The Columbus Crew continues its two-game homestand this Saturday, April 28, by hosting Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Crew Stadium, as the club Celebrates Soccer Moms with OhioHealth. The first 5,000 moms through the gates receive a car magnet with specially marked ones receiving a trunk organizer provided by OhioHealth.
Saturday’s match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be televised live regionally in high definition on FOX Sports Ohio, with Dwight Burgess and Duncan Oughton calling all the action and Ashleigh Ignelzi reporting from the sidelines. The game can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN and on-line at TheCrew.com with Neil Sika and John Bluem on the call, and in Spanish on La Mega 103.1, with Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo behind the microphones.
It will be the lone meeting this season between the Crew (2-3-1, 7 pts.) and Vancouver (3-2-2, 11 pts.) as the Black & Gold looks to continue its success against Canadian opponents. The Black & Gold has only lost once to a Canadian team in posting an all-time combined record of 9-1-7 against Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Two of those wins came last year when the Crew defeated Vancouver, 2-1, at Crew Stadium on April 30, behind a pair of goals by Emilio Renteria, and 1-0 in Vancouver on July 6, when Jeff Cunningham broke the club’s all-time scoring record with a well-placed 90th-minute header.
Now in its second season, Vancouver had a difficult inaugural campaign in 2011, finishing last in the Western Conference and prompting the team to make wholesale changes. In re-building the squad, new head coach Martin Rennie brought in a handful of players from his previous team, the NASL’s Carolina RailHawks, including Etienne Barbara, the league’s leading scorer in 2011, in addition to such high-profile acquisitions as Sebastien Le Toux and 2012 second overall draft pick Darren Mattocks, who shined at the University of Akron.
The Whitecaps are coming off a 1-0 home win over Dallas on April 21, which snapped a two-game losing streak. While Le Toux will be available for selection, Mattocks and Barbara may not be available as they are recovering from injury. Rennie, however, will be able to count on the strength of forward Eric Hassli, midfielder Camilo and U.S. National Team stalwart defender Jay DeMerit.
The Black & Gold is looking to build upon the 2-2 draw against Houston last Saturday (April 21), in which Eddie Gaven scored twice and newcomers Nemanja Vukovic and Aaron Schoenfeld earned their first MLS assists.
Next, the Crew travels to JELD-WEN Field in Portland, to face the Timbers on Saturday, May 5 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
COLUMBUS CREW vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Saturday, April 28 – 7:30 p.m. (ET) – Crew Stadium
Regional Television: Fox Sports Ohio
Crew Radio: News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Mega 103.1 (Spanish)
U.S. DEAF NATIONAL TEAMS PLAY SATURDAY AT CREW STADIUM
The USA Men’s and Women’s Deaf Soccer National Teams will play exhibition matches at Crew Stadium on April 28, in advance of the Crew’s regular-season league match vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps that evening. The USA Deaf Women’s National Team will get the day started at 12:30 p.m. vs. Otterbein University, followed by the USA Deaf Men vs. Crew Soccer Academy players at 3 p.m. Gates will open at 11:30 a.m., and the stadium will be cleared following the men’s exhibition match, prior to reopening at 6 p.m. for the Crew game. Information and specially priced $25 tickets, good for all three games, are available at http://www.thecrew.com/deafsoccer. The USA Deaf National Teams will also train in market – at Capital University’s Bernlohr Stadium – this Thursday and Friday, April 26-27, as they prepare for the 2012 Deaf World Cup Games, which will be held in Ankara, Turkey, from July 10-21.
CREW TO FACE OHIO STATE IN 11TH ANNUAL CONNOR SENN MEMORIAL MATCH ON MAY 1
The Crew and Ohio State Buckeyes will meet on the field this Tuesday, May 1, in the 11th annual Connor Senn Memorial Match, which raises awareness for sudden cardiac arrests in athletes. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the Ohio State campus. Tickets for the event are $5 for adults and $3 for children and can be purchased online at OhioStateBuckeyes.com and at the Crew Stadium Box Office, all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations and via Ticketmaster phone at 1-800-745-3000. Proceeds will benefit the Dorothy M. Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute. In addition to the exhibition match, the event features a silent auction that consists of a wide array of Ohio State and Columbus Crew memorabilia, including autographed items, as well donations from a variety of Columbus businesses and organizations. Senn collapsed during Ohio State’s match at Akron Sept. 26, 2001, and died that night from a congenital heart defect. A native of Granville, Ohio, Connor was a freshman walk-on defender who had earned a starting position for the 2001 season. A plaque honoring Connor hangs outside the Buckeyes’ locker room door and Connor’s chair hangs in the locker room, which all the players on the 2001 team signed with personal messages to Connor, who was known for his tremendous work ethic, positive attitude and selfless play. The following week, on May 8, Crew President & General Manager Mark McCullers and defender Danny O’Rourke, a childhood friend of Connor’s, will speak at The Connor Senn Memorial Symposium on Sudden Cardiac Arrest, a new program devoted to the topic of sudden cardiac death, educating the medical community and the general public on the scope of the problem, sharing the latest advancements in diagnostic imaging and testing and promoting proper training in the interpretation of young adult electrocardiograms. The symposium will take place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ohio Union (1739 N. High St.) and there is no fee for members of the community to attend.
EDDIE GAVEN NAMED TO MLS TEAM OF THE WEEK
Crew midfielder Eddie Gaven’s two-goal performance last Saturday (April 21) against Houston earned him several accolades this week. Gaven was named to NBC’s ProSoccerTalk.com Team of the Week, SI.com’s Team of the Week and MLSSoccer.com’s Best XI for Week 7.
CREW SOCCER ACADEMY SPLITS RESULTS OVER THE WEEKEND
The CSA U-15/16s and U-17/18s returned to U.S. Soccer Development Academy action last weekend as they hosted the Chicago Fire Academy and Chicago Magic PSG at the Crew Training Facility at Obetz. The 15/16s lost both of their matches, a 2-1 loss to the Fire Academy on Saturday, April 21, with Noah Hutchins scoring the lone Crew goal, and a 2-0 shutout on Sunday, April 22, against Magic PSG. The 17/18s split a pair of goalfests, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Fire on Saturday, but rebounding to trample Magic PSG, 6-0, with goals from Alex Crognale, Cheick Diawara, Zach Leedom, Nicholas Parianos, Alex Ranalli and Rhodes Moore. CSA travels to the Pinnacle Sports Complex in Medina, Ohio, this Sunday, April 29, to face the Cleveland Internationals, with the 17/18s kicking off at 9 a.m. and the 15/16s following at 11:30 a.m.
