After securing a big win over the Houston Dynamo last Sunday (Sept. 13), the MLS-leading Crew travels to Costa Rica tonight for a CONCACAF Champions League match at Deportivo Saprissa tonight in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Tonight’s Champions League match, which kicks off at 10 p.m. ET, will be televised nationally on Fox Soccer Channel on a tape delayed basis four hours later, Thursday at 2 a.m.
Saprissa enters the match after earning a 3-1 comeback win over the Puerto Rico Islanders in its previous Champions League match at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa on Aug. 25. Former Crew midfielder Domenic Mediate put the Islanders ahead in the 25th minute with the match’s first goal, but Saprissa responded with three in a 15-minute span, as Jairo Arrieta, Walter Centeno and Armando Alonso tallied in the 34th, 39th and 48th minutes, respectively. Saprissa currently sits tied with the Crew for second place in the CONCCAF Champions League Group C standings with a 1-1-0 record (3 pts.), although it leads the Black & Gold in goal differential by three goals. The CONCACAF Champions League is the confederation’s annual club championship which features 24 teams from CONCACAF’s three sub-regions: North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The top two teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals. The eventual champion qualifies for the prestigious seven-team FIFA Club World Cup – which annually pits each continental confederation’s champion against the others – in December 2010.
The Crew, which leads Major League Soccer with an 11-4-9 record and 42 points, enters tonight’s match on the heels of its stirring 2-1 win over West-leading Houston at Crew Stadium. Crew captain Frankie Hejduk put the Black & Gold in the lead after heading home a re-directed cross from Gino Padula in the 34th minute, but Houston would respond with a match equalizer in the 80th minute from Cam Weaver. The Crew found the opportunity it was looking for in second-half stoppage time when forward Alejandro Moreno was pulled down in the Houston penalty box by Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron, earning a penalty kick assessment from referee Jorge Gonzalez. Eddie Gaven calmly stepped to the spot and slotted a low shot into the right corner past goalkeeper Pat Onstad for the game-winner.
COLUMBUS CREW at Saprissa (Costa Rica)
(CONCACAF Champions League)
Wednesday, Sept. 16 – 10 p.m. (ET) – Estadio Ricardo Saprissa
National Television: Fox Soccer Channel (TAPE DELAYED AT 2 a.m.); Regional Television: N/A
Crew Radio: N/A; Crew Webcasts: N/A
Tags: GameDay