Weekly Update: Visiting Salt Lake

After dropping a 1-0 result to New England in its regular season finale at Crew Stadium last Sunday (Oct. 25), the MLS Supporters' Shield-winning Crew travels to Sandy, Utah, this Saturday (Oct. 31) to take on Real Salt Lake in the opening match of its 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinal series.

Saturday's playoff match, which opens the first-ever playoff series between the two clubs, kicks off at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised live statewide on ONN-TV (in progress immediately following the Miami-Toledo college football game), with Dwight Burgess and Dante Washington calling all the action. Fans in central Ohio can catch the broadcast in its entirety over the air on WBNS-DT 10.2 as well as on Time Warner Ch. 24, Insight Cable Ch. 432 and WOW! Cable Ch. 101. The match can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, with Neil Sika behind the microphone as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM.

Real Salt Lake, which earned a wild card berth as the fifth qualifier out of the Western Conference after compiling an 11-12-7 (40 pts.) record in the regular season, enters the match after defeating Colorado, 3-0, last Saturday (Oct. 24) in its regular-season finale at Rio Tinto Stadium, thanks to two first half strikes from Robbie Findley and a third by Yura Movsisyan in the match's final moments. "The Royals" were paced in the regular season by the aforementioned Findley and Movsisyan, along with midfielder Clint Mathis. Findley led the club with 12 goals, to go along with four assists, followed by Movsisyan who totaled eight goals on the season, along with two assists. Mathis led the team in assists, with seven, while also tallying two scores of his own.

The Crew, which enters the 2009 playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed and boasts a Supporters' Shield-winning record of 13-7-10, enters the match after dropping a 1-0 setback to New England last Sunday (Oct. 25) in its regular-season finale at Crew Stadium, thanks to a well-struck free kick by midfielder Jeff Larentowicz in the 79th minute. Columbus finished the season with a league-best plus-10 goal differential (tied with Houston).

The Crew split its regular-season series with Real Salt Lake, 1-1-0, with four goals for and five goals against. In the first match on April 2 at Rio Tinto Stadium, a Robbie Findley hat trick paced Real Salt Lake to a 4-1 victory over the Crew. In the return leg at Crew Stadium on July 18, the Crew earned its revenge over "The Royals," registering a 3-1 victory thanks to an opening strike from Steven Lenhart and a pair of tallies by Jason Garey.

Reigning MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall - who resumed training with the squad last week - is listed as "probable" on this week's injury report and could make his highly anticipated return to the starting line-up this Saturday after missing the Crew's last six matches with a left knee sprain.

CREW TO HOST PLAYOFF RALLY TUESDAY, NOV. 3, AT EASTON

The Crew will host a playoff rally next Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Easton Town Center from 6 to 8 p.m. in anticipation of Game 2 of its Eastern Conference Semifinal series vs. Real Salt Lake at Crew Stadium Nov. 5. The general public and media are invited an encouraged to attend rally, which will be held indoors in the common area of the Easton Station Building.

2009 MLS CUP PLAYOFFS TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Both two-game Crew playoff ticket packages and individual-game tickets are currently on sale at the Crew Stadium Box Office and all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 800-745-3000 and on-line at TheCrew.com and Ticketmaster.com. Each package includes the Crew's two potential playoff games - Game 2 of the conference semifinals on Nov. 5, which is guaranteed, and the Eastern Conference Championship, should it advance.

SCHELOTTO FINISHES REGULAR SEASON TIED FOR THIRD ON MLS GOAL SCORING LIST

With the conclusion of the MLS regular season last Sunday (Oct. 25), reigning MLS MVP and 2009 MLS All-Star First XI selection Guillermo Barros Schelotto finished tied for third place on the MLS goal-scoring list. FC Dallas' Jeff Cunningham finished the season as the Budweiser Golden Boot award winner with 17 goals, followed by Colorado's Conor Casey who had 16 goals to his credit. Schelotto, who led the Crew in goals this season, and Seattle's Fredy Montero, L.A.'s Landon Donovan, RSL's Robbie Findley and New York's Juan Pablo Angel each finished with 12 scores in 2009, and TFC's Dwayne De Rosario, Josh Wolff of Kansas City and San Jose's Ryan Johnson followed with 11 goals apiece.

SCHOENI MAKES CREW, MLS DEBUT

Goalkeeper Kenny Schoeni made his Crew and MLS debut in the Black & Gold's 1-0 loss to New England last Sunday (Oct. 25). Schoeni - who received the starting nod just prior to the match due to regular starter William Hesmer experiencing flu-like symptoms - recorded a solid performance with four saves on the night, but was unable to stop a sizzling free kick strike from New England's Jeff Larentowicz in the 79th minute. Schoeni spent the 2008 MLS season with the defending-champion Crew, making made five appearances, four of them starts, with a 0.80 goals-against average and two shutouts for the Black & Gold in the 2008 MLS Reserve Division. A Cincinnati native, Schoeni (pronounced shay-KNEE), spent the majority of the 2009 season with Miami FC of USL-1, where he compiled a 1-4-2 record in seven appearances this season, with one shutout and a 1.57 goals-against-average. Schoeni signed with the Crew on Sept. 18 to replace backup goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum, who had season-ending hip surgery in Sept.

"A MASSIVE SEASON," BY STEVE SIRK, ON SALE NOW

Steve Sirk's new book chronicling the Crew's 2008 Championship season, through both his Notebook columns and new material, is currently rolling off the presses and the first copies are now in stock and available at Crew Stadium's Crew Gear store, which is open 9-5 Monday-Friday and on game days. Sirk is generously donating a portion of the proceeds of all books sold there to the club's charitable arm, the Crew Soccer Foundation. The 480-page book, priced at $20, features all 19 of Sirk's 2008 Notebooks, including the epic MLS Cup recap from California; Recaps of those Notebook-less away games; The blog entries before and after MLS Cup; Several new essays sprinkled throughout; A foreword by Dante Washington; Footnote commentary; Over 140 pro and amateur black & white photos; Notebook snippets from yesteryear; Documentation of the joyous aftermath, from the Statehouse to the White House; and a special section featuring Crew alumni. A must-read for diehard Crew fans, "A Massive Season" is the ultimate championship season scrapbook!

ONLINE AUCTIONS FOR AUTOGRAPH ALLEY POSTERS END FRIDAY AT THECREW.COM

For the fourth straight year, the Crew is auctioning off the signed, foam core-mounted posters used at Autograph Alley via an on-line auction at TheCrew.com. The auctions are now live and close this Friday afternoon, Oct. 30. All proceeds benefit the club's charitable arm, the Crew Soccer Foundation. Please call 614-447-CREW or visit TheCrew.com for more information.

WATCH CREWXTRA WEDNESDAY AT 8 AND 11 P.M. ON ONN-TV

CrewXtra, the Crew's 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 goalkeeper Kenny Schoeni, the "Voice of the Crew" Dwight Burgess 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.