Fresh off its thrilling 1-1 stoppage-time draw at New York on Saturday night, the Crew (3-3-6, 15 pts.) returns home to face Real Salt Lake in the first of a two-game home-stand at Crew Stadium this Wednesday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m. The Black and Gold will then play host to the Chicago Fire on Sunday, June 12, at 4 p.m.
Both matches will be televised live regionally on ONN with Dwight Burgess and Duncan Oughton calling all the action. The games will also be broadcast in high definition exclusively to Time Warner Cable Mid-Ohio customers in Columbus on Ch. 1311. They can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN and on-line at TheCrew.com, with Neil Sika and John Bluem behind the microphone, and in Spanish on La Mega 103.1, with Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo on the call.
The ever popular Bob Evans Buck-a-Brat night is back for Wednesday’s contest. Fans will be able to purchase juicy, full-size Bob Evans Bratwursts for just $1 throughout the game.
The Black & Gold looks to extend its home unbeaten streak (3-0-3) to seven games. In the last home match (May 28), the Crew came from behind three times to secure a 3-3 tie against Chivas USA. Forward Andres Mendoza scored twice and midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo added a goal and an assist.
Most recently, in New York, Rich Balchan, who started in the holding midfielder position instead of left back as he has for most of the season, connected on a cross by rookie forward Justin Meram and first-timed a terrific finish past Red Bulls keeper Greg Sutton for the 1-1 tie with only seconds left in the match.
The Black & Gold’s record against Salt Lake, in regular-season competition is 7-4-1 and 5-1-0 when playing at Crew Stadium. The last time the teams met in regular-season play, the Crew fell 2-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Aug. 14. Real Salt Lake (6-2-2, 20 pts.), which eliminated the Crew in the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals in March, enters the match on the heels of a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps at Rio Tinto last Saturday (June 4).
Led offensively by Fabian Espindola and Paulo Araujo Jr., who have two goals each on the season, Salt Lake will have to do without several players who are with their respective national teams participating in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando (USA), midfielder Will Johnson (Canada) and forwards Arturo Alvarez (El Salvador) and Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica) will all be unavailable for the match, as will the Crew’s Robbie Rogers (USA).
The Crew will only have four days of rest before returning to the pitch as it hosts the Chicago Fire on Sunday, June 12, at 4 p.m. at Crew Stadium. The Fire will be coming off a visit to Livestrong Sporting Park where they will help open the new venue against Sporting Kansas City this Thursday (June 9).
The Fire (1-4-7, 10 pts.) is led by midfielder Marco Pappa and forward Diego Chaves who have netted four goals apiece going into the midweek match at K.C. The Crew’s record against Chicago is 11-18-13 all-time and 6-8-6 at home. The last win for the Black & Gold was last July when Adam Moffat and Jason Garey tallied one goal each in the 2-1 victory.
The Crew next travels to Houston on June 18 to face Eastern Conference-rival Houston Dynamo, before returning home to host the 2010 MLS Cup-champion Colorado Rapids in a rematch of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sunday, June 26 at 8 p.m.
COLUMBUS CREW vs. Real Salt Lake
Wednesday, June 8 – 7:30 p.m. (ET) – Crew Stadium
National Television: N/A; Regional Television: ONN (in HD on TWC Ch. 1311)
Crew Radio: News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Mega 103.1 (Spanish)
Crew Webcast: TheCrew.com (English)
COLUMBUS CREW vs. Chicago Fire
Sunday, June 12 – 4 p.m. (ET) – Crew Stadium
National Television: N/A; Regional Television: ONN (in HD on TWC Ch. 1311)
Crew Radio: News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Mega 103.1 (Spanish)
Crew Webcast: TheCrew.com (English)
CREW CELEBRITY BARTENDER NIGHT AT JED’S FIREBALLS AND BREW IN HILLIARD THIS THURSDAY
Join Budweiser, 97.1 The Fan and the Crew this Thursday, June 9, from 7-9 p.m. at Jed’s Fireballs and Brew (3799 Park Mill Run Dr., Hilliard). Columbus Crew stars William Hesmer, Julius James and Chad Marshall will take part as celebrity bartenders for the evening, serving your favorite Budweiser products. Scott Torgerson, co-host of “Common Man and The Torg,” and Crew TV analyst Duncan Oughton will emcee the event. All tips raised for the evening will benefit the Crew Soccer Foundation.
CREW MIDFIELDER ROBBIE ROGERS BEGINS GOLD CUP ON TUESDAY AGAINST CANADA
Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers is a member of the 23-man U.S. National Team roster for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Rogers joined his teammates in Cary, N.C., following the Chivas USA match to prepare for the tournament, and started in the final tune-up match against Spain on June 4, before beginning the Gold Cup against Canada in Detroit tonight.
CREW U19s WIN STATE CUP, ADVANCE TO REGIONALS
The Crew Juniors Gold U19 team, coached by technical director Brian Bliss, won the Ohio South Youth Soccer State Cup championship for the second year in a row and is on its way to defending its US Youth Soccer Association national title. On Saturday, June 4, in the semifinals, the U19s defeated the CUP Crew Juniors, 5-0, behind goals from Matt Walker, Kofi Agyapong, Andrew Corrado, Chris Hegngi and Tyler Ranalli. Then in Sunday’s final, they defeated Blast FC of Columbus, 2-0, with goals by Sage Gardner and Chris Hegngi.
CREW SOCCER ACADEMY 15/16s AND 17/18s SPLIT RESULTS OVER THE WEEKEND
The Crew Soccer Academy teams returned to competitive play last weekend after the Memorial Day weekend break and visited Sockers FC in Northern Illionis and FC Milwaukee in Wisconsin. On Saturday (June 4), both teams lost to Sockers FC by the same 1-0 score. On Sunday (June 5), the 15/16s defeated FC Milwaukee 3-0 behind goals by Quinn Miller, Nathan Khol and Zachary Mason while the 17/18s won 1-0 with Rhodes Moore scoring the lone goal. The CSAs close U.S. Soccer Development Academy Great Lakes Division play this weekend as they host the Chicago Magic and the Chicago Fire academies at the Crew Training Center at Obetz on June 11 and 12.
CREW'S U.S. SOCCER FOUNDATION PASSBACK PROGRAM SET TO BEGIN SUNDAY
The U.S. Soccer Foundation, in partnership with the Crew and Major League Soccer, will be collecting new and gently used soccer equipment at Crew Stadium through its Passback program this Sunday, June 12, during the Crew’s match vs. the Chicago Fire, as well as on June 26 during its match vs. the Colorado Rapids. The equipment collected will then be distributed within our community, to programs including the Kids Inner-City Development Soccer (K.I.D.S.) League and the Near-East Side Inner-City Youth Soccer Program, so that others may enjoy the wonderful sport of soccer. Fans are encouraged to gather up those jerseys, shin guards, shoes, socks and soccer balls and bring them to the Crew's home matches in June to "Share the equipment. Share the Game!"
CREWXTRA LIVE THIS WEDNESDAY
CrewXtra, the weekly show on ONN Wednesdays, will air at a special time this week, at 7 p.m. as a live lead-in to the Crew vs. Real Salt Lake telecast also on ONN. A variety of guests will join Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch, and host Beau Bishop, as they discuss last Saturday’s match at New York, the impending match vs. RSL and Sunday’s vs. Chicago.
