The Crew travels to Commerce City, Colo., to face the Colorado Rapids on Thursday (Oct. 27), at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, in a Wild Card playoff match that will determine who advances to the conference semifinals. Should the Crew defeat the Rapids in the single-elimination match, it would play host to Game 1 of a conference semifinals series this Sunday, Oct. 30 (details below).
Thursday’s match will kick off at 10 p.m. (ET) and be televised live regionally on ONN, with Dwight Burgess and Duncan Oughton calling all the action. Fans in central Ohio can catch the broadcast over the air on WBNS-DT 10.2. The game can be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN and on-line at TheCrew.com, and in Spanish on La Mega 103.1, with Neil Sika and Carlos Cordova handling play-by-play responsibilities, respectively.
The match comes on the heels of a heartbreaking 3-2 setback at Chicago on Saturday (Oct. 22), in which Emilio Renteria and Dilly Duka tallied to help the Crew mount a comeback from a 2-0 deficit. The Crew concluded the regular season with a record of 13-13-8 (47 points) to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference.
The Rapids, who finished fifth in the Western Conference with a 12-9-13 record (49 pts.) are led by midfielder Jeff Larentowicz who scored a career-high seven goals in the regular season. The Crew also has to watch out for the speed of Jamaican international and University of Cincinnati alum Omar Cummings, who recorded six assists this season. Forward Conor Casey – the Rapids’ all-time leading scorer – suffered a season-ending torn achilles tendon on July 16.
This is the second consecutive season that the Crew and Rapids are squaring off in the playoffs. In 2010, the Rapids advanced in the Eastern Conference Semifinals after a penalty shootout on Nov. 6. Colorado then went on to win the MLS Cup, defeating FC Dallas 2-1 in extra time.
COLUMBUS CREW at Colorado Rapids
Thursday, Oct. 27 – 10 p.m. (ET) – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo.
MLS Cup Playoffs – Wild Card match
Regional Television: ONN and WBNS-DT 10.2
Crew Radio: News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Mega 103.1 (Spanish)
Crew Webcast: TheCrew.com (English)
CREW HOSTING VIEWING PARTY THURSDAY AT BBR BAR IN ARENA DISTRICT
The Crew is hosting a viewing party at BBR Bar in the Arena District (106 Vine Street) to cheer on the Black & Gold as it takes on the Colorado Rapids this Thursday, Oct. 27, at 10 p.m. (ET), in a Wild Card playoff match. There will be prizes and giveaways, including autographed memorabilia and playoff gear.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR SUNDAY’S POTENTIAL GAME 1 OF CONFERENCE SEMIS
With a victory over the Colorado Rapids in Thursday’s single-elimination Wild Card match at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the Crew would host Game 1 of a conference semifinals series this Sunday, Oct. 30. With the New York win the Crew are now the No. 4 seed in the East and and will face Sporting KC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sunday at 7pm. Tickets for Sunday’s match are on sale now at the Crew Stadium Box Office, all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 800-745-3000 and on-line at TheCrew.com and Ticketmaster.com.
CREW’S FOURTH CONSECUTIVE PLAYOFF BERTH MATCHES FRANCHISE RECORD
The Crew’s fourth consecutive playoff berth matches the franchise record set when the Black & Gold qualified for postseason play in its first four seasons (1996-99). The Crew is also one of just two teams to have qualified for the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, with the other being Real Salt Lake.
DILLY DUKA SCORES FIRST TWO GOALS IN AS MANY GAMES
Crew midfielder Dilly Duka opened his career goal-scoring account on Oct. 15, in the 3-0 victory over the New England Revolution, and proceeded to score his second career goal at Chicago the very next week, on Oct. 22. The second-year Generation adidas player picked up a rebound from the Fire’s Jalil Anibaba and blasted it into the back of Chicago’s net to tie the score at 2-2 in an eventual 3-2 setback.
CREW SOCCER ACADEMY KEEPER MATT LAMPSON EARNS BIG TEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER HONORS
Ohio State goalkeeper and former Crew Soccer Academy star Matt Lampson earned his seventh career Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor this week, after helping the Buckeyes to their third shutout in the last four games. Ohio State is now 8-5-2 overall and tied for second in the conference at 3-1-0 after defeating Penn State, 1-0, in overtime on Sunday (Oct. 23).
