After earning a 1-1 draw at the Puerto Rico Islanders last Tuesday (Oct. 20) to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League the Crew welcomes the New England Revolution to Crew Stadium tonight for its regular season finale.
Tonight’s MLS match in Columbus, which has been changed to a 6 p.m. kickoff, will be televised live nationally on ESPN2, with JP Dellacamera and John Harkes calling all the action and Allen Hopkins reporting from the sidelines. The match can also be heard in English on 106.7 WRXS (please note change) and on-line at TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com, with Dwight Burgess and Neil Sika behind the microphone.
A Supporters’ Shield presentation ceremony and celebration will immediately follow the game. The Crew clinched its second straight Shield with Chivas USA’s loss to Chicago on Thursday.
New England (10-10-9 record, 39 pts.) will earn a playoff berth with a win or a tie, in which case the Crew would play Real Salt Lake in the first round of the playoffs. A Crew win today would knock out the Revs and the Black & Gold would play Colorado in the first round.
The Revolution enters the match after earning a scoreless draw with Chicago last Saturday (Oct. 17) in the Revs’ regular-season home finale at Gillette Stadium. Midfielders Kheli Dube and Shalrie Joseph currently lead the club in goals this season, with eight apiece, while Joseph also has eight assists to lead the team in that category. In the previous regular season match-up between the Crew and New England – just two weeks ago on Oct. 10 – the Crew came away with an important 1-0 victory at Gillette Stadium thanks to a goal from Gino Padula off a free kick in the 36th minute.
The Crew, which sits in first place in both the Eastern Conference and overall MLS standings with a 13-6-10 record and 49 pts., enters tonight’s match after dropping a 1-0 decision to D.C. United in its last MLS match on a cold, soggy night at RFK Stadium last Saturday (Oct. 17). The night’s lone tally came in the 17th minute when D.C.’s Thabiso Khumalo evaded the challenge of defender Danny O’Rourke and sent a pass in to a streaking Luciano Emilio. The striker ran on into the Crew penalty box and flicked the ball over the charging William Hesmer, but with barely enough pace to get over the goal line ahead of O’Rourke’s valiant clearance attempt.
COLUMBUS CREW vs. New England Revolution
Sunday, Oct. 25 – 6 p.m. (NOTE CHANGE) – Crew Stadium
National Television: ESPN2; Regional Television: N/A
Crew Radio: 106.7 WRXS (English) – please note change
Crew Webcasts: TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com (English)
Tags: GameDay
October 25th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
hello come one Columbus you must win today!!!!!!!
go go Columbus!
i hope
Columbus 3-0 New England
gooooooooooooooo columbus i love you guys! and columbus fans!