Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Columbus. This is a do-or-die match for both clubs, and a spot in the Conference Finals is on the line.
Win this one, and you're just three victories away from lifting the MLS Cup trophy.
Key Stats
- Including the first leg, New York has won just two of their eight all-time meetings against Columbus (3L-3D). Neither team has been held scoreless in any of the eight games.
- Columbus are unbeaten in their last five games away from home including the playoffs (1W-4D). Columbus has lost by four or more goals just once this season: against Toronto 5-0 on May 26th.
- David Villa finished with 10 shots and four chances created in the first leg, becoming the fifth player with 10+ shots and 4+ chances created in a match (inc. playoffs) since the start of the 2010 season.
- In the first leg of this series, Federico Higuaín became the first Crew player since at least 2010 to record multiple assists in a playoff game. It was his ninth game with multiple assists since the start of the 2010 season (inc. playoffs). No other Crew player has more than three such games.
- NYCFC had 62.2% of the ball in the first leg. They have lost five of the 12 matches they have played in the 2017 season where they had more than 60% of the ball (5W-D). They lost just five of the 23 other matches they played this season (11W-7D).
- Following his goal in the first leg, Ola Kamara now has four goals in MLS play against NYCFC, tied for the third most he has against any team in the league (five against New England and Real Salt Lake).
- In 2,020 minutes with Artur on the pitch this year, Columbus averages 1.6 goals and 1.2 conceded per 90 minutes. In 1,453 minutes without him, those numbers change to 1.4 scored and 1.4 conceded.
- Columbus has only conceded one goal from outside the box in 2017 (inc. playoffs), the fewest of any team in MLS. NYCFC scored 11% of their goals from outside the box this year, tied for the eighth lowest percentage in the league.
- NYCFC completed 568 passes in the first leg, 40 more than they completed in any other game this year.
The Last Time
The last time we played the Crew resulted in a 4-1 defeat this past Tuesday in Columbus. Now it's time to head back to Yankee Stadium for the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Recent Form
Columbus has been playing some very good football recently. On their road to this round of the playoffs, they won three of their last four regular season matches before beating Atlanta United on penalties in the knockout round of the playoffs.
