MLS Columbus Crew SC

First-Place Crew Off To San Jose

Published on May 7, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Crew will try to make it five straight wins - and two in a row away from Crew Stadium - as it travels to San Jose to take on the revived Earthquakes this Saturday, May 10, at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The match features the Crew (5-1-0, 15 pts.), in first place in the Eastern Conference and off to the best start through six games in club history, taking on the 1-3-1 Earthquakes (4 pts.).

Saturday's match, which kicks off at 10 p.m., will be televised live locally on Columbus Sports Network, with Dwight Burgess and Dante Washington calling all the action. The game can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN with Neil Sika behind the microphone and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM.

San Jose enters this week's match after earning a scoreless draw with FC Dallas last Saturday (May 3). The Earthquakes are currently in the midst of their first season back in MLS after a two-year hiatus. The original 'Quakes, which defeated D.C. United, 1-0 in the league's inaugural game in 1996, played 10 seasons in Major League Soccer from 1996-2005. Following the 2005 campaign, the Earthquakes were placed on hiatus by the league, with their players and coaching staff moving to Houston where they now play as the Houston Dynamo. However, when the original franchise moved, the decision was made to preserve the San Jose Earthquakes' nickname, logo and club history separately from that of the new Houston team, much like the NFL's decision to maintain the Cleveland Browns' legacy when the original franchise departed for Baltimore 1996.

San Jose features two players who suited up for the Black & Gold last season, both of whom became members of the Earthquakes thanks to the 2007 Expansion Draft, held in November of last year. Former Crew midfielder Ned Grabavoy was selected by San Jose in the third round of the Expansion Draft, while former Crew forward Kei Kamara was traded to San Jose in exchange for midfielder Brian Carroll, who had played each of his first five season with D.C. United, before being selected by the Earthquakes in the seventh round of the Expansion Draft, just days previous. The Crew's current roster also features two former 'Quakes, forward Alejandro Moreno and midfielder Danny O'Rourke who both spent the 2005 season in San Jose.

In the Crew's 2-1 victory over Kansas City last Saturday (May 3), the Black & Gold jumped out to an early advantage thanks to goals by Adam Moffat and Robbie Rogers. A Claudio Lopez penalty-kick goal late in the match made things interesting, but the late charge by the Wizards was not enough, as the Crew got its fourth win in a row and remained undefeated at home this season (4-0-0).

Saturday's match will be the first of two in the Crew's home-and-home series with the Earthquakes in the 2008 MLS regular season. Columbus' plays host to San Jose next month in the series' return leg at Crew Stadium, on Saturday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

COLUMBUS CREW at San Jose Earthquakes

Saturday, May 10 - 10 p.m. (ET) at Buck Shaw Stadium

National Television: N/A; Local Television: CSN

Crew Radio: News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Que Buena 1550-AM (Spanish)

Crew Webcasts: TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com (English)

CREW MIDFIELDER ADAM MOFFAT UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL KNEE SURGERY TUESDAY

Crew midfielder Adam Moffat, who started the season's first six games and has scored two goals, is expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks following a successful arthroscopic procedure Tuesday to remove torn meniscus cartilage in his right knee (menisectomy). Moffat suffered the injury in Saturday's win over K.C. and was forced to leave the game in the 54th minute. He will begin rehabilitation immediately.

EMMANUEL EKPO MAKES MLS DEBUT SATURDAY

Recently signed Nigerian Under-23 National Team midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo made his MLS debut Saturday (May 3) vs. K.C., coming on in the 54th minute for Adam Moffat.

CREW TO FACE REAL SALT LAKE IN SECOND ROUND U.S. OPEN CUP QUALIFER TUESDAY, MAY 27

Real Salt Lake defeated the San Jose Earthquakes, 4-0, last Wednesday, April 30, in a first-round qualifying match for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Salt Lake will now advance to the next stage of qualifying and will travel to Columbus Tuesday, May 27, to face the Crew at Crew Stadium in a second round U.S. Open Cup qualifying match at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are on sale now at all central Ohio Ticketmaster outlets and the Crew Stadium Box Box Office and on-line at TheCrew.com com and ticketmaster.com. Dating back to 1914, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer and is among the oldest in the world. Open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States, the annual U.S. Open Cup is entering its 94th tournament. The Crew won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Championship in 2002.

CREW OFF TO BEST SIX-GAME START IN CLUB HISTORY, STARTS 4-0 AT HOME FOR ONLY SECOND TIME

Thanks to its hard-fought 2-1 win over Kansas City on Saturday (May 3), the Crew now owns a 5-1-0 record, and is off to its best start through six games in club history, surpassing the 1998 squad that started with a 4-2 record and featured current Crew assistant coaches Robert Warzycha and Mike Lapper. The Crew has also started 4-0 in its first four matches at Crew Stadium, an accomplishment achieved just once before. The previous occurrence was in 1997, when the Crew also started 4-0 at home, but it's worth noting that two of those games were decided by the old tiebreaking shootout.

SEVERAL CREW PLAYERS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS IN OFFENSIVE STATISTICAL CATEGORIES

Several Crew players find themselves among the league leaders in offensive statistical categories early in the 2008 season. Forward Alejandro Moreno currently finds himself tied for second in goals scored, with four, trailing only Landon Donovan (8) of the Los Angeles Galaxy. Midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto, has four assists on the season, and is tied with David Beckham (L.A.) and Javier Morales (Salt Lake) for the league lead in that category. Schelotto and Moreno are each near the top of the list in fouls suffered on the season, as well, as Schelotto is second in the league with 18 fouls suffered, and Moreno is tied for third with 17. Young midfielder Robbie Rogers has also had a quick start to his 2008 campaign, as his three goals scored to date (already equaling his total output from last season) places him in a five-way tie for third place in the league. Rogers has also taken 23 shots this season, which ties him with Houston's Dwayne De Rosario for the league lead and his 11 shots on goal puts him second in MLS, trailing only Donovan.

CREW SOCCER ACADEMY SQUADS RESUME PLAY THIS WEEKEND

The Crew Soccer Academy squads resume play this weekend, May 10 & 11, as they each host a pair of matches at the Crew Training Center at Obetz. On Saturday, May 10, both squads face North Meck, with the U-16s playing at 1 p.m. and the U-18s following at 3 p.m. The following morning, May 11, both squads will match-up against South Charlotte SA, with the U-16s kicking off at 10 a.m. and the U-18s at 12 noon. The U-16 squad currently holds a record of 8-2-4 in the inaugural season of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, while the Under-18s are currently 8-3-3. Both teams are members of the Great Lakes Conference in their respective age divisions.

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