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Columbus Crew SC

Crew home opener: 39 days and counting

February 24, 2004 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio (Tuesday, February 24) - Thirty-nine 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 Doctor 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 Major League Soccer.

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).

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