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MLS Columbus Crew SC

Columbus Crew News And Notes For The Week Of March 7

March 8, 2005 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio (Tuesday, March 8) — The Columbus Crew returned from a 10-day trip to La Manga, Spain yesterday, March 7, and will continue their preparations for the 2005 season by returning to practice tomorrow, March 9, in Columbus. Here is an update from The Crew as far as what's going on in camp as well as other news and notes.

CREW TO TRAIN IN COLUMBUS BEFORE HEADING TO VIRGINIA TO FACE THE VIRGINIA BEACH MARINERS ON SATURDAY, GAME WILL BE BROADCAST ON THECREW.COM

The Crew will face United Soccer Leagues First Division side Virginia Beach on Saturday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. in an exhibition game at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The game will be broadcast live on TheCrew.com with The Voice of The Crew, Dwight Burgess, calling the action. Before heading to Virginia, The Crew will train March 9, 10 and 11 in Columbus. The weekly schedule is below.

WEEKLY TRAINING SCHEDULE

March

9 9 am train at Obetz 3 pm train at Obetz

10 9 am train at Obetz 3 pm train at Obetz

11 8:30 am train at Obetz Noon depart for Virginia Beach

12 10 am train in Va. Beach 7:30 pm vs. Va. Beach (Va. Beach Sportsplex)

13 Depart for Columbus

BLACK & GOLD END TRIP TO SPAIN WITH 1-2-1 RECORD

The Crew wrapped up a 10-day trip to La Manga, Spain, by going 1-2-1 in four games against Norwegian First Division teams. The Crew lost to Viking (5-0) on Feb. 28, beat Molde (3-2) on March 2, tied Bodo/Glimt (0-0) on March 4, and lost to Start (5-1) on March 6. Columbus was severely depleted by the absence of their four players in U.S. National Team camp, Duncan Oughton and Stephen Herdsman who remained in Columbus for injury rehab, as well as a number of other minor injuries that occurred to players while in Spain.

CREW PRESEASON EXHIBITION RESULTS (4-4-1)

Preseason exhibition results: U-17 National Team (T 1-1, Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 4), D.C. United (L 1-0, Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 5), Central Florida (W 3-1, Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 7), South Florida (W 1-0, Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 8), MetroStars (W 1-0, Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 11), Real Salt Lake (L 2-0, Tampa, Fla., Feb. 13), Viking, Norway (L 5-0, La Manga, Spain, Feb. 28), Molde, Norway (W 3-2, La Manga, Spain, March 2), Bodo/Glimt, Norway (T 0-0, La Manga, Spain, March 4), and Start, Norway (L 5-1, La Manga, Spain, March 6).

2005 SIERRA MIST MLS ALL-STAR GAME SET FOR COLUMBUS ON JULY 30

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber and Crew General Manager Mark McCullers announced on March 8 that the MLS All-Stars will face English Premier League club Fulham FC as MLS goes global in the 2005 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game to be played on Saturday, July 30, in Columbus Crew Stadium (live on ABC Sports at 3:30 p.m. ET).

The game on July 30 will represent the return of forward Brian McBride to the city which he called home for eight seasons while playing for the Crew before joining Fulham in January 2004. Former Chicago Fire defender and U.S. National Team stalwart Carlos Bocanegra, a two-time MLS Defender of the Year, will also make his return to the All-Star Game wearing the black and white of Fulham.

Crew Soccer Nation members (season ticket holders) will get a priority offer to purchase All-Star tickets before they go on sale to the general public. The on-sale date for the general public will be announced in the near future. For more information call 614-447-CREW.

FOUR CREW PLAYERS ARE IN U.S. NATIONAL TEAM CAMP

U.S. Men's National Team manager Bruce Arena announced that four Columbus Crew players are among the 22 players called into camp to begin preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Mexico on March 27 and Guatemala three days later, on March 30.

The 22-man training camp squad gathered in Carson, Calif. on Sunday, Feb. 27, and is composed entirely of domestic-based players. The European-based players are expected to begin arriving into camp March 20. Kickoff for the March 27 match vs. Mexico at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City is set for 1 p.m. ET, while the game vs. Guatemala is set for 8 p.m. ET on March 30 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala

The four Crew players in camp are goalkeeper Jon Busch, defender Chad Marshall, midfielder/defender Frankie Hejduk and midfielder Kyle Martino. Hejduk has 61 caps and five goals and Martino three caps, while Busch and Marshall have yet to make senior national team appearances. The four Columbus players in camp are tied for the most of any team with Colorado and New England.

The team will play two preparation matches in advance of the qualifiers. The U.S. first hosts Colombia on March 9 in Fullerton, Calif. Kickoff at Titan Stadium is set for 10:30 p.m. ET. The USA then makes its third-ever appearance in Albuquerque, N.M. as they welcome Honduras for a 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff at University Stadium on March 19.

The U.S. will play 10 games in the final round of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup from Feb. 9 - Oct. 13, 2005. The USA, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago are competing for three automatic berths to the World Cup finals in Germany. The fourth-place finisher will face the fifth-place team from the Asian Football Confederation in a home-and-home series to determine the last entrant into the tournament. The U.S. opened final round play with a 2-1 victory in Trinidad on Feb. 9.

COMPLETE 2005 CREW AND MLS SCHEDULE IS AVAILABLE

The Crew announced its 2005 season schedule on Monday, February 14. For the complete Crew schedule log-on to The Crew's official website at www.thecrew.com. Major League Soccer also announced the complete 2005 composite schedule which can be found at www.mlsnet.com.

SEASON AND HOME OPENER SET FOR APRIL 2 VS. LOS ANGELES AT 7:30 P.M.

The Crew will kick off year No. 10 of Major League Soccer on April 2 at Columbus Crew Stadium, when the Black & Gold face the Los Angeles Galaxy at 7:30 p.m. Currently the only way to attend the home opener is to purchase Crew season tickets by calling 614-447-CREW. Single-game tickets will go on sale at a later date.

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