Columbus Crew finish in scoreless draw vs New York City FC: Replay
Brianna Mac Kay
The Crew recorded a scoreless draw against New York City FC despite eight of Columbus' first-team players being unavailable.
Five of those who were absent were starters, which led to four players making their first regular-season appearance of the year. Two of those, Cesar Ruvalcaba and Tristian Brown, made their MLS debuts on Saturday at Lower.com Field.
Columbus controlled the ball for nearly the entire game, finishing with 75.6% possession and 23 shots compared to New York City's five.
While the Crew created more opportunities, and 10 corner kick attempts, they failed to score.
Forward Jacen Russell-Rowe did find the back of the net in the 84th minute, but his goal was reversed due to DeJuan Jones being offside.
The Crew remain undefeated in MLS regular-season play with a 2-0-3 record.
(86') Columbus Crew called offsides, game vs New York City FC remains scoreless
After a VAR review of the play before the goal scored by Jacen Russell-Rowe, officials found DeJuan Jones was offsides prior to sending a pass to Cole Mrowka, leading to Russell-Rowe's goal being reversed.
(84') Columbus Crew's Jacen Russell-Rowe breaks scoreless tie vs New York City FC
Off a pass from Cole Mrowka, Crew forward Jacen Russell-Rowe found the back of the net for the first goal of the game, breaking a scoreless draw and giving Columbus a 1-0 lead.
(74') Columbus Crew's Tristian Brown makes first first-team appearance
Crew coach Wilfried Nancy replaced defender Cesar Ruvalcaba with Tristian Brown, who is making his first appearance in an MLS matchup for the Crew. Brown is one of the four Crew 2 players with the first team for the New York City FC matchup, being signed to a short-term, seven-day contract.
(66') Columbus Crew make first substitution vs New York City FC
With his first substitution of the game Crew coach Wilfried Nancy replaced forward Aziel Jackson with Col Mrowka.
(61') Columbus Crew fail to execute on free kick outside New York City FC's box
The Crew were awarded a free kick right outside New York City's box following forward Aziel Jackson being fouled by midfielder Hannes Wolf.
Forward Diego Rossi took the kick, but sent the ball right into a wall of NYCFC defenders. The Crew were never able to regain possession on the play, and New York City took control of the ball.
Columbus Crew go into halftime scoreless vs New York City FC
The Crew were unable to capitalize on seven corner kick opportunities against New York City FC, and are going into halftime with a 0-0 tie. Here are the first-half stats.
Possession rate: Crew (68.8%), NYCFC (31.2%)
Shots: Crew (10), NYCFC (2)
Shots on goal: Crew (3), NYCFC (0)
Goalkeeper saves: Crew (0), NYCFC (3)
Fouls: Crew (2), NYCFC (6)
Corners: Crew (7), NYCFC (0)
(45') Diego Rossi comes close to scoring once again
From the right side of New York City's box, forward Diego Rossi took a shot that NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese saved with his fingertips. Freese's save sent the ball over the crossbar and out of play, setting up the seventh corner of the game Columbus failed to capitalize on.
(37') NYCFC records save on Diego Rossi shot attempt
Crew forward Diego Rossi created a run with the ball on the left side of the field and was able to break into New York City's box for a shot attempt. Just outside the goalkeeper's box, Rossi took a shot but NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese was able to keep Columbus off the board with a save.
(30') Aziel Jackson's shot attempt for Columbus Crew misses
Crew forward Aziel Jackson took a shot from the left corner of New York City's box off a cross from forward Diego Rossi that would go just above the crossbar and out of play.
(9') Columbus Crew fail to connect following free kick outside NYCFC's box
Columbus had a free kick opportunity from outside NYCFC's box following forward Aziel Jackson being fouled by New York City midfielder Keaton Parks.
Midfielder Dylan Chambost took the kick, and after a couple of touches, defender Yevhen Cheberko found the ball for a header shot. Cheberko's attempt went too high and out of bounds.
(4') Columbus Crew take first corner kick vs NYCFC
The Crew were awarded the first corner of the game against NYCFC, but their set piece play was quickly shut down after midfielder Dylan Chambost executed the kick.
Chambost's attempt from the left side found the heads of two different NYCFC players before goalkeeper Matt Freese grabbed and cleared the ball.
Which players are unavailable for Columbus Crew vs NYCFC?
- Malte Amundsen (DF, red card suspension)
- Max Arfsten (MF, international duty - United States)
- Rudy Camacho (DF, thigh injury)
- Mo Farsi (MF, international duty - Algeria)
- Taha Habroune (MF, international duty - United States U20)
- Nicholas Hagen (GK, hand injury)
- Steven Moreira (DF, thigh injury)
- GK Patrick Schulte (international duty - United States)
New York City FC starting lineup vs Columbus Crew
Here is the starting 11 for NYCFC vs Columbus:
- GK: Matt Freese
- DF: Mitja Ilenic
- DF: Thiago Martins
- DF: Kevin O'Toole
- DF: Birk Risa
- MF: Justin Haak
- MF: Maxi Moralez
- MF: Keaton Parks
- FW: Monsef Bakrar
- FW: Julian Fernandez
- FW: Hannes Wolf
Who is Cesar Ruvalcaba? More about Crew 2 player starting vs NYCFC
Cesar Ruvalcaba was the Crew's second-round pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft and signed with Columbus' MLS NEXT Pro team, Crew 2, in March. Ruvalcaba signed a short-term contract with the first team for tonight's game.
Columbus Crew starting lineup vs New York City FC
Here is the starting 11 for Columbus vs NYCFC:
- GK: Evan Bush
- DF: Yevhen Cheberko
- DF: Andres Herrera
- DF: DeJuan Jones
- DF: Sean Zawadzki
- MF: Dylan Chambost
- MF: Darlington Nagbe
- MF: Cesar Ruvalcaba
- FW: Aziel Jackson
- FW: Diego Rossi
- FW: Jacen Russell-Rowe
Who are the referees for Columbus Crew vs New York City FC?
Here are the officials for the Crew vs NYCFC tonight:
- Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
- Assistant Referee 1: Jason White
- Assistant Referee 2: Stephen McGonagle
- Fourth Official: Nabil Bensalah
- VAR: Michael Radchuk
- Assistant VAR: TJ Zablocki
How to listen to Columbus Crew vs NYCFC radio broadcast
The Crew vs. New York City English-speaking radio broadcast will be on Alt 105.7 FM and available via the iHeartRadio app. Columbus' regular radio broadcaster Chris Doran will be on the call.
The Spanish radio broadcast can be found on La Grande 103.1 FM FM and the La Grande radio app with Juan Valladares doing play-by-play.
Columbus Crew vs NYCFC streaming information
The Crew-New York match will be streaming on Apple TV, with a required MLS Season Pass subscription. Here are the broadcast teams for tonight:
- English broadcast: Steve Cangialosi (play-by-play), Danny Higginbotham (analyst)
- Spanish broadcast: Bruin Vain (play-by-play), Andres Agulla (analyst)
When does Columbus Crew vs NYCFC kick off?
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 22 at Lower.com Field.