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MLS Columbus Crew SC

Crew, Houston prep for Sunday's showdown at Crew Stadium

September 9, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS - After enjoying a week off from MLS action, the Eastern Conference-leading Crew host the Western Conference-leading Houston Dynamo this Sunday, Sept. 13, at Crew Stadium in a battle of the top two teams in the Major League Soccer standings.

Sunday's match, which kicks off at 5 p.m. ET, will be televised live regionally on ONN-TV with Bill McDermott and Dante Washington on the call. The match can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, with Neil Sika behind the microphone as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM with Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo calling all the action.

The Crew will be celebrating both Hispanic Heritage Day and Faith & Family Night Sunday, with the first annual "Carnaval Crew" from 3:30-5 p.m. - which will showcase authentic handmade cultural merchandise, food vendors and other features on the Crew Kicker Plaza - and a post-game concert featuring Christian bands, respectively.

The Columbus Zoo & Aquarium will also be on hand for pre-game festivities, and its Director Emeritus, Jack Hanna, is scheduled to appear with a variety of animals and zoo mascots on the Crew Kicker Plaza. U.S. Women's National Team star and Cincinnati native Heather Mitts will also be in attendance, after being inducted into the Ohio Soccer Hall of Fame earlier Sunday at Crew Stadium.

Following the match, the concert will be held on Crew's Stadium's permanent north-end stage. 'This Beautiful Republic' will open the concert shortly after the conclusion of the match, and will be followed by several Crew players who will share their personal testimonies. Featured band, 'Pillar,' will then take the stage for the main event.

This Beautiful Republic, which got its start in Toledo, Ohio, released its first album, "Even Heroes Need Parachutes," in 2007 and followed that with "Perceptions" in 2008. Dove and Grammy-nominated rock act Pillar recently completed recording its sixth album, "Confessions" - which features the singles "Secrets and Regrets" and "Fire on the Inside" - and is set to release on Sept. 22.

Houston, which is currently first in the Western Conference standings with a 11-7-7 record (40 pts.), enters the match after also enjoying a bye last weekend. In its previous MLS match on August 30, Houston fell to Colorado, 1-0, at Dick's Sporting Goods Park thanks to a goal by Julien Baudet in the 55th minute. Houston had been led this season by the duo of Brian Ching and Stuart Holden. Ching leads the club in goals scored with seven tallies, to go with two assists, this season while Holden is second on the team in scoring with six goals, while also tallying four assists.

The Crew, which sits in first place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 10-4-9 record (39 pts.), enters Sunday's match after having last weekend off from MLS play. In its most recent MLS match on August 30, the Crew fell to New York, 1-0, at Giants Stadium after a goal by Dane Richards in the 63rd minute.

Houston currently leads the race for the Supporters' Shield, awarded to the team with the most overall standings points regardless of conference, by a single point over Columbus. However, the Crew's 39 points have come in two fewer games.

COLUMBUS CREW vs. Houston Dynamo

Sunday, Sept. 13 - 5 p.m. (ET) - Crew Stadium

National Television: N/A; Regional Television: ONN-TV

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

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

MARSHALL, ROGERS AND MORENO PARTICIPATE IN FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Crew defender Chad Marshall, midfielder Robbie Rogers and forward Alejandro Moreno are all currently with their respective national teams for FIFA World Cup Qualifying. Marshall, the reigning MLS Player of the Month, Rogers and the U.S. took on El Salvador at Rio Tinto Stadium last Saturday (Sept. 5), earning a 2-1 comeback win in the match, thanks to goals by Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore. Marshall started and went the full 90 minutes in the match in his first WC Qualifying action in nearly four years, while Rogers was part of the 18-man roster but did not see action. Meanwhile, on the same evening, Moreno and the Venezuelan National Team tied Chile, 2-2, at Estadio Nacional just outside of Santiago, Chile. Moreno did not start the match, but came off the bench in the 67th minute. The U.S. returns to action tonight (Sept. 9) when it takes on Trinidad & Tobago at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Venezuela will also take to the field tonight, as it hosts Peru at Estadio Olímpico Luis Ramos in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. The U.S. currently sits tied for second place with a 4-2-1 record (13 pts.) in the WC Qualifying standings for the CONCACAF region, while Venezuela is currently tied for seventh place with a 5-7-3 record (18 pts.) in the CONMEBOL (South America) region standings.

BLISS SCOUTING IN BRAZIL THIS WEEK

Crew technical director Brian Bliss is in Brazil on a scouting trip this week. Bliss's base of operations is the southern city of Porto Alegre and he will have the opportunity to see a great many players over the course of the week. He arrived on Monday and is scheduled to return Sunday, in time for the big showdown with Houston at Crew Stadium.

CREW RETURNS TO CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ACTION IN COSTA RICA NEXT WEEK

The Crew returns to action in the CONCACAF Champions League next Wednesday, Sept. 16, vs. Deportivo Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Crew and Saprissa are currently tied for second in Group C with identical 1-1-0 records (3 pts.). The CONCACAF Champions League is the confederation's annual club championship which features 24 teams from CONCACAF's three sub-regions: North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The top two teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals. The eventual champion qualifies for the prestigious seven-team FIFA Club World Cup - which annually pits each continental confederation's champion against the others - in December 2010.

SCHELOTTO STILL TIED FOR SECOND PLACE ON MLS GOAL SCORING LIST

Reigning MLS MVP and 2009 MLS All-Star First XI selection Guillermo Barros Schelotto continues to sit tied for second place among MLS goal-scoring leaders. Colorado's Conor Casey is currently first on the list with 12 goals, followed by Schelotto, who leads the Crew in goals this season, along with Seattle's Fredy Montero, L.A.'s Landon Donovan, Salt Lake's Robbie Findley, and Dallas' Jeff Cunningham who all have 10. They are followed on the list by New York's Juan Pablo Angel and Dwayne De Rosario of Toronto, who each have nine goals in 2009.

OUGHTON TO SIGN AUTOGRAPHS AT FORT RAPIDS INDOOR WATERPARK RESORT THIS FRIDAY, SEPT. 11

Crew midfielder Duncan Oughton, along with mascot Crew Cat, will make an appearance at Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark Resort and sign autographs for fans this Friday, Sept. 11, from 5-6 p.m. Fort Rapids, located at 4560 Hilton Corporate Drive in Columbus, is the Official Waterpark of the Columbus Crew.

FIRST ROUND OF 'SOCCER AID VII' AUCTIONS UNDERWAY

The first round of auctions for "Soccer Aid VII," a unique, fund-raising program of the Crew Soccer Foundation, are now live at "MLS Auctions." The exciting program capitalizes on soccer fans' passion for the sport to raise money for charity through the non-profit arm of Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, including its primary beneficiary, the Mid-Ohio Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Through its first six years, Soccer Aid has raised more than $33,000 for JDRF. In addition to an autographed jersey, winning bidders will have the opportunity to experience the thrill of match day at first-of-its-kind Columbus Crew Stadium, with two tickets to the Crew's CONCACAF Champions League game vs. Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica on Sept. 29, on-field recognition and the opportunity to play a 30-minute scrimmage prior to the Sept. 29 game. All jerseys are official, locker-room issue pregame jerseys worn during the Crew 2008 MLS Cup championship season. Seven jerseys will be up for bids during each of four overlapping four-day bidding periods. The first bidding period begins on Wednesday, Sept. 9, and runs through Sept. 13. Bidding periods from Sept. 12-16, Sept. 15-19 and Sept. 18-22 follow. "MLS Auctions" can be accessed through CrewSoccerFoundation.org and TheCrew.com.

CSF Sports Memorabilia Auction/Raffle SET FOR SATURDAY, SEPT. 26

The Crew Soccer Foundation, the Crew's charitable arm, will hold its third annual Sports Memorabilia Auction and Raffle in the southwest corner of the Stadium Club before and during the Crew's match on Saturday, Sept. 26 vs. the Los Angeles Galaxy. More than 80 unique collectibles will be available from stars throughout the sports world, with all proceeds supporting Crew Soccer Foundation programming for central Ohio youth and families including the Referee Scholarship Program, Kicks for Kids, inner-city soccer field development and the GOALS for KIDS handbook curriculum.

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