New York City FC travels to Ohio MLS Playoffs

New York City FC travels to Ohio on Monday for the road leg of their MLS Playoffs Eastern Conference semifinals tie.

Columbus Crew SC stand in the way of progress to the Conference finals where Toronto or Red Bulls await and Patrick Vieira will be without two first-team players.

READ: Nine Reasons to Watch NYCFC vs. Columbus

Both Miguel Camargo and Maxime Chanotremain sidelined for City, while James Sandscomes back into the reckoning after helping U.S U-17s to the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

For Columbus, Alex Crognale, Gaston Sauro and Ben Swanson are all out, according to MLSSoccer.com.

The first leg kicks off at 8pm ET at the MAPFRE Stadium and NYCFC hosts Columbus on Sunday November 5 at a time TBC.

READ: Major Keys to NYCFC vs. Columbus Crew SC

Injury Report

NYCFC

OUT: Miguel Camargo, Maxime Chanot

Columbus Crew

OUT: Gaston Sauro, Ben Swanson, Alex Crognale

Key Stats

NYCFC has visited Columbus four times in their MLS history, with each team having won once and two draws between them. There has been an average of five goals per game across these four matches. NYCFC’s one win came on April 29th of this year, their only visit to Columbus in MLS play in 2017.

Columbus has won six of their last seven MLS home matches (1D) and outscored the opposition 14-5 across these games.

NYCFC only lost once in their final six matches road matches of the regular season (2W-3D) and only conceded five goals across the six games.

Zack Steffen had eight saves against Atlanta on Wednesday night, just the 10th time this season an MLS goalkeeper has had eight-or-more saves in a single match. It was only the third time this year a keeper has had at least eight saves and kept a clean sheet in the same match.

David Villa had six shots on target against Columbus in the MLS season finale, tied for the most he’s had in a single game of MLS action over the duration of his time with NYCFC.

NYCFC conceded six goals in the last 15 minutes of regular season games in 2017, tied for the fewest of any MLS team.

Crew SC scored nine goals from outside the box in the 2017 regular season, tied for the fourth most of any team in the league.

In 19 games that Josh Williams has started this regular season, Columbus averaged 1.8 points per game and 1.2 goals conceded per game. In the 15 games that Williams did not start, Crew SC averaged 1.3 points per game and 1.8 goals conceded per game.

NYCFC had five away clean sheets this year, tied for the most of any team in the league. Columbus scored 34 home goals this year, the eighth most of any team in the league.

Alexander Ring lead all players with 97 touches in the 2-2 draw between NYCFC and Crew SC on the last day of the 2017 regular season. Only one other player had more than 80, and only four total players had more than 75 touches in the game.

Cosmos Midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma Named NASL Player of the Week

Cosmos Midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma Named NASL Player of the Week

NEW YORK (October 30, 2017) – When the New York Cosmos needed it most, midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma, put the team on his back and helped the defending champions reach their fifth straight postseason.

Ledesma was named North American Soccer League (NASL) Player of the Week on Monday after an amazing hat-trick performance at MCU Park on Saturday night. The former Middlesbrough man scored three times in a 16-minute span in the second half to help the Cosmos post a 5-2 win over Puerto Rico FC.

New York entered Saturday night’s game needing a positive result to clinch the fourth and final spot in The Championship, the league’s four-team postseason tournament. With the Cosmos down a goal early in the second half and Jacksonville Armada FC winning in San Francisco, New York’s postseason hopes were hanging in the balance.

Ledesma came to the rescue, though. The 29-year-old midfielder evened the score at 1-1 in the 51st minute with an absolute thunderbolt from 22 yards out. Two more goals followed in the 56th and 67th minutes, respectively, and all of the sudden the Cosmos were off and running.

With a hat trick already to his name, Ledesma wasn’t finished. The Quilmes, Argentina, native sent in a cross that was finished by Cosmos captain, Carlos Mendes, in the 75th minute, putting the game out of reach.

The victory was enough to earn the Cosmos a semifinal matchup against Spring and Fall Season Champion, Miami FC. For Ledesma, the performance put an exclamation point on a fantastic debut season. The 5-foot-11 playmaker finished regular-season play with 10 goals and six assists – a stat line that put him in the top five in the NASL in both categories.

Ledesma joined the Cosmos in March after playing in some of the top leagues in Italy, England, Argentina and Greece.

New York will travel to South Florida to square off with Miami FC at Riccardo Silva Stadium on Sunday at 5:00 pm, ET. The game will be nationally-televised on beIN SPORTS (English), beIN SPORTS en Español (Spanish), and beIN SPORTS CONNECT (Digital).

Revolution forward Juan Agudelo named to the USMNT

The New England Revolution forward Juan Agudelo has been named to the United States Men's National Team's roster for its final 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches against Panama on Friday, Oct. 6 in Orlando, Fla. and at Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday, Oct. 10. 

Defender Antonio Delamea also returns to World Cup Qualifying action with Slovenia for its pair of matches against England on Thursday, Oct. 5 and Scotland on Sunday, Oct. 8. In addition, defender Je-Vaughn Watson and Homegrown midfielder Zachary Herivaux will join Jamaica and Haiti, respectively, for international friendly matches. Jamaica will face Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Oct. 7, while Haiti will take on Japan on Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Agudelo, 24, earns his third national team call up of 2017. The forward made three appearances in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, helping the USMNT win the continental tournament for the first time since 2013. He also participated in this year's January Camp, where he appeared in friendlies against Serbia and Jamaica. The United States enters its final two matches of the qualifying cycle in fourth place on the CONCACAF table with nine points. The Barnegat, N.J., native has 26 career caps and three goals with the United States, and has recorded eight goals in 26 appearances for New England this season.

·USA vs. Panama – Friday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2, Univision, UDN)

·USA at Trinidad & Tobago – Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET (beIN SPORTS, Universo)

Delamea, 26, owns two career caps with Slovenia, including a 90-minute, clean sheet performance in a World Cup Qualifier vs. Malta on June 10, 2017. The Celje native was also called in for Slovenia's most recent qualifiers in September, but was an unused substitute in both matches. Slovenia currently sits in third place in Group F with 14 points through eight matches. Delamea, the first Slovenian to compete in Major League Soccer, leads all Revolution field players in minutes played in his debut season with the club.

Watson, 33, will travel with Jamaica to King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for its friendly on Oct. 7. The seven-year MLS veteran has been a key figure in Jamaican football in recent years, helping lead the Reggae Boyz to consecutive second-place finishes in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. This year, he scored Jamaica's lone goal in the 2017 Gold Cup title match against the United States. Watson owns 71 caps and four goals in his senior international career.

Herivaux, 21, will join Haiti for its Oct. 10 friendly against Japan at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The Revolution Homegrown Player made his first and only appearance for the Haiti National Team's senior squad in a friendly against the Argentina Olympic Team on July 24, 2016. Herivaux holds citizenship in both Haiti and Japan, in addition to the United States, as he was born in Osaka, Japan where his father played professionally. Herivaux started two U.S. Open Cup games for the Revolution this season, scoring one goal, and made four additional appearances while on loan with San Antonio FC (USL).

None of the four players are expected to miss MLS action while on international duty. The Revolution will return to the pitch on Sunday, Oct. 15 for the regular season home finale against New York City FC at 5:00 p.m. ET.