The Crew heads to Canada this Saturday for a visit to BMO Field, where it will take on Toronto FC in the second leg of the 2009 Trillium Cup series. The two sides drew, 1-1, in the competition's first leg, held on March 28 at Crew Stadium.
Saturday's match, which kicks off at 4 p.m. ET, will be televised live regionally on ONN-TV, with Dwight Burgess and Dante Washington calling all the action. The match can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN, and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, with Neil Sika behind the microphone, as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM.
The Trillium Cup, which refers to the official flower of the province of Ontario and official wildflower of the State of Ohio, is awarded annually to the winner of the season series between the geographic rivals. The Crew won the inaugural competition last season, going unbeaten in three games against the Reds (1-0-2).
Toronto enters the match after registering two wins at home in MLS Week 6 action last week. On Wednesday (April 22), Toronto downed Chivas USA, 1-0, thanks to a first half goal by Amado Guevara in the 36th minute. TFC then followed with another 1-0 win, this time against Chivas USA, on Sunday (April 26) thanks to Danny Dichio's strike early in the second half. Toronto has been paced by Guevara this season, as the Guatemalan international leads the team in goals, with three, and is tied for the team lead in assists, with two. Six players have registered at least one goal for TFC so far this season.
The Crew enters Saturday's match after playing Eastern Conference-rival Chicago to a 2-2 draw Saturday (April 25) at Crew Stadium. Crew defender Chad Marshall opened the night's scoring with his first tally of the season in the 25th minute. Less than 10 minutes later, forward Alejandro Moreno earned his first goal of the campaign with a great individual effort, giving the Crew a 2-0 lead heading into halftime. Columbus went down a man in the 57th minute, when defender Gino Padula was harshly given a straight red card after a tackle on Cuauhtemoc Blanco, but the Fire was unable to take advantage until Brian McBride's header in the 86th minute halved the Crew's lead. Chicago then kept the pressure on and two minutes later, Gonzalo Segares scored the match equalizer to send both sides away with a point apiece.
COLUMBUS CREW at Toronto FC
Saturday, May 2 - 4 p.m. (ET) at BMO Field
National Television:
N/A;
Regional Television:
ONN-TV
Crew Radio:
News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Que Buena 1550-AM (Spanish)
Crew Webcasts:
TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com (English)
MARSHALL, MORENO EACH TALLY FIRST GOALS OF 2009 SEASON
Crew defender Chad Marshall and forward Alejandro Moreno each notched their first goals of the 2009 MLS season in the Crew's 2-2 draw with Chicago last Saturday (April 25). Marshall, who totaled four goals in 2008 on his way to Defender of the Year honors, scored the match's opening goal in the 25th minute off Guillermo Barros Schelotto's corner kick. Moreno doubled the Crew's lead less than 10 minute later, when he hustled to gather a loose ball as Chicago goalkeeper Jon Busch was about to play the ball at the edge of the penalty area. Moreno tapped the ball toward the touchline, outran Busch for the ball then dribbled toward goal. Moreno then maneuvered around defender Wilman Conde with a deft shot fake and deposited the ball into the open net for the 40th goal of his MLS career. Moreno was the Crew's Golden Boot winner in 2008, when he totaled a career-high nine goals.
CREW TURNING BACK THE CLOCK ON MAY 9 VS. KANSAS CITY
The Crew will be turning back the clock to 1999 on May 9 vs. Kansas City, in celebration of Crew Stadium's 10th Anniversary. The historic venue opened on May 15, 1999, becoming the first major-league stadium built specifically for soccer, and as part of the May 9 celebration, tickets, parking and select concessions items are being offered at 1999 prices. Tickets for the 7 p.m. match against the Wizards are on sale now, priced for adults at $10 (south end), $12 (north end), $15 (upper sideline), $17 (lower sideline) and $25 (club). Youth pricing will feature $14 upper and lower sideline tickets and be the same as adults for both endlines and club. Parking will cost just $5, hot dogs only $2, a 32-oz. fountain drink in souvenir cup $3 and a limited edition commemorative T-shirt will be available for $10. That night, the Crew will also be honoring Crew Founder and stadium developer Lamar Hunt, burying a time capsule to be opened in 2019, and 1999-themed entertainment will prevail, among many other elements.
CREW RECOGNIZED WITH TWO PRISM AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
The Crew was recognized at the Central Ohio PRSA 2009 PRism Awards Ceremony on April 23 at The Westin Columbus. The club earned Awards of Excellence for both its 2008 Media Guide and unique "Paint the Town Black & Gold" Playoff Media Kit at the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America's annual awards event.
CREW RESERVES DEFEAT AKRON, 1-0, IN FRIENDLY EXHIBITION SUNDAY
The Crew reserve squad defeated the Akron Zips, 1-0, Sunday (April 26) in a friendly exhibition on the campus of the University of Akron. The Crew's lone strike came from guest player and former Akron midfielder Matt Tutich, who headed home an Alex Grendi free kick at the back post in the 48th minute.
GRENDI RECEIVES OUTSTANDING SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD
After a superlative athletic and academic career at Pennsylvania University, Crew rookie midfielder Alex Grendi was recently honored with the Marty Glickman Outstanding Jewish Scholastic Athlete of the Year award by The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame & Museum. The awards ceremony, which Grendi was unable to attend, was held at the Suffolk YJCC in Commack, New York on Sunday (April 26). Grendi's father, Ernest, accepted the award on his behalf.
CREW, OHIO STATE TO SQUARE OFF MAY 5 IN EIGHTH ANNUAL CONNOR SENN MEMORIAL MATCH
The Crew and Ohio State Buckeyes will once again meet on the field Tuesday, May 5, in the eighth annual Connor Senn Memorial Match. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State. The first seven exhibition matches in the annual series have raised more than $125,000 for the Connor Senn Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is now fully endowed. The Fund was established by Dr. Lance Senn, Connor's father and a former member of the Ohio State tennis team. A native of Granville, Ohio, Connor was a freshman walk-on defender who had earned a starting position midway through the 2001 season for the defending Big Ten champion Buckeyes. He saw action in eight of 10 matches, starting five. Connor collapsed during a game at Akron on Sept. 26, 2001 and died that night from a congenital heart defect.
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ROGERS AMONG 15 MLS PLAYERS FEATURED IN COSMOGIRL.COM PHOTO CONTEST
Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers is among 15 MLS players currently featured in an online photo gallery at CosmoGirl.com where readers can comment on who they believe is the best looking young player in MLS. The photo gallery of MLS players can be seen
here
. Readers are encouraged to leave their comments on who they think is the best looking. Players from each of MLS' 15 teams are featured in the photo gallery, including: Logan Pause (CHI), Colin Clark (COL), Sacha Kljestan (CHV), Rogers, Chris Pontius (D.C.), Peri Marosevic (DAL), Stuart Holden (HOU), D Chance Myers (K.C.), A.J. DeLaGarza (L.A.), Danny Cepero (N.Y.), Chris Tierney (N.E.), Will Johnson (RSL), Arturo Alvarez (S.J.), Brad Evans (SEA) and Marvell Wynne (TOR). Readers can also enter to win one of 15 autographed MLS jerseys. Each player involved has autographed one jersey. One lucky reader will win the grand prize: an official adidas MLS game ball signed by the LA Galaxy. A CosmoGirl blog post that links to the sweepstakes as well as the photo gallery can be found
here
. The photo gallery and giveaways are featured on CosmoGirl's homepage at
www.cosmogirl.com
.
CREW SOCCER ACADEMY SQUADS HOST SET OF MATCHES AT CREW STADIUM
The Crew Soccer Academy squads hosted matches in U.S. Soccer Development Academy play last weekend at Crew Stadium. On Saturday (April 26), CSA took on Derby County Wolves, with the 15/16s winning by a score of 3-0, behind two goals from Chris Davis and one from Rhodes Moore. The 17/18s followed shortly thereafter with a 2-1 setback to Derby County, with their lone goal coming from Tyler Pollock. On Sunday (April 27), both squads faced Vardar, with the 15/16s starting things off with a 2-1, behind goals from Wil Trapp and Davis. The 17/18s followed up with a 1-0 loss to their counterparts from Vardar. Both CSA squads will travel to Texas this weekend to continue play in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. On Saturday (May 2), both teams will face Lonestar Aztex Academy at St. Stephen's Episcopal in Austin, with the 15/16s kicking things off at 4 p.m., followed by 17/18s at 6 p.m. On Sunday (May 3), CSA will take on Classics Elite at Trinity University in San Antonio, as the 15/16s kick off at 11 a.m. and 17/18s follow at 1 p.m. The 15/16s currently hold a 9-3-6 record in Academy play, while the 17/18s sit at 9-6-3 on the season.
