The Crew, fresh off a thrilling 4-3 victory over Chivas USA on Saturday (April 12), hits the road for the second time in 2008, as it heads to our nation's capital to take on D.C. United at RFK Stadium this Thursday, April 17. The match will feature the highly-anticipated first MLS meeting of Argentine superstars Guillermo Barros Schelotto, formerly of famed club Boca Juniors, and D.C.'s Marcelo Gallardo, formerly of Boca's chief rival, River Plate. The game is being called the "Yankee Superclasico" in the South American press, referring to the commonly used name for matches between Boca and River.
Thursday's match, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET, will be televised live nationally on ESPN2, as the network's weekly MLS Primetime Thursday fixture, with JP Dellacamera and John Harkes on the call. The game can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN with Dwight Burgess behind the microphone and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com.
D.C. United enters this week's match after suffering a 4-0 setback on the road against Real Salt Lake on Saturday (April12). Thursday's match is D.C.'s second at home this season, with United currently holding a record of 1-2-0 in MLS play.
Schelotto, who suited up for Boca Juniors from 1996-2007, and Gallardo, who played for River Plate from 1996-99 and re-joined the squad from 2003-07, will face-off against one another Thursday for the first time outside of Argentina and the famed River-Boca "Superclasico" match. The teams will meet for the second and final time at Crew Stadium in Columbus on Sun., October 26 in each club's regular-season finale.
In last Saturday's mach at home vs. Chivas USA, the Crew came away a 4-3 victor, thanks to a game-winning goal by Robbie Rogers in the 82nd minute, his second tally of the match. The Crew was also paced by a goal and two assists from Schelotto, and a goal and an assist from Alejandro Moreno. Schelotto was named the MLS Player of the Week for Week Three thanks to his stellar play against Chivas USA.
COLUMBUS CREW at D.C. United
Thursday, April 17 - 8 p.m. (ET) at Crew Stadium
National Television:
ESPN2;
Local Television:
N/A
Crew Radio:
News/Talk 610 WTVN (English)
Crew Webcasts:
TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com (English)
THURSDAY NIGHT'S MATCH TO FEATURE CARROLL FAMILY REUNION
Crew midfielder Brian Carroll will experience a de facto family reunion when the Crew takes on D.C. United Thursday night, as his younger brothers, Jeff and Pat, both play for D.C. United. Neither has yet made a regular-season appearance for United in 2008. Jeff, the second-oldest of the three brothers, is in his third season with D.C., after being drafted in the fourth round (No. 39 overall) of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft out of St. John's University. The youngest brother, Pat, is in his first season with United, after signing a developmental contract with the club in March at the conclusion of his four-year career at West Virginia University.
LIVE WEB CHAT WITH ROBBIE ROGERS SET FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, AT TheCrew.com
Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers will answer questions from fans during the Crew's monthly Web Chat at TheCrew.com on Wednesday, April 23, at 2 p.m. Be sure to log on to see what Rogers has to say just three days before the Crew plays host to the defending MLS Cup-champion Houston Dynamo at Crew Stadium (on April 26).
CREW, CHIVAS PUT ON OFFENSIVE DISPLAY SATURDAY AT CREW STADIUM
The four goals scored by the Crew in its 4-3 victory over CD Chivas USA on Saturday, April 12, were the most scored by the club in a single match since its 4-1 victory at the Chicago Fire on Oct. 7, 2006. The seven combined goals scored by the Crew and Chivas Saturday were the most combined goals in a Crew contest since Oct., 26, 2003 when the Crew and Chicago Fire tallied a combined eight goals, in the Black & Gold's 6-2 victory at Crew Stadium.
PADULA MAKES BLACK & GOLD DEBUT IN 4-3 VICTORY OVER CHIVAS USA SATURDAY
Newly-acquired Argentine defender Gino Padula made his Crew debut Saturday, April 12, in the club's 4-3 victory over Chivas USA at Crew Stadium. Padula, who got the nod in the starting 11 for Head Coach Sigi Schmid, played the full 90 minutes in the Crew victory. The 31-year-old Padula trained with the Crew during its recent preseason trip to England and appeared in the club's exhibition match vs. Everton FC on March 7. He signed with the Crew on March 24 and joined the club on April 3, as soon as his P-1 visa was approved. Padula began his career with Argentine club Atlético River Plate in 1996, before moving to Club Atlético Huracán in 1997. In 1998, he moved to Europe to play for Xerez CD in Spain. Following his time with Xerez, Padula played in English football between 1999 and 2006.
ROGERS TOPS MLS LEAGUE LEADERS IN SHOTS
Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers currently sits atop the MLS league leaders in shots taken this season with 15 shots in just three games. His closest competitor is Adam Cristman of the New England Revolution who has 12 shots in four games. Rogers scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the Crew's 4-3 victory over Chivas USA on April 12, giving him his second multi-goal effort in his last four games, dating to the end of the 2007 MLS season. Rogers now has five goals in 13 MLS appearances, nine of them starts.
CREW DRAW AT CLEVELAND CITY STARS 2-2 IN RESERVE FRIENDLY SUNDAY
The Crew played Cleveland City Stars (USL-2) to a 2-2 draw on Sunday, April 13, in a reserve friendly at Byers Field in Parma, Ohio. The Stars earned both their scores in the first half, thanks to a goal by Dana MacGregor in the fourth minute and a second tally by Luke Williams off a well-struck volley in the 35th. The Crew made things close in the 76th minute, when Steven Lenhart headed home a nicely-taken cross by Andrew Peterson at the far post. The Black & Gold evened things up for good in injury time, when Nicolas Hernandez's corner kick in the 92nd minute hooked in towards a crowd of bodies in the six-yard box, fooling the Cleveland goalkeeper, who was unable to keep the service out of the back of the net. The friendly match was part of Cleveland's "2008 Season Launch Weekend." Current Crew players Adam Moffat and Andrew Peterson spent time with Cleveland last year.
CREW, OHIO STATE TO SQUARE OFF APRIL 29 IN SEVENTH ANNUAL CONNOR SENN MEMORIAL MATCH
The Crew and Ohio State Buckeyes will once again meet on the field Tuesday, April 29, in the seventh annual Connor Senn Memorial Match. Game time is set for 7 p.m. ET at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State. The first six exhibition matches in the annual series have raised nearly $100,000 for the Connor Senn Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is now nearly fully endowed.
CREW SOCCER ACADEMY SQUADS TO HOST MATCHES IN CREW STADIUM THIS WEEKEND FOR FIRST TIME
The Crew Soccer Academy Under-16 and Under-18 squads return to the pitch this weekend as they host two pairs of matches at Crew Stadium for the first time. On Sat., April 19, the CSA U-16s and U-18s welcome Internationals at 1 p.m. ET and 3 p.m. ET, respectively. The following morning, CASA visits Crew Stadium to take on the CSA U-16s at 10 a.m. ET and the U-18s at 12 noon ET. In previous action, the weekend of April 5-6, both teams took on Vardar on April 5, with the Under-16s taking home a 2-1 victory in the day's first match. The Under-18s followed up with a 2-2 draw in a closely contested match. On Sunday, CSA matched up with the Michigan Wolves. The U-16s started the day off with a 0-0 draw with the Wolves and the U-18s capped the weekend with a 2-1 victory over the Wolves, which improved their record to 6-3-2, giving them sole possession of first place in the U-18 Great Lakes Conference of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The Under-16s are currently tied for third place in the Great Lakes Conference with 5-2-4 record.
