After a heartbreaking 1-0 playoff loss at Colorado on Oct. 27 that ended the Crew’s season, the Black & Gold is hard at work in preparation for one last match before closing the books on 2011. The Crew will host D.C. United in its final MLS Reserve League match of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 11 a.m. at Crew Stadium. The game will be free and open to the public.
The Black & Gold Reserves (8-1-0, 24 pts.) currently lead D.C. (5-0-3, 18 pts.) by six points in the East Division, and a win or a draw will give the Crew the division title. The Crew also has a chance to finish the Reserve League campaign with the most points overall, as it will enter the match just one point behind the West Division-champion Seattle Sounders (8-1-1, 25 pts.) who have already wrapped their season.
United will enter the game after hosting the New York Red Bulls on Nov. 10. Should D.C. tie or lose that match the Crew will have clinched the East Division title in advance of its match vs. D.C. If D.C. wins both matches, it will win the East Division by virtue of the first tie-breaker, which is head-to-head competition.
The Crew and D.C. opened the Reserve season against each other on March 20, with United claiming a 3-2 victory in Washington. The Black & Gold has been on an eight-game winning streak since then that includes a 6-2 win over New York on May 30 and a 5-1 win at New England on Oct. 16, in which forward Tommy Heinemann scored a hat trick. The Crew has scored the most goals (26) and has the highest goal differential (plus-17) in Reserve League play.
CREW SOCCER ACADEMY PRODUCT WIL TRAPP IS TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM’S TOP FRESHMAN IN THE COUNTRY
TopDrawerSoccer.com posted its first Players to Watch: Men’s College Freshmen Top 100 of the season on Oct. 27, and University of Akron midfielder Wil Trapp, a Gahanna native and Crew Soccer Academy product, tops the list. The CSA is also well represented on the upperclassmen Top 100, with No. 31 Andy Lubahn (Wake Forest), No. 34 Chad Barson (Akron), No. 75 Ben Speas (North Carolina) and No. 80 Matt Wiet (UCLA).
ROBERT WARZYCHA AND DUNCAN OUGHTON RAISE AWARENESS IN “MOVEMBER”
Crew head coach Robert Warzycha and TV analyst Duncan Oughton join forces with “Movember” and MLS W.O.R.K.S. this month to raise awareness for men’s health. As part of a Movember team, they are growing moustaches through the entire month of November to raise funds and awareness for men’s cancer. Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Nov. 1 clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month. The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men. Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.
AUTOGRAPH ALLEY POSTER AUCTION, BENEFITTING CREW SOCCER FOUNDATION, ENDS THURSDAY
The Crew Soccer Foundation is once again this year 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 Thursday, Nov. 3. All proceeds benefit CSF, the club’s charitable arm. Please visit http://www.thecrew.com/community/poster-auction <http://www.thecrew.com/community/poster-auction> for more information.
CSF SPONSORS STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD AT GREATER LINDEN AWARDS AND GRATITUDE CELEBRATION NOV. 10
The Crew Soccer Foundation, the Crew’s charitable arm, will once again sponsor the Student-Athlete of the Year Award and Scholarship at the Eighth Annual Greater Linden Awards and Gratitude Celebration next Thursday, Nov. 10, at Linden McKinley STEM Academy (100 Arcadia Ave, 43202). The ceremony will highlight some of the exceptional achievements of Linden community members, recognizing individuals or organizations in several categories based on nominations for each award which were solicited from the Linden community.
ROBERT WARZYCHA ON CREWXTRA THIS WEDNESDAY ON ONN
This week on CrewXtra, the Crew’s weekly show on ONN, host Beau Bishop will be joined by Crew head coach Robert Warzycha and the “Voice of the Crew” Dwight Burgess as they wrap up the 2011 season and discuss the team’s plans for 2012. CrewXtra is broadcast on ONN every Wednesday at 8, 8:30, 11 and 11:30 p.m., 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.
