COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Crew will play host to their second consecutive home match this week, as they welcome the Eastern Conference-rival Chicago Fire to Crew Stadium on Saturday (July 5). A fireworks show is scheduled as part of Saturday night's postgame festivities, as the Crew celebrate Independence Day weekend. The match features a Crew side (8-4-2, 26 pts.) that is in the midst of a three-game unbeaten streak, thanks to a draw at Los Angeles and wins against Kansas City and Colorado in recent weeks, facing off against a Chicago squad (6-5-2, 20 pts.) that is winless in its last four league matches, following a strong start. However, the Fire have won a pair of U.S. Open Cup matches in that span to advance to the tournament's quarterfinals, including a 3-2 OT decision over the Crew on June 10 and a 4-1 victory over the Cleveland City Stars on Tuesday.
Saturday's match, which kicks off at 8 p.m. (ET) will be the first of two regular-season battles between the two rival sides. The Crew will travel to Chicago to take on the Fire at Toyota Park in the away portion of the home-and-home series on Oct. 12. It will be televised live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Español. The game can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN with Dwight Burgess and John Bluem behind the microphone, and Neil Sika providing sideline coverage, and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM with Marcelo Carrera, Eduardo Carvacho and Benny Pietrangelo on the call.
Chicago enters Saturday's match after registering a scoreless draw with the San Jose Earthquakes at home last Saturday (June 28). After a hot start to the season that saw Chicago competing for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings, the Fire has cooled in recent weeks, going winless in its June MLS schedule. The Fire is led by Mexican midfield legend Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who has four goals and six assists in 13 appearances this season, and also features former Crew players Jon Busch, one of the most decorated goalkeepers to suit up for the Black & Gold, and Andy Herron, who was a member of the club's 2007 squad. Midfielder Chris Rolfe is a native of Kettering who played at Fairmont High School.
Columbus heads into the weekend's match after dispatching the Colorado Rapids, 2-1, last Saturday (June 28) at Crew Stadium thanks to a thrilling, skillful goal by Emmanuel Ekpo in the 70th minute, the first tally of his Crew and MLS career. Thanks to a penalty kick call drawn by Alejandro Moreno, the Crew also got a goal from Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the 53rd minute, which was soon equalized by the Rapids' Nick LaBrocca, before the Crew sealed the final margin thanks to Ekpo's exciting game-winner.
COLUMBUS CREW vs. Chicago Fire
Saturday, July 5 - 8 p.m. (ET) at Crew Stadium
National Television: Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Sports Español; Local Television: N/A
Crew Radio: News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Que Buena 1550-AM (Spanish)
Crew Webcasts: TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com (English)
TICKETS FOR JULY 9 CREW vs. INDEPENDIENTE GAME AT CREW STADIUM STILL AVAILABLE
Tickets are on sale now for the Crew's international exhibition against Independiente of Argentina's Premier Division on Wednesday, July 9, at Crew Stadium. The international match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be classified as 'Special Game B' for Crew Soccer Nation Gold members. Individual advance ticket pricing will be as follows for the game: $22 adults/$18 youth (endlines), $25/$20 (upper sideline), $30/$22 (lower sideline) and $42/$32 (club seats). Tickets are available at the Crew Stadium Box Office, all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 614-431-3600 and on-line at TheCrew.com. Special group pricing is also available. Based in Avellaneda, Greater Buenos Aires province, Independiente was founded in 1905. Known as "El Rojo" ("The Red"), "Los Diablos Rojos" ("The Red Devils"), "Rey de Copas" ("King of Cups") or "Orgullo Nacional" ("National Pride"), Independiente has won 14 Argentine championships, placing them third behind legendary clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors. Independiente has also won seven Copa Libertadores titles, including an unprecedented run of four consecutive seasons from 1972-75, and a total of 15 international titles - including three Copa Interamericanas and the 1973 and 1984 Intercontinental Cup. Former Crew midfielder and current Spanish radio broadcaster Marcelo Carrera played at Independiente before joining the Crew in 1996 and helped them win the Copa Libertadores and the Toyota Cup Championship in 1983-84.
EKPO NOTCHES GAME-WINNING GOAL SATURDAY, FIRST OF CREW AND MLS CAREER
Midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo scored the game-winning goal last Saturday (June 28) in the Crew's 2-1 victory over Colorado. The goal, which came in the match's 70th minute after an exceptional 50-yard run and was nominated for MLS Goal of the Week, was the first of Ekpo's Crew and MLS career. Ekpo, who took part in preseason training with the Crew, didn't officially join the squad until mid-April after taking part in CAF Olympic Qualifying for his native Nigeria. He is expected to receive the call-up for the Nigerian Olympic team when it participates in the Beijing Summer Olympics in August.
CREW GETS GAME-WINNERS FROM MULTITUDE OF SOURCES - SIX TO BE EXACT
With Ekpo's thrilling game-winning goal in the 70th minute of the Crew's 2-1 victory over Colorado on Saturday, the Crew has now gotten game-winning goals from six different players in its eight wins this season. Robbie Rogers leads the group with two game-winning tallies this season (4/12, 5/3), followed by Ekpo (6/28), Brad Evans (5/10), Chad Marshall (6/14), Adam Moffat (3/29) and Alejandro Moreno (4/26).
CREW PLAYERS AMONG LEAGUE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Several Crew players find themselves among the league statistical leaders so far in the 2008 season. Forward Alejandro Moreno finds himself tied for fifth in MLS in goals scored (6), while midfielder Robbie Rogers finds himself among the league's best in several categories, as he is currently tied for sixth in MLS in goals scored (5), while also ranking fourth in shots (41) and fifth in shots on goal (22). Rogers is also tied for second in MLS in multi-goal games, with two on the season. Guillermo Barros Schelotto has had a good start to the 2008 season, as well, as he leads the league in corner kicks (75) by a wide margin and is tied for second in assists (6), one behind the leaders.
CREW FEATURES THREE OF THE LEAGUE'S SIX MOST-FOULED PLAYERS
The Crew's roster features three of the six most-fouled players in the league - Guillermo Barros Schelotto is currently tied for second in fouls suffered with 37, Alejandro Moreno, who has led the league in the category for the last three years, is third with 36, while Robbie Rogers is currently ranked sixth, with 32 fouls suffered this season.
LIVE WEB CHAT WITH WILLIAM HESMER SET FOR TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, AT TheCrew.com
Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer will answer questions from fans during the Crew's monthly Web Chat at TheCrew.com tomorrow (July 2) at 2 p.m. Be sure to log on to see what Hesmer has to say in advance of the Crew's clash with the Chicago Fire this Saturday, July 5, at Crew Stadium.
VOTING FOR ALL-STAR FIRST XI ENDS AT MIDNIGHT
The final push for the All-Star First XI is on. Online voting for the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game closes tonight (July 2) at 11:59 p.m. Fans have the rest of the day to vote for the All-Star First XI online at www.mlsnet.com by selecting one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards. Fans can vote up to 10 times per day. The online fan balloting program will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players, and media each holding 25 percent of the vote to combine for the remaining 75 percent. The MLS All-Star First XI will be announced on Thursday, July 10 and the All-Star Reserves and Commissioner's Selections will be announced on Tuesday, July 15. Crew players Frankie Hejduk (2.12%) and Guillermo Barros Schelotto (1.80%) are both currently ranked in the top 10 of overall vote getters, by percentage of overall vote.
BRIAN CARROLL SCHEDULED TO PARTICIPATE IN SUMMER READING EVENT AT WHETSTONE LIBRARY
Crew midfielder Brian Carroll is scheduled to read to a group of neighborhood children at the Columbus Public Library Whetstone branch this Thursday (July 3) from 2 -3 p.m. as part of the Columbus Metropolitan Library's summer reading program entitled "Game On. Read." Twenty-two library branches in the central Ohio area are participating in the summer reading club, with the mission of developing good reading habits in kids. Thursday's reading with Carroll continues the joint educational efforts of Columbus Public Libraries, the Crew and the Crew Soccer Foundation. The Crew and CSF have worked with area libraries to enter into circulation dozens of its G.O.A.L.S. for Kids Handbooks, a life-skills publication containing interactive quizzes, activities and puzzles that inform children about wellness, community service, character-building, leadership and scholarship.
CREW SOCCER ACADEMY U-18s REACH ACADEMY FINALS IN CALIFORNIA
The Crew Soccer Academy participated in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Summer Showcase last weekend (June 27-30) at Bryan Park in Greensboro, N.C., and the Under-18 squad emerged as champions of the Great Lakes Conference to qualify for the Development Academy Finals at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., BJuly 12-18. The Academy Finals will feature the top team from each conference in the U-16 and U-18 age groups. Teams will participate in a round-robin format, culminating with a placement game on the final day. In addition to the games played during the Finals Week, U.S. Soccer will also provide educational programming for Academy players, coaches and administrators. Both CSA squads faced three opponents over the four-day showcase: Atlanta Fire, Real So Cal, and the New York Red Bulls. On Friday (June 27), the Under-16s defeated Atlanta Fire, 2-0, with both goals coming from Tyler Ranalli. Their Under-18 counterparts fell to Atlanta, 3-2, with tallies coming from Mike Green and Derek Sebert. The U-16s were the lone CSA team in action on Saturday (June 28), as they defeated Real So Cal, 3-1, with two more goals from Ranalli and a score by Ross Friedman. On Sunday (June 29), it was the U-18s' shot at Real So Cal, and they took care of business, 4-0, thanks to two tallies each by Green and Thomas Schmitt. Both squads wrapped up Summer Showcase play on Monday (June 30) against the New York Red Bulls, with the U-16s defeating NYRB, 2-0, with a goal apiece for Ranalli and Chris Smith, and the U-18s defeating New York, 2-1, with goals from Sebert and Green. The U-16s' win over New York gave them a perfect record of 3-0-0 in the 2008 Summer Showcase and a final overall record of 19-4-7 in its inaugural season in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The U-18s' win secured its place at the top of the Great Lakes Conference, with a 21-5-4 record, and made them the first MLS Academy squad to advance to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Finals.
