COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Crew returns to action on Saturday (May 26) against Toronto FC at Crew Stadium. Columbus (1-2-4, 7 pts.) is coming off just its second loss of the season at New York on May 19, while Toronto (2-5-0, 6 pts.) fell to D.C. United, 2-1, earlier that afternoon.
Saturday's match, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m., will be televised live locally on CSN, on a tape-delayed basis, with Dwight Burgess and Dante Washington calling all the action and Katie Witham reporting from the sidelines. It is scheduled to air at approximately 10 p.m. that night. The game can be heard live in English on The Brew @ 105.7 and on-line on TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, as well as in Spanish on Radio Sol WXOL 1550-AM.
Expansion-club Toronto is Major League Soccer's newest club and will be making its first visit to Columbus. After losing its first four games, it has won two of its last three. Toronto is now the Crew's second-most proximate geographic rival, after Chicago, and its roster features longtime Crew forwards Edson Buddle and Jeff Cunningham, acquired yesterday from Real Salt Lake.
COLUMBUS CREW vs. Toronto FC
Saturday, May 26 - 7:30 p.m. (ET) at Crew Stadium
National Television: N/A; Local Television: CSN (Tape Delayed - approx. 10 p.m.)
Crew Radio: The Brew @ 105.7 (English); Radio Sol WXOL 1550-AM (Spanish)
Crew Webcasts: TheCrew.com and MLSnet.com (English)
OUGHTON EARNS NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL TEAM CALL-UP
Duncan Oughton has achieved another significant milestone in his remarkable comeback from serious knee injuries and experimental surgery, earning a spot on New Zealand National Team manager Ricki Herbert's 19-man roster for a pair of upcoming friendlies. A regular for New Zealand from his July 5, 2002 debut through his initial injury in 2004, Oughton left Tuesday to rejoin the All Whites for the first match, at Wales on Saturday. A second match, at Ukraine, is scheduled for June 6.
ROGERS, SZETELA AND WARD START U.S. U-20 MATCH VS. ARGENTINA ON MAY 15
The Crew trio of Robbie Rogers, Danny Szetela and Tim Ward all started the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team's match vs. reigning world-champ Argentina on May 15 in Rochester, N.Y. Szetela and Ward played the full 90 minutes, while Rogers went 62 minutes, in a game won by Argentina, 1-0. Ward played in spite of a broken nose suffered just two days before in a Crew Reserve Division match. The U-20s are preparing to compete in the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, which will take place from June 30-July 22 in Canada. The U.S. has been drawn into Group D of the tournament, along with South Korea, Poland and Brazil. They qualified for the event with a first-place finish in Group A of the CONCACAF Under-20 qualifying tournament held in Panama in January.
"MEET THE CREW" AT BUFFALO WILD WINGS ON BETHEL ON TAP FOR TONIGHT
The annual "Meet the Crew" event at the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar on Bethel Road will be held tonight (Wednesday, May 23) from 6-8 p.m. Open to the public, fans will have the opportunity to challenge select players to a game of trivia or simply sit back and be served by a member of the team at Buffalo Wild Wings on Bethel Road (5240 Bethel Center Mall, Columbus, OH 43220), the Crew's Official Away Game Headquarters.
SPRING SOCCER FESTIVAL FOR CREW SOCCER NATION MEMBERS IS SUNDAY
Spring Soccer Festival, one of the exclusive benefits of Crew Soccer Nation membership, will be held this Sunday (May 27) at Crew Stadium from 1-3 p.m. CSN members will have the opportunity to interact with Crew players and coaches at a variety of stations on the field. Members are asked to bring their credentials. Media is welcome to cover the event.
CREW OPEN TRYOUTS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY
The Columbus Crew will hold open tryouts for the sixth straight year, this Saturday, May 26, at the Value City Furniture Fields at Easton (4475 Sunbury Road, Columbus, OH 43219). The tryout will last all day, with registration beginning at 7 a.m. and the evening session ending at 6 p.m. Select members of the Crew coaching staff will be in attendance throughout the day to assess and evaluate the entire player pool. As part of that evaluation process, the coaching staff will reserve the right to dismiss candidates at any time throughout the day. College players will not be eligible to participate in the tryout due to NCAA regulations. There is no pre-registration and all players that are planning to be in attendance must e-mail Crew assistant coach Mike Lapper at mlapper@thecrew.com.
There will be a $100 administrative fee per player, which must be paid in cash only prior to the first training session and will include two (2) tickets to the Crew's game that night against Toronto FC. All net proceeds from participation in the Crew open tryouts will go to the club's charitable arm, the Crew Soccer Foundation. Individuals wishing to try out are solely responsible for any and all accommodations and transportation they deem necessary. They are also responsible for their own training gear, such as cleats and shin guards and anything else they might need to perform to the best of their abilities. Players must also bring their own ball.
CREW JUNIORS HOLDING TRYOUTS OVER NEXT TWO WEEKS
The Crew's youth development club, Crew Juniors, is holding tryouts for boys and girls in 11 age groups over the next two weeks. Crew coaches, players and staff are preparing for year two of their quest to build the finest player development system in Major League Soccer. Crew Juniors players have the opportunity to learn from one of the most respected coaching staffs in the country, wear the Black & Gold, join the MLS Player Development Pool and enjoy access to world-class facilities - Crew Stadium and the Crew Training Center at Obetz. Already this spring, two Crew Juniors teams, the Under-11 boys and U-13 boys, advanced to the State Cup semifinals, with the U-19 tournament still to be played.
CREW CONCLUDES EIGHTH YEAR IN COLUMBUS READS PROGRAM, SEVENTH AT WINDSOR ELEMENTARY
The Crew organization completed its eighth year in the ColumbusReads program on Thursday (May 17) and seventh at Windsor Elementary School. Through the program, launched in 1998 by Les Wexner, chairman and CEO of The Limited Inc., at the request of then-Columbus Public Schools Superintendent Rosa Smith, members of the Crew front office tutor kindergartners for an hour on Thursday mornings. The Crew has been involved with the program since its inception. Affiliated with the statewide OhioReads program, ColumbusReads works under the umbrella of the Help One Student to Succeed (HOSTS) program. Over the years, HOSTS has been tested and proven successful in hundreds of schools throughout the country. HOSTS provides tutors with curriculum, alignment, training, on-site help, and a qualitative and quantitative measurement system. ColumbusReads tutors commit one hour per week in the classroom during their regular workweek, for one school year, on company time. Each tutor provides two children with a half-hour of tutoring each week.
DON'T MISS 'CREW CORNER' THURSDAYS AT 6 and 6:30 p.m. ON CSN
The Columbus Sports Network (CSN) produces and airs a weekly magazine show dedicated solely to the Crew, called 'Crew Corner.' The 30-minute program is refreshed each week with compelling content that is unique and dynamic, including "behind the scenes" perspectives and profiles about players, coaches and team officials; glimpses into the teams' participation in a variety of community and charitable activities; and game and league highlights. Each episode of 'Crew Corner' will air first on Thursdays at 6 p.m., and be replayed immediately afterward at 6:30 p.m. In addition, every show will be replayed repeatedly at different times throughout the following seven days to make it conveniently available to fans.
CREW TRAINING AND GAME SCHEDULE
(Media availability at the conclusion of training; All times listed Eastern Time)
May
Wed., 23 10 a.m. training at Obetz
Thu., 24 10 a.m. training at Obetz
Fri., 25 10 a.m. training at Obetz
Sat., 26 7:30 p.m. - vs. Toronto FC, at Crew Stadium
(Tape Delayed on CSN - approx. 10 p.m.)
Sun., 27 1-3 p.m., Spring Soccer Festival
exclusive Crew Soccer Nation event
Mon., 28 OFF
Tues., 29 10 a.m. training at Obetz
