The Crew played the final match of its Phoenix preseason trip today, as it drew with the Kansas City Wizards, 1-1, at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix.

The Crew drew first blood in the 17th minute thanks to a score by Brian Carroll. Wizards goalkeeper Eric Kronberg came off his line for a long punch clearance and the alert Carroll pounced on the loose ball and sent a one-time shot from 40 yards out that found the back of the net.

Kansas City nearly equalized in the 45th minute, when Crew defender Eric Brunner was whistled for a penalty after a foul on Wizards forward Josh Wolff in the box. Davy Arnaud stepped to the spot and netted his first penalty try, but the goal was waived off after the Wizards were whistled for encroachment. Arnaud stepped to the spot once again, but this time Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer came up with the big save to maintain the Crew lead into the half.

However, the Wizards would eventually equalize in the 75th minute off a Graham Zusi goal from 18 yards out. More after the jump… Read more…

The Crew continued its schedule of preseason matches last night as it extended its preseason unbeaten streak to 5-0-2, thanks to a 3-0 victory over the Arizona Sahuaros at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

The Black & Gold earned its first goal moments before halftime when it was the recipient of a penalty kick call in the Sahuaros’ box. As usual, Guillermo Barros Schelotto stepped to the spot and coolly put the ensuing penalty try away for the 1-0 halftime lead.

The Crew then went the majority of the second half without adding to its scoreline until adding a pair of goals in the match’s final five minutes, both from second half substitutes. Cory Elenio struck first in the 85th minute to put the match away and rookie midfielder Dilly Duka piled on with a goal in the 90th minute for the decisive 3-0 win. More info after the jump… Read more…

1. Crew Stadium - Columbus, OH
2. Wembley Stadium - London, England
3. Air Canada Centre - Toronto, ON
4. Etihad Stadium - Melbourne, Australia
5. Minute Maid Park - Houston, TX
6. Cowboys Stadium - Dallas, TX
7. Emirates Stadium - London, England
8. Sapporo Dome - Japan
9. Allianz Arena - Munich, Germany
10. The O2 - London, England

To view the full article from Stadia magazine click here.

The Crew maintained its unblemished preseason record this morning, as it defeated Chivas USA, 4-1, at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, Ariz. Today’s match – which was split into 4 periods of 30 min each – pushes the Black & Gold’s record to 4-0-2 in preseason play.

After a scoreless first period, the Crew struck first in the 36th minute off a precise free kick from Gino Padula to Eric Brunner, who headed the service into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.

Chivas USA evened the score in the 56th minute, but the Crew pulled ahead in the 82nd, thanks to a strike from recent signee Sergio Herrera after nice buildup play by Emilio Renteria and Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Herrera tallied yet again at the 100 minute mark with a calm finish after collecting a loose ball from a cross by Schelotto.

Renteria capped the scoring on the day at the 105 minute mark, thanks to assists from Schelotto and Kevin Burns. Match info after the junp… Read more…

The Crew faced off against the Colorado Rapids this afternoon at the Grande Sports Complex in Casa Grande, Ariz. and came away with a 1-1 draw in its fifth match of the 2010 preseason.

The Black & Gold struck early in the proceedings when forward Emilio Renteria fed Duncan Oughton, who sent a incisive pass to Steven Lenhart into space. Lenhart controlled the pass and coolly finished the chance to put the Crew ahead 1-0.

Unfortunately, Colorado would equalize just 15 minutes later when the Crew was whistled for a penalty kick. Omar Cummings stepped to the spot and sent his shot past Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer to even the score. More info after the jump. Read more…

Crew fans, we are just 14 days away from our first CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal match against Toluca on March 9, and just 32 days away from the Black & Gold’s home opener (aka Crewsmas) against Toronto FC on March 27.

Here around Crew HQ, we’re ecstatic about kicking off the upcoming season and we hope you are too! But if not, maybe the video below will get your juices flowing. Don’t put it off too long, get your tickets today!

The Crew took on the LA Galaxy this afternoon in the first exhibition match of its Phoenix-area preseason trip. The match - which took place at Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium - ended in a scoreless draw, after a competitive and even-handed affair which saw few opportunities for either side.

The Crew will now resume training at the Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix before participating in its next preseason match against Colorado this Tuesday (Feb. 23). More match info is below.

Crew vs. LA Galaxy
90 minutes

Scoring:
None

Lineup:
Hesmer, Hejduk, Brunner, Iro (Bredun 53), Padula (Francis 61), Moffat (Renteria 67), Burns (Oughton 67), O’Rourke, Ekpo (Elenio 61), Herrera (Garey 61), Schelotto (Lenhart 61)

While I realize that as a “Rumblings” column it is by definition rumor, innuendo and conjecture, Bob Hunter’s comments in today’s Dispatch were so far off base that I felt the need to respond. First, to suggest that this club thinks we are not capable of beating Toluca and have conceded that winning is ‘so unlikely’ that we would compromise our team’s chances with cost cutting measures is unfounded and insulting. I believe we demonstrated in the competition’s group phase our commitment to do everything possible to win the CONCACAF Champions League and become the first MLS Club to advance to the FIFA Club World Cup.

Our medical staff and team doctors have advised us on the physiological impact of traveling to altitude and told us that playing within a 48-hour window of arrival minimizes the impact - a fact which we have taken into account on every trip for years where altitude is a factor. I am not aware of any team that believes incurring the stress of flying and playing a game in the same day is a prudent plan. In fact, our plan to train in Los Angeles is more expensive than other options but this decision was made to take advantage of the best direct flight to Toluca, therefore minimizing travel stress on the players and avoiding a lengthy bus ride from Mexico City. While in Bradenton, Fla., last week, I personally sat in on these travel-logistics discussions, and as our team operations director was presenting options and budget impact, I specifically said “I appreciate your focus on fiscal management but, in this case, we need to make decisions that give our team the best chance to win.”

Finally, CONCACAF substantially underwrites travel cost for teams participating in CONCACAF Champions League, making it a moot point regardless. Mr. Hunter places words like “appear”, “apparently” and “may” to achieve conjecture in his perspective, but his message is irresponsible and offensive to a team that has accomplished as much as this one. Rest assured, his speculation is unfounded.”

Sincerest regards,

Mark McCullers
President & General Manager

The Crew took on its first MLS opponent in preseason competition this afternoon, as it defeated D.C. United, 1-0, thanks to an own goal off the knee of defender Devon McTavish in the match’s eighth minute.

With the victory, the Crew remains unbeaten in preseason play. The squad will now return to Columbus and resume training at SuperKick on Wednesday (Feb. 17). The starting lineup and substitutions from today’s match are below.

Crew vs. D.C. United
(90 minutes)

Scoring
CLB: Own goal (McTavish) 8’

Crew Lineup
Hesmer (Schoeni 46), Hejduk (Elenio 46), Brunner, Iro (Zayner 46), Padula (Francis 46), Duka (Garey 46), Moffat (Yanez 46), Bredun (Oughton 35), Ekpo (Grendi 55), Schelotto (Renteria 46), Herrera (Lenhart 46, Dike 85)

As you know, the Crew took on the U-17s Tuesday morning (Feb. 9) and came away with a 2-1 victory, courtesy of a Chad Marshall goal and the game-winner from Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who also assisted on Marshall’s tally.

Well, Shawn Francis of the esteemed MLS Insider Blog has video of both Crew goals from the match. Check it out below.

MLS Pre-Season 2010: Columbus Crew v. U.S. U-17’s Goals from mlsinsider on Vimeo.