COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Crew and Major League Soccer announced today that the Crew-Everton match on Wednesday, July 26, will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and will kick off at 7 p.m., instead of the originally scheduled 7:30 p.m. time.
The game is Special Game "A" for Crew Soccer Nation members. Individual advance ticket pricing is $15 adult/$13 youth (south end), $20/$17 (north end), $25/$19 (corner), $27/$21 (midfield) and $40/$30 (club seats). Day of game pricing is $2 more than advance purchases. Group pricing is also available and can be purchased by calling 614-447-CREW.</p>
Tickets are available for purchase 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.</p>
Everton finished 11th in the 20-team Premier League's 2005-2006 season. The July 26 game vs. The Crew will be one of the final preparation matches before Everton kicks off the next Premier League season in mid-August.</p>
Three members of the Everton squad participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, and two of them made dramatic impacts for their respective countries.</p>
Portugal defender Nuno Valente started five of his team's six games, playing the full 90 minutes in all five games, and helped them notch four shutouts. He helped guide Portugal to the semifinals, where they lost 1-0 to France.</p>
Australian midfielder Tim Cahill played in all four games, starting twice, and helped guide them to the Round of 16 for the first time. He was directly responsible for Australia's one win, coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring two late goals, including the game-winner, to rally Australia to a 3-1 win over Japan. Australia trailed 1-0 when Cahill scored in the 84th and 89th minutes. Australia scored again two minutes into stoppage time to secure the win. Australia lost 1-0 to Italy in the Round of 16.</p>
The third player is former MLS star and U.S. National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard. He did not see any action for the U.S. Howard was recently loaned to Everton for the 2006-2007 season from Manchester United where he has played since July 2003.</p>
The Crew has ties to Everton, as Crew Assistant Coach Robert Warzycha played for The Toffees from 1991-1994 and former Crew star Brian McBride spent time on loan at Everton.</p>
The Crew is 6-1-1 all-time in international exhibitions, including 2-0-1 against teams from the English Premier League. The Black & Gold downed Leeds, 2-1, in 1997, tied Newcastle, 2-2, in 2000, and defeated Fulham, 2-1, in 2005.</p>
