MLS Columbus Crew SC

First-place Crew to host RSL Saturday

Published on August 19, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - Thanks to its come-from-behind victory over FC Dallas on Saturday (Aug. 16), the Crew now finds itself in first-place overall, as it prepares to welcome Real Salt Lake to Crew Stadium this Saturday, Aug. 23. The match features a Crew squad (10-6-4, 34 pts.) that holds a slim lead over New England (33 pts.) and Chicago (32 pts.) in the Eastern Conference standings, while Real Salt Lake (7-7-6, 27 pts.) currently sits in second place in the West, just behind two-time defending champion Houston (29 pts.).

Saturday's match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (ET) and will be televised live locally on ONN, with Dwight Burgess and Bill McDermott on the call and Katie Witham providing sideline coverage. The game can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, with Neil Sika and John Bluem behind the microphone, as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM, with Eduardo Carvacho and Benny Pietrangelo calling all the action.

Real Salt Lake enters this week's match after falling to the Houston Dynamo, 4-3, in an action-packed match last Saturday (Aug. 16). RSL took an early lead with a quick goal by forward Yura Movsisyan in the third minute, but Brian Mullan equalized for the Dynamo in the 16th. Salt Lake again took the lead in the 25th minute, thanks to a tally by Javier Morales. Houston then responded with a flurry of goals before the halftime whistle as Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark and Nate Jaqua each scored for the Dynamo in the 29th, 35th and 42nd minute, respectively. Kenny Deuchar notched a score for RSL late in the proceedings to make things interesting, but Salt Lake could not find the equalizer. The match saw the return of midfielder Clint Mathis, who entered the game in the 61st minute. Mathis played for Real Salt Lake in 2005, the club's inaugural season, and most recently played for Ergotelis in Greece before returning to the team earlier this week. Salt Lake visits Columbus led by Morales, who now has four goals and eight assists on the season, and Robbie Findley, who leads RSL with five goals, to go along with four assists.

The Black & Gold enters this week's match on the heels of its comeback win over FC Dallas Saturday, thanks to MLS assists leader Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who notched his 11th and 12th of the season in a three-minute stretch of the second half. That helped the Crew overcome a first-half deficit, before a crowd of 17,647, the largest of the season at Crew Stadium. Former Crew forward Jeff Cunningham put the Hoops into the lead in the 35th minute, notching the 100th league tally of his career. Defensive midfielder Brian Carroll scored his first goal of the season to tie the score for the Crew in the 62nd minute. Then just three minutes later, Schelotto delivered a free kick from the left of goal to the near post where Brad Evans placed a skillful glancing header past goalkeeper Dario Sala for the game-winner. Newly-acquired midfielder/forward Pat Noonan made his Crew debut in the match, as he earned the start and played 58 minutes, before giving way to Robbie Rogers, who returned to the squad late last week after his stint with the U.S. Olympic team.

With the victory, the Crew now has 10 wins in its first 20 games this season, making the 2008 season the fastest the club has reached the 10-win plateau in the post shootout era (since 2000). The 2001 squad earned its 10th victory in its 21st game. That 2001 team also recorded the most wins in a season in club history in the post shootout era, going 13-7-6 in a season shortened by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Saturday's match will be the final contest between the two sides in their regular-season home-and-home series. In the previous match, July 12 at Salt Lake, RSL downed the Crew, 2-0, thanks to tallies by Morales and Findley.

Following the match, the animated classic "Shrek" will be shown on a giant inflatable screen in the stadium's north end on the permanent stage. Fans will be invited to sit on the field to watch the movie.

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