MLS Columbus Crew SC

Crew News & Notes: Crew Youth Players Commit to Division I College Programs on National Signing Day

Published on February 2, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS - A dozen Crew Juniors and Crew Soccer Academy products committed to Division I collegiate soccer programs on National Signing Day Wednesday (Feb. 1), highlighted by 2010 NSCAA/People to People Boys Player of the Year Andrew Souders, who signed with national-power Akron.

A recent mainstay on the U.S. Under-17 National Team who is ranked sixth in the country on TopDrawerSoccer.com's 2012 players to watch list, Souders will join five fellow CSA products at Akron, including Chad Barson and Wil Trapp. Ray Olivarria and Zachary Mason have committed to The Ohio State University, while high school All-Americans Cheick Diawara and Brett Elder, the Ohio Division III Player of the Year, will play at Wright State.

The 12 standouts join dozens of other Crew youth products in the collegiate ranks and follow the same path as the Crew's Homegrown Players, Aaron Horton (Louisville), Matt Lampson (Northern Illinois/OSU) and Ben Speas (Akron/North Carolina), all of whom enjoyed success at the collegiate level.

The complete list of commitments follows:

Cheick Diawara - Wright State

Brett Elder - Wright State

Tom Granot - Fordham

Connor Klekota - Notre Dame

Zachary Leedom - West Virginia

Zachary Mason - Ohio State

Ryan McLaughlin - College of Charleston

Rhodes Moore - Xavier

Ray Olivarria - Ohio State

Andrew Souders - Akron

Mike Thomas - Bowling Green

David Witkoff - Georgetown

PRESEASON SCHEDULE ALTERED AS BLACK & GOLD ARRIVES IN FLORIDA

The Crew arrived in Bradenton, Fla., on Tuesday, Jan. 31, and is hard at work preparing for the 2012 season. The preseason match schedule has been altered slightly, with the Black & Gold now scheduled to play an intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday, Feb. 4, in lieu of the match against Malmö FF of Sweden originally scheduled for that date. The Crew will now play a doubleheader against Malmö on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

ON SALE DATE FOR INDIVIDUAL TICKETS ANNOUNCED

Single-game tickets for all 17 Crew regular-season home matches will go on sale Friday, Feb. 17, at 10 a.m., at the Crew Stadium Box Office, all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at TheCrew.com, following the completion of an exclusive pre-sale opportunity being extended to Crew Soccer Nation members. In addition to First Kick 2012 tickets, which are already on sale, fans will be able to acquire tickets to such marquee matches as the New York Red Bulls on April 7, the "Blackout the Galaxy" game on Aug. 15, and the two Trillium Cup fixtures against Toronto FC on Aug. 11 and Oct. 28. First Kick 2012 at Crew Stadium will pit the Black & Gold against the expansion Montreal Impact on March 24.

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Major League Soccer Stories from February 2, 2012


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