Following Tuesday’s Champions League match in Mexico, the Crew returns to league action this Saturday (Aug. 28) against red-hot FC Dallas at Crew Stadium. The Crew will once again pay tribute to its Founder on Lamar Hunt Legacy Day, the centerpiece of which will be the unveiling of a statue in Founder’s Park. The unveiling ceremony, which is open to the public, will begin at 3 p.m., with the match to follow at 4 p.m.
Saturday will also be the third and final Bob Evans Buck-a-Brat Night of the season, when juicy, full-size Bob Evans bratwurst will be sold throughout Crew Stadium for just $1 each. And Crew mini balls will be given away to fans 14 and under, while supplies last.
Saturday’s match will be televised live regionally on ONN-TV with Dwight Burgess and Bill McDermott calling all the action and Katie Witham reporting from the sidelines. It will also be broadcast in high definition exclusively to Time Warner Cable Mid-Ohio customers in Columbus on Ch. 1310. It can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN, with Neil Sika behind the microphone, as well as in Spanish on La Mega 103.1-FM, featuring Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo on the call.
Dallas, which is unbeaten in 11 games and sits third in the Western Conference with a 9-2-9 record (36 points), is coming off a 1-0 home win over Chivas USA last Saturday (Aug. 21), in which it got its goal from Brek Shea. Dallas has not lost since May 20 and is led offensively by former Crew forward Jeff Cunningham’s seven goals and David Ferreira’s eight assists.
The Crew, which remains in first place in the Eastern Conference with an 12-5-4 record (40 pts.), enters the match on the heels of a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at Santos Laguna in CONCACAF Champions League play on Tuesday. Santos scored in the final minute of second-half stoppage time, after the Crew had a first-half goal controversially disallowed. Columbus defeated Colorado, 3-1, in its most recent league match last Saturday (Aug. 21). Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Jason Garey and Steven Lenhart all scored in that game. The Black & Gold’s now leads New York by six points in the Eastern Conference standings.
The teams tied the first game of the season series, 2-2, back on April 10 at Pizza Hut Park. FCD’s Eric Avila scored the equalizer in second-half stoppage time, after goals from Brian Carroll and Guillermo Barros Schelotto had overturned a Cunningham penalty kick.
COLUMBUS CREW vs. FC Dallas
Saturday, Aug. 28 – 4 p.m. at Crew Stadium
Regional Television: ONN-TV
Radio: News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Mega 103.1 (Spanish)
CREW, D.C. SET FOR U.S. OPEN CUP SEMIFINALS SEPT. 1 AT RFK STADIUM
D.C. United will play host to the Crew next Wednesday, Sept. 1, in the semifinals of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at RFK Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Both clubs advanced with quarterfinal victories over USL2 clubs, the Crew 3-0 winners over the Charleston Battery and D.C. a 2-0 victor over the Harrisburg City Islanders. Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC will meet in the other semifinal, with the winners squaring off for the Dewar Cup in early October. The Crew is in the semis for the first time since winning it all in 2002.
BRASIL, CHILANGAS USA WIN 2010 COPA VICTORIA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS
The championship matches of the 2010 Copa Victoria Tournament were held on Aug. 21 at Crew Stadium, in conjunction with the Crew match vs. Colorado. In the women’s final, which was played prior to the Crew match, Chilangas USA defeated Maquina, 3-0. The men’s final was held following the Crew game and it was a rematch of last year’s title tilt. This year, Brasil raced past San Antonio by a score of 5-2 to avenge San Antonio’s victory in 2009. Sponsored by Budweiser and adidas, this year’s tournament played host to 25 Hispanic soccer clubs from four leagues around central Ohio: Latinos Unidos, OHASA, Interlatinos and Guzman Soccer League. All games prior to the championships were played at the Crew Training Facility at Obetz.
McCULLERS ON CREWXTRA THIS WEEK, WEDNESDAY AT 8 AND 11 P.M. ON ONN-TV
This week on CrewXtra, the Crew’s weekly show on ONN-TV, host Beau Bishop will be President & General Manager Mark McCullers, radio man Neil Sika and Dispatch beat writer Shawn Mitchell at 8 and 11 p.m. CrewXtra is broadcast every Wednesday and 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.
