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MLS Columbus Crew SC

Crew home opener: 33 days and counting

March 1, 2004 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio (Monday, March 1) - Thirty-three days from now the Columbus Crew will kick off year No. 9 of Major League Soccer when the Black & Gold take on the MetroStars on Saturday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. at Columbus Crew Stadium.

Each day, from now until the home opener, an interesting fact or tidbit about The Crew, Major League Soccer or U.S. Soccer will be released that will correspond with the number of days left until the start of the 2004 season.

50: Length of Crew Stadium's lease that was signed in 1999 (25 years, plus a 25-year option).

49: Total number of games Crew defender Eric Denton has played for Columbus in two seasons. Denton was last year's Crew Defender of the Year.

48: Assists The Crew tallied last year, the third most of any team.

47: Career games started by Crew veteran Duncan Oughton.

46: Career wins by recently retired Crew goalkeeper Tom Presthus. The 46 wins ranks tied for eighth on the all-time MLS wins list.

45: Career assists for former Crew star Brian McBride. McBride ended his career as Columbus' all-time leading scorer with 169 points (62 goals, 45 assists). The 45 assists rank second all- time on The Crew assist list, trailing only current Crew assistant coach Robert Warzycha's 61. The Dallas Burn are also breaking ground today on the third Major League soccer-specific stadium in the United States. The stadium, being built in Frisco, Tex., will be a 20,000-seat stadium and entertainment complex in north Dallas.

44: "The Stern Turn" - The phrase that Crew beat writer Craig Merz dubbed when John would receive a pass and immediately turn and fire on goal, and score goals is what he did. Forty-four are the career goals scored by former Crew star Stern John, one of the most prolific goal scorers in Crew and MLS history. John scored his 44 goals in 55 games.

43: "The Doc is in the house," Doctor Khumalo that is. Forty-three are the career games played by South African midfielder Theophilus "Doctor" Khumalo. He was The Crew's first allocated player and first player ever.

42: Goals allowed by former Crew goalkeeper and current Blackburn star Brad Friedel during his Crew career. His 42 goals allowed in 38 career matches is the lowest goals against average in Crew history (1.11/game).

41: The number of points (12 goals, 17 assists) that Kansas City's Preki scored last season to lead MLS.

40: "The ageless wonder" - The age of Kansas City's Preki, last year's MLS MVP.

39: Career assists for Crew forward Jeff Cunningham. Cunningham ranks second all-time on the Crew scoring list with 145 points (53 goals, 39 assists).

38: Career games played for the Crew by goalkeeper Jon Busch.

37: Career assists for Brian Maisonneuve, which ranks fourth all-time on the Columbus assist list.

36: Points scored by Los Angeles last season who qualified for the playoffs in the Western Conference. It was two points less than The Crew had on the year.

35: Games started by Crew midfielder Kyle Martino in his first two seasons with Columbus. Martino was the 2002 MLS Rookie of the Year.

34: In 2003, Taylor Twellman of New England had 34 points on 15 goals and four assists in 22 games, making him the league leader in points per game at 1.55.

33: Career game-winning assists by former MLS and Colombian great Carlos Valderrama. His 114 assists and his 33 game-winning assists are still currently MLS records.

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