With its 2-2 tie at Chicago last Sunday (Oct. 12), coupled with Houston’s scoreless draw vs. D.C. United hours later, the Crew clinched the 2008 MLS Supporters’ Shield for the second time in club history (2004). The Supporters’ Shield is awarded to the team with the most points overall during the regular season and the 16-6-6 Crew’s club-record 54 points can no longer be matched by any of the league’s other 13 teams. The Western Conference-leading Dynamo (11-5-11, 44 pts.) was the last team with a chance to catch the Black & Gold. The Shield carries even more weight and significance than it did in 2004, the previous time the Crew won it, as it now earns the winning team a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League (the Crew will open play in the prestigious regional club championship tournament in August 2009).
Now that it has the Shield in hand, the Crew looks to continue its preparations for the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs as it attempts to win its season series against New York tonight at Giants Stadium. The Crew heads into tonight’s match seeking to extend to extend its nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2), while New York (9-10-9, 36 pts.) enters the match hoping to move on step closer to a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, as it is currently tied with Kansas City for fourth place in the East with 36 points.
Saturday’ match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised live locally on ONN, with Dwight Burgess and Dante Washington calling all the action. The game can be heard in English on The Brew @ 105.7 (PLEASE NOTE CHANGE) and on-line at theCrew.com and MLSNet.com, with Neil Sika behind the microphone, as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM, with Eduardo Carvacho on the call.
New York enters tonight’s match after drawing with Real Salt Lake, 1-1, on Oct. 9 in the grand opening of RSL’s Rio Tinto Stadium on ESPN2, thanks to a goal by Dave van den Bergh in the 31st minute. New York is now winless in its last four games, and will be looking for a positive result against the Crew this weekend in order to break its current deadlock with K.C. New York is led into the match by the offensive tandem of van den Bergh and Juan Pablo Angel. Angel leads the Red Bulls with 11 goals this season, while van den Bergh has seven tallies of his own. Each player has also registered three assists heading into this weekend’s match-up.
The Crew enters tonight’s match on the heels of its draw at Chicago last Sunday. Chicago took the lead early in the proceedings when former Crew striker Brian McBride sent home a Justin Mapp corner kick in the 13th minute for the match’s only goal in the first half. The Crew stormed back in the second half when a loose ball found its way to Eddie Gaven at the top of the box and Gaven blasted a stunning first-time volley into the back of the net to equalize the match. Columbus took the lead just two minutes later when Danny O’Rourke found a streaking Robbie Rogers down the right channel. Rogers dribbled upfield and found Guillermo Barros Schelotto with a well-placed cross to the back post, which Schelotto nodded home for his seventh tally of the season. McBride would strike for the second time against his former club late in the second half when Cuauhtemoc Blanco bent a free kick into the box, which Wilman Conde headed toward goal. McBride collected the ball and slotted it into the lower right corner, to even the game at 2-2. Columbus was without defender Frankie Hejduk (USA) and forward Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela), who were both away on international duty
Tonight’s match will be the clubs’ third and final meeting in the 2008 regular season. In the first, a 2-0 New York win at Giants Stadium on April 5, van den Bergh got the scoring under way just 46 seconds into the match and the Red Bulls doubled their advantage just minutes later when Kevin Goldthwaite was able to tap home a loose ball in the box. In the most recent meeting, Sept. 18 at Crew Stadium, Angel gave the Red Bulls the lead in the 21st minute on a well-struck free-kick goal. Frankie Hejduk then scored from long range in the 41st minute, followed by Robbie Rogers’ dazzling effort from 30 yards out in the opening moments of the second half. Eddie Gaven added the Crew’s third goal in the 85th minute. The clubs will square off in a MLS Reserve Division match on Sunday morning (Oct. 19) at 9:30 a.m.
PLAYOFF TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Two-game Crew playoff ticket strips are currently available at the Crew Stadium Box Office and all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 614-431-3600 and on-line at TheCrew.com and Ticketmaster.com. Each strip includes both of the newly minted MLS Supporters’ Shield winner’s potential playoff games - the one guaranteed game in the first round and the Eastern Conference Final, which it would host if it advances out of the first round. Prices range from $34-$70 for adults and $26-$50 for students. Crew Soccer Nation members previously received an exclusive presale offer to secure their season seats. Playoff pairings, dates and times have not been determined yet, as three of the eight playoff spots have yet to be decided.
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