COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Crew continued its impressive preseason Saturday, defeating the Indiana University Hoosiers, 1-0, at Bernlohr Stadium on the campus of Capital University. The win extends the Crew's preseason unbeaten streak to 10 games and gives it an overall preseason record of 8-1-2.
The first half of the exhibition match saw the Crew maintain the majority of possession time with crisp passing and smart play, but Columbus was unable to convert on several excellent opportunities, including near misses each for Kei Kamara and Ned Grabavoy. Indiana's back line would continue to withstand the constant pressure from the Crew attack and the team's would enter the half knotted in a scoreless tie.
Both sides would exhibit good defensive intensity to begin the second half, as the game remained scoreless in the early going. The Crew finally broke through in the 64th minute, when Danny O'Rourke's beautiful long ball sailed over the Hoosier defense and found the unmarked Brad Evans sprinting down the middle. Evans controlled the service and beat the goalie one-on-one for the game-winner. Crew head coach Sigi Schmid would substitute liberally after taking the lead, ensuring that a large portion of the active roster saw meaningful action.
The Crew will depart for North Carolina on Tuesday (March 27) for training and two exhibition matches. Columbus will face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Wednesday (March 28th) and will participate in its final preseason tune-up on Saturday (March 31st) when it faces the Kansas City Wizards in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Crew is hosting one of its popular Fan Forums on Monday (March 26) in Crew Stadium's Huntington Club, at 6 p.m. The panel will be made up of Hunt Sports Group President John Wagner, Crew General Manager Mark McCullers, Head Coach Sigi Schmid and select players, including veterans Frankie Hejduk and Duncan Oughton. McCullers will kick off the interactive discussion with a brief outline of the club's current priorities and state of affairs, after which the entire panel will be available for questions. The event is free and open to the public.
Columbus Crew vs. Indiana Hoosiers (Exhibition)
Saturday, March 24, 2007 - Capital University, Bernlohr Stadium
Scoring Summary:
CLB - Brad Evans 1 (Danny O'Rourke), 64th minute
Crew lineup - Bill Gaudette (Andy Gruenebaum 46), Rusty Pierce (Andre Pachuca 72), Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall (Marc Burch 72), Frankie Hejduk (Brandon Moss 61), Eddie Gaven (Aaron Chandler 64), Stefani Miglioranzi (Duncan Oughton 61), Danny O'Rourke, Jacob Thomas (Brad Evans 61), Ned Grabavoy (Andy Herron 64), Kei Kamara (Jason Garey 46)
