COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Crew return home Saturday when they will play host to the Eastern Conference rival Kansas City Wizards and celebrate Columbus Crew Stadium's 10th Anniversary.
Saturday's match, which kicks off at 7 p.m. ET, will be televised live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Espanol. The match can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN, and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, with Dwight Burgess and John Bluem behind the microphone and Neil Sika reporting from the sidelines, as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM with Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo on the call.
The Crew and Crew Stadium will be traveling back to 1999 in celebration of the historic venue's 10th Anniversary. Crew Stadium's construction has gone down as one of the most important events in soccer's history in this country, launching a period of infrastructure investment that has resulted in the development of seven more soccer-specific stadiums since the first opened in Columbus on May 15, 1999.
As part of Saturday's celebration, tickets, parking and select concessions items are being offered at 1999 prices. Tickets are priced for adults at $10 (south end), $12 (north end), $15 (upper sideline), $17 (lower sideline) and $25 (club). Youth pricing will feature $14 upper and lower sideline tickets and be the same as adults for both endlines and club. Parking will cost just $5, hot dogs only $2, a 32-oz. fountain drink in souvenir cup $3 and a limited edition commemorative T-shirt will be available for $10.
Fans will also receive a Limited Edition Commemorative Ticket, and to honor the memory of Crew Founder and stadium developer Lamar Hunt, the club is inviting fans to bring memories and mementos to be left at Founder's Park, located in the middle of Crew Kicker Plaza, where there will also be a guest book to sign.
The guest book, along with the most meaningful items left at Founder's Park will be included in a time capsule, which will be buried on the stadium grounds and remain until 2019, when it will be unearthed and opened as part of Crew Stadium's 20th Anniversary celebration.
The club is also reminiscing on its official blog, The Black & Gold Standard (www.blackandgoldstandard.com), with "Crew Stadium Flashbacks" that feature media clips that surrounded the stadium's highly anticipated and publicized opening.
Kansas City enters the match after enjoying a bye week during MLS Week 7 action. In its previous match on April 26 at BMO Field, the Wizards fell to Toronto FC, 1-0, thanks to a goal by TFC's Danny Dichio in the match's 54th minute. The Wizards have been paced this season my midfielder Davy Arnaud and forward Claudio Lopez. Arnaud leads K.C. with three goals, to go along with one assist, this season, while the former Argentine international Lopez leads the club with three assists, while also tallying two goals to-date.
The Crew enters Saturday's match after drawing with Toronto FC, 1-1, last Saturday (May 2) at BMO Field in the second leg of the 2009 Trillium Cup series. Columbus earned the match's first tally in the 54th minute when Emmanuel Ekpo knocked down a bouncing ball and took off down the center of the field, splitting TFC defenders Jim Brennan and Marco Velez. Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei closed down on Ekpo as he entered the box, but the young Nigerian faked a shot, sending Frei to the ground, and sent a low shot into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. Toronto answered 10 minutes later when TFC midfielder Steve Cronin sent in a cross from the left side which found the head of forward Chad Barrett who knocked the free header past Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum for the equalizer that would eventually send both sides away with one point apiece.
COLUMBUS CREW vs. Kansas City
Saturday, May 9 - 7 p.m. (ET) at Crew Stadium
National Television: FSC/FSE; Regional Television: N/A
Crew Radio: News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Que Buena 1550-AM (Spanish)
Crew Webcasts: TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com (English)
EKPO TALLIES FIRST GOAL OF 2009 SEASON
Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo tallied his first goal of the 2009 MLS season last Saturday (May 2) in the Crew's 1-1 draw on the road at Toronto. Ekpo scored the match's first goal in the 54th minute when he knocked down a bouncing ball at midfield and took off down the center of the field, splitting TFC defenders Jim Brennan and Marco Velez. Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei closed down on Ekpo as he entered the box, but the young Nigerian faked a shot, sending Frei to the ground, and sent a low shot into the back of the net to give the Crew the 1-0 lead. The goal was Ekpo's first since July 5, 2008 vs. Chicago.
CREW, OHIO STATE TO SQUARE OFF IN EIGHTH ANNUAL CONNOR SENN MEMORIAL MATCH TUESDAY
The Crew and Ohio State Buckeyes will once again meet on the field tonight, in the eighth annual Connor Senn Memorial Match. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State. The first seven exhibition matches in the annual series have raised more than $125,000 for the Connor Senn Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is now fully endowed. The Fund was established by Dr. Lance Senn, Connor's father and a former member of the Ohio State tennis team. A native of Granville, Ohio, Connor was a freshman walk-on defender who had earned a starting position midway through the 2001 season for the defending Big Ten champion Buckeyes. He saw action in eight of 10 matches, starting five. Connor collapsed during a game at Akron on Sept. 26, 2001 and died that night from a congenital heart defect. Crew head coach Robert Warzycha and defenders Danny O'Rourke and Eric Brunner each have special connections to tonight's match. Warzycha's son, Konrad, is currently a sophomore forward for the Buckeyes, while Worthington-native O'Rourke was a club soccer teammate of Senn's for seven years and Dublin-native Brunner, who is in his first season with the Black & Gold, played in Connor Senn Memorial Matches as a Buckeye.
CHECK OUT CREWXTRA WEDNESDAYS AT 8 AND 11 P.M. ON ONN-TV
CrewXtra, the Crew's new weekly show, airs every Wednesday at 8 p.m. (and again at 11 p.m.) on ONN-TV. This week, host Beau Bishop will be joined by Crew President & General Manager Mark McCullers, Crew radio play-by-play man Neil Sika and Columbus Dispatch beat writer Shawn Mitchell. CrewXtra provides viewers with in-depth coverage and access to the team every week, including game recaps, breakdowns and previews of the upcoming matches, while interspersing other news, interviews, discussion and features.
GAREY, ROGERS TO VISIT WITH STUDENTS AT AVONDALE ELEMENTARY ON THURSDAY
The Crew continues its school assembly program as forward Jason Garey and midfielder Robbie Rogers will visit the students at Avondale Elementary school (141 Hawkes Ave., Columbus, OH 43222) this Thursday, May 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. The players will speak to the students about teamwork, perseverance, staying in school and being a good sport, and will also perform a brief ball skills demonstration.
SPRING SOCCER FESTIVAL FOR CREW SOCCER NATION MEMBERS IS THIS SUNDAY, MAY 10
Spring Soccer Festival, one of the exclusive benefits of Crew Soccer Nation Gold, Black and Silver memberships, will be held this Sunday (May 10) 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 CSN credentials. Media is invited to cover the event.
ROGERS AMONG 15 MLS PLAYERS FEATURED IN COSMOGIRL.COM PHOTO CONTEST
Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers is among 15 MLS players currently featured in an online photo gallery at CosmoGirl.com where readers can comment on who they believe is the best looking young player in MLS. The photo gallery of MLS players can be seen here. Readers are encouraged to leave their comments on who they think is the best looking. Players from each of MLS' 15 teams are featured in the photo gallery, including: Logan Pause (CHI), Colin Clark (COL), Sacha Kljestan (CHV), Rogers, Chris Pontius (D.C.), Peri Marosevic (DAL), Stuart Holden (HOU), D Chance Myers (K.C.), A.J. DeLaGarza (L.A.), Danny Cepero (N.Y.), Chris Tierney (N.E.), Will Johnson (RSL), Arturo Alvarez (S.J.), Brad Evans (SEA) and Marvell Wynne (TOR). Readers can also enter to win one of 15 autographed MLS jerseys. Each player involved has autographed one jersey. One lucky reader will win the grand prize: an official adidas MLS game ball signed by the LA Galaxy. A CosmoGirl blog post that links to the sweepstakes as well as the photo gallery can be found here. The photo gallery and giveaways are featured on CosmoGirl's homepage at www.cosmogirl.com.
CREW SOCCER ACADEMY 15/16 SQUAD HOSTS OHIO ELITE
The Crew Soccer Academy squads were scheduled to travel to Texas last weekend (May 2 & 3) to continue play in U.S. Soccer Development Academy against Lonestar Aztex Academy and Classics Elite, but the trip was cancelled due to concerns about the swine flu virus. Instead, the CSA 15/16 squad hosted Ohio Elite on Saturday (May 2), in a match that had previously been postponed. The 15/16s defeated their counterparts from Ohio Elite by a score of 6-0, with two goals from Chris Davis and tallies by Tyler Ranalli, Matt Schadoan, Sage Gardner and Brett Elder. The victory brings the 15/16s record to 10-3-6 on the season. Both CSA squads will be in action this weekend, May 9 and 10, as they travel to the Cleveland area to take on Internationals and CASA. On Saturday (May 9), both teams will face Internationals at the Pinnacle Sports Complex in Medina, with the 15/16s playing at 4 p.m., followed by the 17/18s at 6 p.m. The CSA squads will then take on CASA on Sunday (May 10) at Premier Soccer Academy in Lorain, with the 15/16s kicking off the action at 10 a.m., followed by the 17/18s at 12 noon.
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