COLUMBUS - After earning a thrilling come-from-behind draw at the Chicago Fire on Sunday (Sept. 20), the MLS-leading Crew once again prepares to play a pair of matches this week as it hosts Cruz Azul of Mexico Wednesday in a CONCACAF Champions League Group C match, then welcomes the Los Angeles Galaxy to town Saturday in the third annual "Blackout" match against one of the Western Conference's top teams.
With the help of its fans, the Crew will be aiming to "Black Out" David Beckham, Landon Donovan and the rest of the Galaxy in Saturday's match at Crew Stadium. Fans attending the game against the Galaxy are encouraged to show their support for the Black & Gold by wearing black attire to Crew Stadium that night. In addition, fans will receive a special edition Crew poster, presented by NAPA, while supplies last. The "Blackout" is intended as a rallying point for Crew fans in attendance, while also providing an electric atmosphere for a match that promises to be an exciting, up-tempo affair.
Wednesday's Champions League match, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET, will be televised nationally on Fox Soccer Channel, while Saturday's match, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET, will be televised live regionally on ONN-TV with Dwight Burgess and Bill McDermott calling all the action. The match can also be heard in English on The Brew @ 105.7 (please note change) and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, with Neil Sika John Bluem behind the microphone as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM with Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo calling all the action.
Cruz Azul enters Wednesday's match after rallying to secure a 3-3 comeback draw at the Puerto Rico Islanders last Tuesday (Sept. 15), thanks to goals by Gabino Velasco, Javier Orozco and Melvin Brown. Cruz Azul currently sits in first place, just one point ahead of the Crew, in the CONCACAF Champions League Group C standings with a 2-0-1 record (7 pts.). Orozco leads Cruz Azul in Champions League scoring with four goals in three matches. The Crew traveled to Costa Rica for Champions League action last Wednesday (Sept. 16), where it earned a stunning 1-0 victory over Deportivo Saprissa thanks to Eddie Gaven's tally in the fifth minute, marking the first victory for a MLS club at Saprissa's Ricardo Saprissa Stadium.
The CONCACAF Champions League is the confederation's annual club championship which features 24 teams from CONCACAF's three sub-regions: North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The top two teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals. The eventual champion qualifies for the prestigious seven-team FIFA Club World Cup - which annually pits each continental confederation's champion against the others - in December 2010.
Los Angeles, which currently sits in second place in the Western Conference with a 10-5-11 record (41 pts.), enters Saturday's MLS match-up after posting a 2-0 win over Toronto FC last Saturday (Sept. 19) at The Home Depot Center, thanks to a strike by Beckham in the ninth minute and a game-sealing tally by former Crew forward Edson Buddle in the 83rd minute. The Galaxy have been led this season by the U.S. international, Donovan, who leads the club with 10 goals and is tied for the team lead in assists with six, while Buddle is second on the team with five scores this season.
The Crew, which sits tied with Houston atop the Major League standings with an 11-4-10 record (43 pts.), enters this week's matches after earning a 2-2 draw at Chicago in Sunday's match-up of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. After conceding two first-half goals to the Fire at Toyota Park, the Crew got a pair of second-half tallies from Guillermo Barros Schelotto to preserve its status atop the MLS standings. Chicago jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead on Peter Lowry goals in the 6th and 35th minutes, respectively. The Crew cut the Chicago lead in half with a score in the 55th minute, when Robbie Rogers held off Brandon Prideaux in the left corner and crossed the ball in to Schelotto who headed the doorstep service past Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch. Schelotto's second of the night - and 12th of the season - came on a penalty kick in the 79th minute, after Steven Lenhart was awarded a penalty kick after a foul by defender Wilman Conde in the Chicago box.
COLUMBUS CREW vs. Cruz Azul (Mexico)
(CONCACAF Champions League)
Wednesday, Sept. 23 - 8 p.m. (ET) - Crew Stadium
National Television: Fox Soccer Channel; Regional Television: N/A
Crew Radio: N/A; Crew Webcasts: N/A
COLUMBUS CREW vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
Saturday, Sept. 26 - 7:30 p.m. (ET) - Crew Stadium
National Television: N/A; Regional Television: ONN-TV
Crew Radio: The Brew @ 105.7 (English); La Que Buena 1550-AM (Spanish)
Crew Webcasts: TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com (English)
CSF SPORTS MEMORABILIA AUCTION/RAFFLE SET FOR THIS SATURDAY, SEPT. 26
The Crew Soccer Foundation, the Crew's charitable arm, will hold its third annual Sports Memorabilia Auction and Raffle in the southwest corner of the Stadium Club before and during the Crew's match this Saturday, Sept. 26 vs. the Los Angeles Galaxy. More than 80 unique collectibles will be available from stars throughout the sports world, with all proceeds supporting Crew Soccer Foundation programming for central Ohio youth and families including the Referee Scholarship Program, Kicks for Kids, inner-city soccer field development and the GOALS for KIDS handbook curriculum.
GAVEN NOTCHES CONSECUTIVE GAME-WINNERS
Crew midfielder Eddie Gaven recently earned himself a pair of game-winning goals, against Houston on Sept. 13 and at Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica on Sept. 16. His game-winner vs. the Dynamo came courtesy of a penalty kick after Geoff Cameron fouled Alejandro Moreno in the box. Gaven calmly stepped to the spot in second-half stoppage time and slotted a low shot into the right corner past goalkeeper Pat Onstad to give the Crew a big three points. His second match winner of the week came in Champions League play on Wednesday, as the Crew became the first MLS team to ever emerge victorious from Ricardo Saprissa Stadium. After midfielder Brian Carroll sent a lofted pass toward the opponent's box, Gaven out-battled a Saprissa defender and loosed a clinical strike to give the Black & Gold the early lead which it would not relinquish.
SCHELOTTO TALLIES THIRD MULTI-GOAL GAME OF 2009
Thanks to his two-goal performance in the Crew's 2-2 draw at Chicago last Sunday (Sept. 20), Guillermo Barros Schelotto now has three multi-goal matches in 2009, and four in his MLS career. Schelotto's first multi-goal effort of the season came in a 2-0 victory over Kansas City on June 6, and he followed that up with his second consecutive multi-goal match in a 2-1 win over Chivas USA on June 14. Schelotto's first multi-goal MLS game came on July 22, 2007 in a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC.
SCHELOTTO NOW THIRD ON MLS GOAL SCORING LIST
Thanks to his two-goal performance in Chicago on Sunday (Sept. 20), reigning MLS MVP and 2009 MLS All-Star First XI selection Guillermo Barros Schelotto currently sits in third place among MLS goal-scoring leaders. Colorado's Conor Casey is currently first on the list with 14 goals, followed by Dallas' Jeff Cunningham with 13 and Schelotto, who leads the Crew in goals this season with 12. Seattle's Fredy Montero is fourth on the list with 11 scores and he is followed by L.A.'s Landon Donovan, Toronto's Dwayne De Rosario, Salt Lake's Robbie Findley and Josh Wolff of Kansas City, who have 10 goals apiece.
RENTERIA MAKES BLACK & GOLD DEBUT
Recently-acquired Venezuelan forward Emilio Renteria made his Black & Gold debut in the Crew's 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire on Sunday (Sept. 20), coming on as a substitute for Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the 87th minute. Renteria, who signed with the Crew on Aug. 19, most recently played for Caracas FC of the Venezuelan top flight from 2007-09. He tallied 16 goals in that span, while once again helping his club to two appearances in Copa Libertadores, including a run to the quarterfinals in 2009, the club's best-ever finish in that competition.
CREW LOOKING TO EXTEND MLS RECORD REGULAR SEASON HOME UNBEATEN STREAK
The Crew currently own a MLS record 21-game regular-season home unbeaten streak (24 including playoffs and Champions League) heading into its slate of matches this week. The Black & Gold, which has accrued a regular-season record of 15-0-6 during the streak, currently holds the significant distinction as owners of the longest regular-season home unbeaten streak (21 games - June 7, 2008 to Sept. 13, 2009), longest regular-season road unbeaten streak (9 games - July 10, 2004 to Oct. 16, 2004) and the longest overall unbeaten streak (19 games - July 3, 2004 to April 2, 2005) in MLS history.
'SOCCER AID VII' AUCTIONS CLOSE FRIDAY
"Soccer Aid VII," a unique, fund-raising program of the Crew Soccer Foundation, is underway here at "MLS Auctions" and will run throught Friday. The exciting program capitalizes on soccer fans' passion for the sport to raise money for charity through the non-profit arm of Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, including its primary beneficiary, the Mid-Ohio Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Through its first six years, Soccer Aid has raised more than $33,000 for JDRF. In addition to an autographed jersey, winning bidders will have the opportunity to experience the thrill of match day at first-of-its-kind Columbus Crew Stadium, with two tickets to the Crew's CONCACAF Champions League game vs. Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica on Sept. 29, on-field recognition and the opportunity to play a 30-minute scrimmage prior to the Sept. 29 game. All jerseys are official, locker-room issue pregame jerseys worn during the Crew 2008 MLS Cup championship season. "MLS Auctions" can be accessed through CrewSoccerFoundation.org and TheCrew.com.
CREW REGULAR SEASON FINALE VS. NEW ENGLAND ON OCT. 25 WILL NOW BE TELEVISED LIVE NATIONALLY ON ESPN2
The Crew's regular-season finale vs. New England at Crew Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 25, will now be televised live nationally on ESPN2. Kickoff for the Oct. 25 match - which was previously scheduled to air regionally on ONN-TV - will remain unchanged at 5 p.m. ET.
NO CREWXTRA THIS WEEK
Please note that due to the Crew's CONCACAF Champions League match on Wednesday, CrewXtra will not air this week. It will return to its regular time slot on ONN-TV next Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 8 and 11 p.m.
