The Columbus Crew announced today that forwards Alejandro Moreno and Ricardo Pierre-Louis have both earned national team call-ups for their respective home nations, in advance of upcoming World Cup Qualifying dates. They join teammate Frankie Hejduk - who was named to the U.S. roster for its World Cup Qualifiers at Cuba and vs. Trinidad & Tobago - on international duty those days.
With the call-up, Moreno will participate in his second Venezuelan National Team duty of 2008, after earning his first call-up since 2006 and scoring his first international goal in Venezuela's 4-1 victory over Syria in an international friendly on Aug. 20. The Venezuelan side will first take on Peru in a WC Qualifying match on Sept. 6 at Estadio Nacional in Lima, Peru, then Venezuelans will then travel to face Paraguay on Sept. 9 at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asuncion, Paraguay. Moreno, now in his second season with the Crew, has started all 21 of the Black & Gold's MLS matches this season, tallying seven goals and four assists. He finished 2007 as the squad's leading goal scorer with seven goals on the season, and he is also the Crew's current leader in goals scored for 2008.
Pierre-Louis, 23, will join Haiti for its World Cup Qualifying match against El Salvador on Sept. 6 at Estadio Cuscatlan in San Salvador, and will then return to Haiti to face Costa Rica at the Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince on Sept. 10. He has six goals in his previous appearances for the Haitian National Team and has also made contributions at the Under-23, Under-20 and Under-17 levels. Most recently, Pierre-Louis saw action in the second half of Haiti's 2-2 draw with Suriname in a WC Qualifier on August 20. Pierre-Louis is in his first season with the Crew after being drafted in the second round (No. 22 overall) of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft out of Lee University (Tenn.). In his four year career at Lee, he scored 101 goals, with 33 assists, in 63 career games. Pierre-Louis, who speaks five languages, was named the NAIA Player of the Year and the Region XIII Player of the Year in 2007. He was also named to the NAIA All-American First Team in three consecutive seasons (2005-07).
Founded by American sports pioneer Lamar Hunt, the Columbus Crew is Ohio's Major League Soccer club, anchoring a diverse sports and entertainment enterprise. One of the league's Charter Members and the U.S. Open Cup champion in 2002, it is in its 13th season overall and 10th in first-of-its-kind Columbus Crew Stadium.
