MLS Columbus Crew SC

Saturday is Hispanic Heritage Night

Published on May 21, 2002 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


This Saturday, May 25, when the Dallas Burn come to town for a 7:30 p.m. match, is also the second annual Hispanic Heritage Night at Crew Stadium. It will be a very special evening in which Hispanic culture - including music, food and dance - will be celebrated in all its splendor. Musical acts, a pregame festival, typical food from a variety of Hispanic countries, and much more will highlight the event. The salsa-jazz band Yumbambe, led by renown Columbus musician Eric Paton, will play on the Crew Kicker Plaza stage before the game.

PRESTHUS NOTCHES CAREER SHUTOUT No. 11

Goalkeeper Tom Presthus' three-save shutout performance in The Crew's 2-0 win over the defending MLS Cup-champion San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday (May 18) was the 11th regular-season clean sheet of his career. The 27-year-old Presthus does, however, have seven postseason shutouts to boost his combined total to 18. The win was Presthus' 42nd in regular-season play, which ranks him ninth on the all-time MLS career list.

BUDDLE SCORES FIRST GWG, SETS NEW CAREER-HIGH IN SHOTS

Second-year forward Edson Buddle, who celebrated his 21st birthday Tuesday (May 21), scored his first goal of the season on Saturday (May 18) and it turned out to be the first game-winning tally of his young career. Buddle also established a new career high by launching six shots in the match.

YOUTH IS SERVED

The Crew started an extremely young lineup in Saturday's (May 18) win over San Jose, including a pair of Nike Project-40 players - forward Edson Buddle and midfielder Kyle Martino, the youngest players on the team. Buddle was three days shy of his 21st birthday and Martino is 21. The Crew's average age at kickoff was 26 years, 1 month.

DENTON TALLIES FIRST CREW POINT IN MIDFIELD DEBUT

Eric Denton made his first start in midfield in The Crew's 2-0 win over San Jose Saturday (May 18) and he picked up his first crew point in the game. Denton, who started the first six games of his first season with the club season at left back, assisted on Jeff Cunningham's 76th-minute goal with a fantastic pass.

CREW ROMPS TO 7-2 VICTORY OVER BUNDESLIGA'S FC NURNBERG

The Crew exploded for six first-half goals Wednesday (May 15) on its way to a convincing 7-2 victory over FC Nurnberg of the German Bundesliga in an international exhibition match at Crew Stadium. The victory - behind Jeff Cunningham's first-half hat trick and Edson Buddle's two goals and one assist - maintains The Crew's unbeaten record in such games, improving it to 4-0-1 all-time. John Wilmar Perez and Dante Washington added goals for The Crew, while goalkeeper Jon Busch went the distance, making two saves. The match was The Crew's fifth international exhibition all-time and its third in less than two years against Bundesliga opposition. Columbus defeated Bayer Leverkusen, 4-3, on May 29, 2001, almost exactly a year after topping Bundesliga brethren Hamburg SV, 4-1, on May 24, 2000. The Crew's other two international exhibitions were against English Premier League clubs - a 2-1 win over Leeds United May 14, 1997 and a 2-2 tie vs. Newcastle United on July 26, 2000.

CREW'S "EXCELLENCE IN OHIO" SERIES CONTINUES ON SATURDAY

The Crew's "Excellence in Ohio" series continues on Saturday (May 25) when 27 Hispanic Scholar Award winners are honored at halftime of The Crew's 7:30 p.m. match vs. Dallas. The student achievers range in age from middle school (1), to high school (17), to college (9). Previous honorees are: March 23 - Olympic skeleton silver-medalist Lea Ann Parsley, of Granville; April 6 - AAU Youth Excel Award winner Randi Leppla, of Germantown, and Ohio State wrestling All-Americans Tommy Rowlands, Nick Preston and Rob Sessley - all of whom hail from greater Columbus; April 20 - Otterbein College's men's basketball team, 2002 NCAA Division III national champions; April 27 - Ohio Wesleyan University's women's soccer team, the 2001 NCAA Division III national champions; May 18 - Thomas Worthington's boy's soccer team, OHSAA Division I state champions.

CREW, AFWK SEND NEARLY 275 FAMILIES TO SATURDAY'S MATCH

Nearly 275 Adventures for Wish Kids (AFWK) families (over 1,200 individuals) enjoyed an expense-paid trip to The Crew's 2-0 win over the defending MLS Cup-champion San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday (May 18), thanks to the generous support of a team of sponsors. During the "adventure," the children and families enjoyed a picnic and pregame activities at Columbus Crew Stadium. Following the picnic all of the children were invited onto the field for the "Parade of Champions" to help welcome the Crew players as they entered the stadium. AFWK was also featured during a halftime video presentation. Adventures For Wish Kids was founded in 1995 as not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing year-round, fun-filled and supportive group activities for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. The Crew "adventure" was its second-largest outing ever, trailing only one to Paramount's King Island.

CUNNINGHAM MOVES INTO SECOND PLACE ON CREW SCORING LIST

Jeff Cunningham's three-point night vs. San Jose on Saturday (May 18) moved him past Robert Warzycha and into second place on The Crew's all-time scoring list, with 99 points. With the goal and assist he added on Saturday, Cunningham now has 35g-29a=99 pts. to move to within a point of the century mark. His next point will make him just the second player ever to accumulate 100 points in a Columbus uniform, joining Brian McBride (45g-38a=128 pts.). Dante Washington has 125 points in his MLS career (49g-27a=125 pts.), but only 62 of them (25g-12a=62 pts.) have come in a Black and Gold. Warzycha has 19g-59a=97 pts. and is, himself, on the verge of joining McBride in that exclusive club. WASHINGTON WITHIN ONE TALLY OF 50-GOAL PLATEAU

Forward Dante Washington inched to within one goal of the 50-goal plateau for his MLS career by scoring The Crew's lone goal in the 1-1 tie at D.C. United May 12. It was Washington's team-leading third goal of the season, the 49th of his career and his 25th with The Crew.

LATE PRESTHUS HEROICS PRESERVE TIE AT D.C.

GK Tom Presthus preserved The Crew's tie at D.C. United May 12 with a spectacular and dramatic penalty-kick save, on United marksman Jamie Moreno, late in second half stoppage time (96th min.). D Duncan Oughton was whistled for the penalty, after his hard tackle on Ali Curtis in the 93rd minute. But Presthus rose to the challenge, after an injury delay, diving to his left and keeping the ball from finding the right corner of the net. HARKES INCHES CLOSER TO 75-POINT PLATEAU

John Harkes inched closer to the 75-point plateau for his MLS career with an assist on Dante Washington's goal vs. NY/NJ April 6. It was his fourth point with The Crew (4a) and 73rd of his MLS career (16g-41a).

CLARK BECOMES FIRST CREW PLAYER TO REACH 15,000-MINUTE MARK

The Crew's 'Iron Man,' Mike Clark, has become the first Crew player - and just the fifth in MLS history - to reach the 15,000-minute plateau. The seven-year vet eclipsed the mark on May 4 at San Jose and he has now taken his career total to 15,245. Only Steve Ralston (N.E.), Mark Chung (COL), Peter Vermes (K.C.) and Jason Kreis (DAL) have more MLS minutes played under their belts.

MAISONNEUVE SURPASSES 75-POINT PLATEAU

Veteran Crew midfielder Brian Maisonneuve has reached the 75-point plateau for his MLS career, which spans each of the league's seven season, though he missed the entire 2000 campaign with a series of ankle injuries. Maisonneuve scored the only goal of the game, on a stunning header, in The Crew's 1-0 victory over D.C. United on April 27 to reach the mark. He added an assist in the 3-2 loss at San Jose May 4 to increase his total to 76 points, on 22 goals and 32 assists. CREW CAPTAINS

The Crew's three captains this season are forward Brian McBride, midfielder Brian Maisonneuve and goalkeeper Tom Presthus. So, with McBride away at the World Cup until at least June 19, Maisonneuve and Presthus will share the captain's armband.

BRIAN McBRIDE NAMED TO U.S. WORLD CUP TEAM Crew forward Brian McBride was named to the 23-man U.S. World Cup Team on April 22, when the roster was announced live at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN SportsCenter. The 29-year-old McBride, who scored the only U.S. goal at the 1998 World Cup in France, ranks fourth on the U.S.'s all-time scoring list with 18 goals in 60 career appearances, after Sunday's (May 19) 2-0 loss to the Netherlands at Foxboro, Mass. His teammates Brian Maisonneuve and Brian West were among 10 alternates named, who will be eligible to replace injured players.

McBRIDE TO MISS AT LEAST FIVE MORE GAMES

The Crew's 1-0 win over D.C. United on April 27 was McBride's last game for The Crew for at least seven weeks. The U.S. World Cup squad will convene in Cary, N.C., this Wednesday, May 1, and remain together through the tournament. The U.S. will finish no earlier than June 14, the date of its third and final first-round match. The earliest McBride could return to the lineup is Wednesday, June 19, vs. K.C., meaning that he will miss at least seven Crew games.

FIRST CONNOR SENN MATCH RAISES OVER $6,500, CREW WINS 3-0

The first annual Connor Senn Memorial Match was played on April 30 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, on the campus of The Ohio State University and The Crew used goals from Edson Buddle, John Wilmar Perez and Todd Yeagley to come away with a 3-0 victory over the Buckeyes. But more importantly, over $6,500 was raised by the event, which honored the memory of Senn. An OSU freshman walk-on from Granville, Ohio, in 2001, Senn tragically lost his life after collapsing during a match against the University of Akron on Sept. 26. An autopsy later revealed the cause of death to be a congenital anomalous origin of his left coronary artery. Gate receipts and an auction of a Crew autographed jersey generated more than $3,500, Crew players donated another $1,500 between them and the Crew organization matched that figure. A portion of the proceeds from the match will go toward the Connor Senn Memorial Scholarship Fund, established by Connor's father, Dr. Lance Senn, and some will also go to help fund OSU's preseason trip to Germany. Those who still wish to donate to the Connor Senn Memorial Scholarship Fund, may send checks to: Ms. Kristyn Carman, OSU - Gift Processing, Fawcett Center - Room 113, 2400 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, OH 43210 (account #410775).

Preview and Review - Columbus Crew vs. Dallas Burn, May 25, 2002
Tonight's match is the first of two this season between the former Central Division rivals and the lone matchup at Crew Stadium. Columbus won its season series vs. the Burn for the first time last season, going 2-1-1, capped by a 3-0 shutout at Crew Stadium on 8/15/01. The teams played to a dramatic 2-2 draw in Columbus on 7/7/01. The Crew's Edson Buddle scored the game-tying goal in the 90th minute of that game, off a great Jeff Cunningham scoop pass, capping a 15-minute stretch in which all four goals were scored. On 6/23/01, The Crew earned its first-ever regulation victory at the Cotton Bowl, 2-1, while playing a man down for 46 minutes, with Brian West scoring the game-winning goal in the 54th minute on The Crew's only shot of the second half. Their first meeting last season was a 4-0 Burn win at the Cotton Bowl on May 12. In 2000, the teams completed their four-game season series, won by the Burn 2-1-1, in a six-week period. Dallas had won four of the five season series, prior to last season, the lone exception being in 1999, when they split a pair of matches. Crew midfielder John Wilmar Perez collected four of his nine points in 2000 (1g-2a) in four games against the Burn, which included his first MLS point (assist, 4/29 @ DAL), game-winning assist (5/20 at Crew Stadium) and goal (6/7 @ DAL). He has 11 points (3g-5a) in just eight games vs. the Burn.

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Major League Soccer Stories from May 21, 2002


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