COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Crew sold out of the entire allotment of tickets it made available for its Sept. 30 game vs. Los Angeles that went on sale to the general public on Saturday, March 10. Tickets to the other 14 regular-season home games, including the April 7 Home Opener, are still available at the Crew Stadium Box Office and all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 614-431-3600 and on-line at TheCrew.com.
The Sept. 30 game has generated great interest, as global icon and future Galaxy midfielder David Beckham is scheduled to make his lone Crew Stadium appearance of the season that day.
"Our public on-sale was very successful, in general, and specifically with regard to the Sept. 30 L.A. Galaxy match," said General Manager Mark McCullers. "Tickets for L.A. went very quickly, which confirmed our perception that there is tremendous interest in that contest and in our 2007 season as a whole. And for fans who still wish to acquire tickets to the Galaxy match, the good news is that season-ticket and group plans remain available."
Tickets to the Sept. 30 L.A. match can still be guaranteed by becoming full- or half-season Crew Soccer Nation members or with the new "Best of MLS Pack," featuring games against five of the biggest stars in Major League Soccer - the April 7 home opener vs. the New York Red Bulls and longtime U.S. National Team captain Claudio Reyna; June 10 vs. defending MLS Cup-champion Houston and MLS Cup MVP Brian Ching; July 7 vs. Real Salt Lake and former Crew forward Jeff Cunningham, the league's leading scorer in 2006; Aug. 18 vs. D.C. United and 2006 MLS MVP Christian Gomez; and Sept. 30. Group tickets are also still available for all 15 regular-season home games, including the L.A. game on Sept. 30. All ticket packages or plans are available through TheCrew.com and 614-447-CREW.
SCHMID ON-LINE CHAT FRIDAY
Crew Head Coach Sigi Schmid will answer questions from fans on Friday (March 16) at 4 p.m. (ET) on TheCrew.com. Schmid and the Crew are currently in southern California, where they'll play their next three exhibition matches (see next item), and the chat will take place between the first two. Questions can be submitted in advance at http://www.mlsnet.com/chat/2007/03/schmid/.
CREW PREPS FOR TRIO OF EXHIBITIONS IN CALIFORNIA
The Crew's preseason continues this week in southern California, where it is training in advance of three upcoming exhibition matches. First up is an encounter at defending NCAA-champion University of Santa Barbara Thursday (March 15) at 10 p.m. ET, followed the next day (Friday, March 16) by a game at the University of California-Irvine, rookie midfielder Brad Evans' alma mater, also at 10 p.m. (ET). Finally, on Sunday (March 18), the Crew returns to MLS competition, squaring off against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita at 8 p.m. (ET). The team then returns to Columbus on Monday, March 19.
PRESEASON MATCH VS. INDIANA UNIVERSITY SET FOR MARCH 24 AT OBETZ
The Crew will play host to perennial national-power Indiana University on Saturday, March 24, in its first exhibition match of the preseason in central Ohio. The Crew and Hoosiers, who share a number of ties, will meet at 11 a.m. at the Crew Training Center at Obetz. Indiana advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament last fall, where it fell to Santa Clara in a penalty-kick shootout, following a 0-0 tie. Current Crew players Ned Grabavoy, Danny O'Rourke and Jed Zayner all played at IU, while Hoosiers assistant coach Todd Yeagley is a former Crew player (1996-2002).
ROGERS MAKES CREW DEBUT IN PIONEER CUP
U.S. Under-20 National Team star Robbie Rogers made his Crew debut in Sunday's 3-0 win over FC Dallas in the inaugural Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup just three days after the Crew won his rights in a weighted lottery. The 19-year-old Rogers came on in the 65th minute of the Crew's fifth straight victory of the preseason.
Midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi assisted on all three Crew goals - scored by Joseph Ngwenya, Kei Kamara and Aaron Chandler - while Ned Grabavoy provided a pair of helpers. Kamara's goal was his team-leading fifth of the preseason and Chandler tallied for the third time. The Crew has now scored 10 goals in its last three games and has 15 goals in seven preseason contests, overall. The Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup was created in honor of Crew Founder and FC Dallas Investor-Operator Lamar Hunt, who passed away in December 2006 after a battle with cancer.
JUNIOR CREWZERS PROGRAM RETURNS FOR 2007
The 2007 Junior Crewzers program kicks off with the start of the Crew's 12th Major League Soccer season. The program is designed to teach girls dance routines, improve their technical ability and, most importantly, build self-esteem and self-confidence in a fun, supervised atmosphere. There will be no auditions and all girls are welcome.
The Junior Crewzers will be divided into different age groups, each of which will have two professional Crewzers as their coaches. Times and length of practices will vary by age group. All participants will receive a uniform, warm-up suit, tote bag, pom poms, credential, group photo with the Crewzers and year-end party with the Crewzers. Each age group will perform at halftime of three (3) Crew home games. A $150 registration fee is due on or before orientation, which will be held on Sunday April 1, at 4 p.m., at Crew Stadium's Huntington Club. Please call 614-446-8171 for more information.
UPCOMING PRESEASON SCHEDULE
MARCH
14: AM Training
15: AM Training; 10 p.m. (ET) - Exhibition at UC-Santa Barbara
16: AM Training; 10 p.m. (ET) - Exhibition at UC-Irvine
17: Clinics at Irvine and Valencia
18: 8 p.m. (ET) - Exhibition vs. L.A. Galaxy at Santa Clarita
19: Return to Columbus
20: OFF
21: OFF
22: 10 a.m. - Training
23: 10 a.m. - Training
24: 11 a.m. - Exhibition vs. Indiana University at Crew Training Center at Obetz
