First-Place Crew Travels to California to Face Earthquakers

COLUMBUS, OH – August 7, 2009 - After earning a gritty win over Colorado last Saturday (Aug. 1) to maintain its hold on first place in the Eastern Conference, the Crew travels to San Francisco Saturday (Aug. 8) to face the San Jose Earthquakes in the first game of a special international doubleheader at Candlestick Park.

Saturday's match, which kicks off at 8:30 p.m. (ET), will be televised live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel. The match can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN 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.

San Jose, which sits in eighth place in the Western Conference with at 4-10-5 record (17 pts.) enters the match after earning an emphatic 4-0 win over Seattle last Sunday (Aug. 2) at Buck Shaw Stadium. An Osvaldo Alonso own goal opened the scoring with the game less than two minutes old. Sounders FC was then reduced to 10 men after James Riley's 33rd-minute ejection, and San Jose put the game away with second-half goals from Cornell Glen, Darren Huckerby and substitute Chris Wondolowski, giving the ‘Quakes their first win in their last five MLS games. San Jose had been paced this season by the forward tandem of Ryan Johnson and Arturo Alvarez. Johnson leads the club with seven goals, along with two assists, while Alvarez is second on the team in goals with five tallies, to go with two assists.

The Crew, which sits in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 8-3-9 record (33 pts.), enters Saturday’s match after earning a hard-fought 1-0 win over Colorado on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Following a Rapids foul from about 25 yards out in the 39th minute, midfielder Robbie Rogers touched the re-start over to Chad Marshall, and the reigning MLS Defender of the Year tucked his blast inside the right post and past Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens for the match’s lone goal. The victory gave Columbus its fourth shutout of the season as goalkeeper William Hesmer kept the Rapids off the scoreboard with six saves.

The Crew was without reigning MLS MVP and 2009 MLS All-Star First XI selection Guillermo Barros Schelotto and MLS All-Star defender Frankie Hejduk in last Saturday’s match. Schelotto missed the match due to a hamstring injury, while Hejduk sat out due to a quad strain.

The Crew’s match vs. the Earthquakes Saturday will be part of San Jose’s international doubleheader at Candlestick Park entitled the “Night of Champions.” After the evening’s MLS match between defending MLS Cup Champion Columbus and San Jose, UEFA Champions League winner FC Barcelona will take on powerhouse Chivas Guadalajara in an international friendly.

Fans can check out Saturday’s match vs. San Jose at Claddagh Irish Pub (585 South Front Street in the Brewery District), which features each Crew away game on numerous televisions throughout the bar, and also airs live audio from the telecast. Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to win prizes and merchandise, courtesy of the Crew and away game viewing party partner, Budweiser.

COLUMBUS CREW at San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, August 8 – 8:30 p.m. (ET) – Candlestick Park
National Television: Fox Soccer Channel; Regional Television: N/A
Crew Radio: News/Talk 610 WTVN (English); La Que Buena 1550-AM (Spanish)
Crew Webcasts: TheCrew.com and MLSNet.com (English)

More News

The Crew Review Home