in
2015, Atlanta United in 2018, and Columbus Crew in 2020.

CREW HAS CONCEDED FEWEST GOALS IN MLS REGULARSEASON ACTION SINCE 2019
Since the beginning of the 2019 MLS season – the Crew’s first
season with Caleb Porter as its Head Coach – no team has conceded fewer goals in regular-season action than the Columbus
Crew. The Black & Gold’s 86 conceded goals over that span are
tied with New York City FC for fewest in the League, with the
next closest team having allowed eight more goals. For a list
of the MLS teams with the fewest goals conceded since the
beginning of the 2019 MLS regular season, please see the table
below.
FEWEST GOALS CONCEDED IN MLS REGULAR-SEASON ACTION
SINCE 2019*
TEAM GOALS
T-1. Columbus Crew 86
T-1. New York City FC 86

3. Philadelphia Union 94
   T-4. Minnesota United FC 95
   T-4. Real Salt Lake 95

• Does not include MLS expansion sides that joined after 2019

COLUMBUS CREW SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CAPS (AS OF AUGUST 2,
Player National Team Caps Last Appearance
Liam Fraser Canada 8 7/25/21 vs. Costa Rica (Concacaf Gold Cup)
Luis Diaz Costa Rica 7 7/25/21 vs. Canada (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 31 7/18/21 vs. Martinique (Concacaf Gold Cup)
Kevin Molino Trinidad & Tobago 53 7/18/21 vs. Guatemala (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 62 8/1/21 vs. Mexico (Concacaf Gold Cup)

CREW LEADS MLS IN MOST REGULAR-SEASON WINS AT
HOME SINCE BEGINNING OF 2020 REGULAR SEASON
Since the beginning of the 2020 MLS regular season, no team
has accrued more home victories than the Columbus Crew (13
wins). The Crew is tied with the Philadelphia Union and New
York City FC, with the Black & Gold and the Union achieving
their 13 wins while playing one fewer home match. For a list
of the teams with the most home victories in regular-season
action since the beginning of the 2020 MLS season, please
see the table below.
MOST HOME WINS SINCE BEGINNING OF 2020 MLS REGULAR
SEASON
TEAM W GP
T-1. Columbus Crew ………………. 13 17
T-1. Philadelphia Union………….. 13 17
T-1. New York City FC …………….. 13 18
T-4. Seattle Sounders FC……….. 12 20
T-5. Orlando City SC ………………. 11 17
T-5. Los Angeles FC ……………….. 11 20

ZELARAYAN LEADS MLS IN FREE-KICK GOALS AND GOALS
FROM OUTSIDE BOX SINCE JOINING LEAGUE IN 2020
Since the beginning of the 2020 MLS season, no player has
scored more goals from outside the box in regular-season
action than Lucas Zelarayan. The Argentine midfielder has
scored eight goals over that span, including five free-kick
strikes – also more than anyone else over that same span. For
a list of the players who have scored the most free-kick goals
and the most goals from outside the box since the beginning
of the 2020 MLS regular-season, please see the tables below.
MOST FREE-KICK GOALS SINCE 2020 MLS SEASON
PLAYER FK GOALS

1. Lucas Zelarayan (CLB) 5
   T-2. Emanuel Reynoso (MNU) 2
   T-2. Hany Mukhtar (NSH) 2
   MOST GOALS FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX SINCE 2020 MLS
   SEASON
   PLAYER GOALS (OUTSIDE BOX)
2. Lucas Zelarayan (CLB) 8
3. Gustavo Bou (NE) 5
4. Nani (ORL) 4
   T-4. Six players tied 3

ZARDES HIGHEST-SCORING AMERICAN IN MLS SINCE 2018
Since joining the Crew prior to the 2018 season, forward Gyasi
Zardes has been the highest-scoring American player in MLS
regular-season action. Zardes’ 48 strikes in regular-season
action put him ahead of Chris Wondolowski’s 34 goals. Additionally, 46 of Zardes’s goals have been scored from inside
the 18-yard box, with the forward also leading all American
players in that category.

NAGBE AND HAIRSTON: PASS MASTERS
Through 16 matches in the 2021 MLS regular season, midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Marlon Hairston lead the
League in passing accuracy among players who have attempted 100 or more passes. Nagbe has made 15 starts while
completing 730 of his 758 attempted passes for a passing
accuracy percentage of 96.31%, while Hairston has made
eight appearances and completed 282 of his 266 attempted
passes for a passing accuracy percentage of 94.33%. For a list
of the five MLS players with the highest passing accuracy this
season, please see the table below.
2021 PLAYERS WITH HIGHEST PASSING ACCURACY*
PLAYER ATT. COMP. %

1. Darlington Nagbe (CLB) 758 730 96.31
2. Marlon Hairston (CLB) 282 266 94.33
3. Kamohelo Mokotjo (CIN) 142 132 92.96
4. Mattheus Rosetto (ATL) 127 118 92.91
5. Anibal Godoy (NSH) 547 508 92.87
   *2021 MLS regular season (100 or more passes only, as of 8/21/2021)

ZARDES BECOMES FIRST CREW PLAYER TO WIN CONCACAF
GOLD CUP SINCE HEJDUK
With the U.S. Men’s National Team victory over Mexico in the
2021 Concacaf Gold Cup final on Sunday, Gyasi Zardes became
just the fifth player in Crew history to win the trophy while
with the Club joining Brian McBride (2002), Jeff Cunningham
(2002), Brian Maisonneuve (2002) and Frankie Hejduk (2005,
2007). Zardes turned in key performances for the U.S. during
the tournament, including the game-winning goal in the semifinals to propel the Stars and Stripes past Qatar. The forward played the full 120 minutes in the United States’ thrilling 1-0
victory over Mexico on Sunday night in Las Vegas – earn- ing his second Gold Cup title in the process. Notably, Zardes
now stands fifth in U.S. MNT Gold Cup history in caps and
goals, while also becoming the second-fastest player to reach
double-digit goals and assists for the Stars & Stripes.

BLACK & GOLD QUOTES

ON HIS CONFIDENCE IN THE CREW’S ABILITY TO BOUNCE BACK
“We understand we’re a good team, we have a bunch of good
players. Sometimes these games happen. You don’t want them to
happen but the best thing about this loss is the fact that we have
a game on Wednesday. It’s a quick turnaround, we will watch film,
see what we need to fix but we know we can also move on and
get ready for the home game on Wednesday.”

• DERRICK ETIENNE JR.
  ON THE RESULT AGAINST NEW YORK CITY FC AND LOOKING
  AHEAD
  “We can’t overreact on this game. We have two home games
  coming up starting Wednesday versus D.C. United, and we need to
  move on from it, get home, recover mentally and physically, and
  throw everything into this next game.”
  “Any experienced club, coaches, players, locker rooms, this be- comes a loss that rattles and rocks and makes you wobbly, that’s
  not going to happen to our group. Won’t happen to our players,
  won’t happen to our staff, we have too much experience and too
  good of culture. We’re fine, that’s what good clubs do. We use it to
  our advantage to get better and have that edge in the next game
  that we needed tonight, and we’ll respond, no doubt about it.
• CALEB PORTER

MILESTONES ON THE HORIZON

CALEB PORTER
• Has won 96 MLS regular-season matches as a head coach and is four
wins away from reaching 100 all-time.
HARRISON AFFUL
• Has made 147 regular-season starts for the Crew and needs three more
to reach 150.
DERRICK ETIENNE JR.
• Has made 97 MLS regular-season appearances and needs three more
to reach 100.
ERIK HURTADO
• Has made 145 MLS regular-season appearances and needs five more to
reach 150.
KEVIN MOLINO
• Has made 95 MLS regular-season starts and needs five more to reach
100.
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.
• Has scored 48 regular-season goals for the Crew and needs two more

COURTESY COLUMBUS CREW COMMUNICATIONS