Well, if the Crew keep losing I don't think the attendance jump they have received will remain.  This is an interesting article as unless you can get to the NFL popularity level stadium placement is a big driver of attendance.

 

http://www.soccernewsday.com/usa/a/131/mls-stadium-locations-attendance-comparison

 

MLS Stadium Locations & Attendance Comparison

Comparing distances of MLS stadiums from their urban cores with recent club attendance figures

 

This week I decided to compile some statistics on something that always seems to come up in MLS: the current attendance per club stats and the location of their stadiums in regards to those trends. This time we see how the distance per club and the classifications of those distances may (or may not) affect overall attendance.

Another night of dreary weather and another disappointing result at last Saturday's game against Vancouver.  And the Crew really did deserve a better fate then they got.  They started off strong by knocking two balls in the back of the net in the first 5 minutes.  Unfortunately, both goals were called back. 

 

In the 3rd minute, the first "goal" occurred off a Mirosevic corner kick that defenseman Josh Williams hit in with his right foot.  That beautiful goal was disallowed due to a questionable foul on Marshall in the box.  Then, in the 5th minute, a Vargas to Schoenfeld combination found Eddie Gaven wide open in the box for a goal.  However, that goal was disallowed due to Gaven being barely offside.  In the 16th minute, Josh Williams blasted a beautiful bicycle kick from a corner that rang off the crossbar.  The Crew dominated possession for the rest of the first half and had two more scoring chances from Gaven and Schoenfeld that were well saved by the Vancouver goalkeeper.  0-0 HALFTIME

 

The Crew kept up the possession advantage early in the second half but didn't generate any quality scoring chances.  However, in the 74th minute, Vancouver defender Y.P. Lee took a free kick just outside the box.  Crew goalkeeper Gruenebaum initially took a step forward to prevent a crossing play - only to realize too late that the free kick was on goal - and saw the ball go into the net past his outstretched hand.  Lee even admitted after the game that he was trying for a crossing pass, but "mis-hit" the ball to perfectly place it on goal instead.  VANCOUVER WINS 1-0

 

Here are the MLSsoccer highlights:

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - VANCOUVER AT COLUMBUS - 4-28-12

 

So, even though the Crew dominated possession, generated multiple scoring chances, and defensively shut down Vancouver's offense - the Crew end up on the wrong end of a 1-0 result because of one "mis-hit" free kick!  Sometimes the game of soccer isn't fair.  The Crew are now a disappointing 2-4-1 after going winless in April.  And the May schedule doesn't let up on the Crew as 3 of the next 4 matches will be on the west coast.  Columbus travels to Portland for next Saturday's match.

The marshall foul was a joke as was the yellow card he recieved in the 2nd half when going up for a header. Apparently, the ref didn't understand that the offensive player had the right to go for the ball. That may have been the most dominating performance that resulted in a loss that I've ever seen.

Question: When does a 0-0 draw feel like a win?

 

Answer: When you bring a Columbus Crew team that resembles a MASH unit to face a Portland team before the Timbers Army.  The Crew already lost Vargas and Schoenfeld because of last week's game.  Then they lost Chad Marshall during a Friday practice due to concussion symptoms and held him out of this game.

 

The 0-0 final score belied the number of scoring chances for both teams - and the number of great saves from both goalkeepers.  Troy Perkins of Portland and Andy Gruenebaum of Columbus both made spectacular saves to keep the game scoreless.  Josh Williams was also a stand-out for the Crew - filling in for Marshall defensively and getting a shot on goal.  Here are the MLSsoccer highlights:

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COLUMBUS AT PORTLAND - 5-5-12

 

Columbus returns home to face FC Dallas next Saturday at Crew Stadium.

Saturday's match against Dallas had all the makings of another Crew loss.  The first half went badly for the Crew.  In the 22nd minute, Crew midfielder Tony Tchani had Dallas forward Fabian Castillo well defended along the sideline when the ball skirted on the out-of-bounds line.  Tchani stops defending to argue with the official that the ball went out-of-bounds (replays showed it didn't).  The now unmarked Castillo streaks towards the goal and beats Crew goalkeeper Gruenebaum for a goal.  Just an egregiously bad play by Tchani.  DALLAS LEADS 1-0

 

Things looked even worse near the end of the first half when Crew forward Ethan Finlay suffered an elbow to the head and had to be replaced by Justin Meram.  But that foul and the substitution would set the stage for a second half Crew comeback.  In the 63rd minute, another Dallas player elbowed a Crew player in the head.  This lead to a yellow card, which was this Dallas player's second yellow card, and meant a red card ejection.  With Dallas now down to 10 men, Meram took advantage in the 67th minute.  Meram blasted a 35-yard shot for his first-ever MLS goal and the Crew's first goal.  GAME TIED 1-1.

 

Only a few minutes later Mirosevic had a great scoring chance saved by the Dallas goalkeeper.  This set up a Crew corner kick.  Vukovic took the corner kick in the 72nd minute and found a completely unmarked Sebastian Miranda just outside the box.  Then Miranda uncorked one of the longest and fastest headers you may ever see and blasted a 20-yard header past the keeper for the Crew's second goal.  CREW WIN 2-1

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - DALLAS AT COLUMBUS - 5-12-12

 

It's a good thing the Crew won Saturday's home game.  Four of their next five games are on the road.  The next two road games are at San Jose next Saturday and at Seattle the following Wednesday.

In addition to winning Saturday's game against, the Crew also won the Pioneer Cup.  This goes to the winner of the two MLS teams owned by the Hunt family (previously by the late Lamar Hunt, AFL and MLS pioneer).  Below is a photo of the Lamar Hunt Flag Corps at the game and of Crew Captain Danny O'Rourke holding the Pioneer Cup after the game courtesy of Columbus Underground.

 

 

The Crew marked the 13th anniversary of the opening of Crew Stadium earlier this week.  It was noted by the Columbus Dispatch in their on-going Bicentennial column that features an historic event on each calender day: Columbus Mileposts | May 15, 1999: Country’s first soccer-specific stadium opens and by the Dispatch's Crew blog: Crew, Fans Reflect On Anniversary.

 

Just prior to that 13th anniversary, the Houston Dynamos opened their new stadium.  Which is the latest in a string of great new soccer-specific venues for Major League Soccer.  Houston's stadium broke new ground because it's the first of these new venues located in their city's downtown district.  More about it from the Houston Dynamo website and from wikipedia.

 

Those two events got me thinking about just how far Major League Soccer has come as a league in those 13 years.  In 1999, there were only 12 MLS teams.  And only the Columbus franchise was playing in a soccer-specific stadium.  Now in 2012, there are 19 teams.  And only three of those teams are not playing in places that were either built or renovated as soccer-first venues.  Crew Stadium was built for $28 million in 1999.  Now MLS is getting brand new stadiums like a $200 million New York Red Bulls stadium in 2010, a $120 million Philadelphia stadium in 2010, a $200 million Kansas City stadium in 2011, and now a $95 million Houston stadium.  The present and future of MLS looks good.

^ Don't forget that for the 2002 season MLS contracted two teams to go down to 10 total.  At the time it really looked like the beginning of the end.  So, if you look at the situation from that nadir it is really amazing to where they have come.  I still wish the playoff format just took the top 4 teams from each conference but that is a debate for another time (like after the second NYC team is added).

The Crew marked the 13th anniversary of the opening of Crew Stadium earlier this week.  It was noted by the Columbus Dispatch in their on-going Bicentennial column that features an historic event on each calender day: Columbus Mileposts | May 15, 1999: Country’s first soccer-specific stadium opens and by the Dispatch's Crew blog: Crew, Fans Reflect On Anniversary.

 

Just prior to that 13th anniversary, the Houston Dynamos opened their new stadium.  Which is the latest in a string of great new soccer-specific venues for Major League Soccer.  Houston's stadium broke new ground because it's the first of these new venues located in their city's downtown district.  More about it from the Houston Dynamo website and from wikipedia.

 

Those two events got me thinking about just how far Major League Soccer has come as a league in those 13 years.  In 1999, there were only 12 MLS teams.  And only the Columbus franchise was playing in a soccer-specific stadium.  Now in 2012, there are 19 teams.  And only three of those teams are not playing in places that were either built or renovated as soccer-first venues.  Crew Stadium was built for $28 million in 1999.  Now MLS is getting brand new stadiums like a $200 million New York Red Bulls stadium in 2010, a $120 million Philadelphia stadium in 2010, a $200 million Kansas City stadium in 2011, and now a $95 million Houston stadium.  The present and future of MLS looks good.

 

Columbo, here up in Cleveland we seemed pretty close to getting a team. If we actually do, I'm interested in what you think the dynamic would be? It would seem a natural rivalry, but then it struck me that there is no modern example of a Columbus/Cleveland sports rivalry that I know of. It could be interesting.

 

p.s. Happy anniversary Crew

The Crew marked the 13th anniversary of the opening of Crew Stadium earlier this week.  It was noted by the Columbus Dispatch in their on-going Bicentennial column that features an historic event on each calender day: Columbus Mileposts | May 15, 1999: Country’s first soccer-specific stadium opens and by the Dispatch's Crew blog: Crew, Fans Reflect On Anniversary.

 

Just prior to that 13th anniversary, the Houston Dynamos opened their new stadium.  Which is the latest in a string of great new soccer-specific venues for Major League Soccer.  Houston's stadium broke new ground because it's the first of these new venues located in their city's downtown district.  More about it from the Houston Dynamo website and from wikipedia.

 

Those two events got me thinking about just how far Major League Soccer has come as a league in those 13 years.  In 1999, there were only 12 MLS teams.  And only the Columbus franchise was playing in a soccer-specific stadium.  Now in 2012, there are 19 teams.  And only three of those teams are not playing in places that were either built or renovated as soccer-first venues.  Crew Stadium was built for $28 million in 1999.  Now MLS is getting brand new stadiums like a $200 million New York Red Bulls stadium in 2010, a $120 million Philadelphia stadium in 2010, a $200 million Kansas City stadium in 2011, and now a $95 million Houston stadium.  The present and future of MLS looks good.

^ Don't forget that for the 2002 season MLS contracted two teams to go down to 10 total.  At the time it really looked like the beginning of the end.  So, if you look at the situation from that nadir it is really amazing to where they have come.  I still wish the playoff format just took the top 4 teams from each conference but that is a debate for another time (like after the second NYC team is added).

^ That is a great point.  I didn't follow MLS as closely in 2002 as I do now.  But I'll bet that two team contraction in 2002 must've had many thinking that MLS was fading away like NASL did in the 1980's.  It looks like the U.S. team's strong performance in the 2002 World Cup rejuvenated MLS.  Then when Los Angeles and Chicago built soccer-only stadiums, it signaled that the league was starting to mature and be a safe place for future investments.

 

With Montreal becoming the 19th MLS team this year, speculation is building about where the inevitable 20th team will go.  South Florida is a likely and somewhat ironic candidate for team 20.  Ironic because the two teams that contracted in 2002 were Miami and Tampa Bay.  But likely because South Florida has a natural soccer fan base plus adding a Florida team makes geographical sense and balances the east-west structure of the league.  But there also might be a strong push for a 2nd New York team.  (Maybe called the New York Cosmos?)

 

Columbo, here up in Cleveland we seemed pretty close to getting a team.  If we actually do, I'm interested in what you think the dynamic would be?  It would seem a natural rivalry, but then it struck me that there is no modern example of a Columbus/Cleveland sports rivalry that I know of.  It could be interesting.

 

p.s. Happy anniversary Crew

 

I might be the worst person to answer this because I really don't get into the whole "bitter rivalry" thing - so I might be downplaying this.  But I'm not sure Columbus/Cleveland would develop into a Cleveland/Cincinnati or especially a Cleveland/Pittsburgh type sports rivalry.  As far as NFL, MLB and NBA fandom goes, Columbus feels like "Cleveland South" at times.  Partially because of Clevelanders who have moved into Central Ohio and partially because of the bandwagon effect, there are tons of Browns, Indians and Cavs fans here.  Heck, Columbus' AAA baseball team is even the farm team for the Indians. 

 

But like you said, there is no modern example of a Columbus/Cleveland sports rivalry.  So maybe it would develop into a rivalry if they played head-to-head games.  But it just doesn't seem natural to have one.  However, if Detroit got a MLS team . . . now that seems more natural.

 

Columbo, here up in Cleveland we seemed pretty close to getting a team.  If we actually do, I'm interested in what you think the dynamic would be?  It would seem a natural rivalry, but then it struck me that there is no modern example of a Columbus/Cleveland sports rivalry that I know of.  It could be interesting.

 

p.s. Happy anniversary Crew

 

I might be the worst person to answer this because I really don't get into the whole "bitter rivalry" thing - so I might be downplaying this.  But I'm not sure Columbus/Cleveland would develop into a Cleveland/Cincinnati or especially a Cleveland/Pittsburgh type sports rivalry.  As far as NFL, MLB and NBA fandom goes, Columbus feels like "Cleveland South" at times.  Partially because of Clevelanders who have moved into Central Ohio and partially because of the bandwagon effect, there are tons of Browns, Indians and Cavs fans here.  Heck, Columbus' AAA baseball team is even the farm team for the Indians. 

 

But like you said, there is no modern example of a Columbus/Cleveland sports rivalry.  So maybe it would develop into a rivalry if they played head-to-head games.  But it just doesn't seem natural to have one.  However, if Detroit got a MLS team . . . now that seems more natural.

 

I don't think a Cleveland MLS team will happen for a long time.  Unless the Crew are moved up here.  There is no real point for MLS to create a division among the Ohio soccer fans.  There honestly probably aren't enough to currently support two teams in state.  Although I know if there was a team up here I would definitely have season tickets. 

 

I really would expect the 20th MLS team to be in NYC.  Maybe Detroit, but probably not the Florida area.  While that is a big soccer market and has a good number of fans they are mostly immigrant fans.  Where they are supporting the teams their fathers supported (like Barca and Madrid or the National teams of South American countries).  MLS has done a much better job of including the Latino population in their fan bases (Chivas and Houston have done particularly well), but Florida is just a weird place fan wise all around, look at all the trouble Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami have filling a stadium.  Actually it's just a weird place period.

I really would expect the 20th MLS team to be in NYC.  Maybe Detroit, but probably not the Florida area.  While that is a big soccer market and has a good number of fans they are mostly immigrant fans.  Where they are supporting the teams their fathers supported (like Barca and Madrid or the National teams of South American countries).  MLS has done a much better job of including the Latino population in their fan bases (Chivas and Houston have done particularly well), but Florida is just a weird place fan wise all around, look at all the trouble Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami have filling a stadium.  Actually it's just a weird place period.

That is true about Florida fans.  All major league sports seem to have a tough time there!

 

Everything I've heard seems to have either Florida or a 2nd NYC team leading in the 20th MLS franchise sweepstakes.  And you might be right about NYC having the inside track.  I just think MLS would like to give Florida another shot.  It seems like it's an enticing demographic and geographic area that MLS hasn't filled yet.  But, as always, it will probably come down to which area has the better ownership and stadium deal.

The Crew had a game at San Jose on Saturday night (or early Sunday Columbus time) that ended in a 1-1 draw.  Both teams picked up a point in the standings.  But Columbus and San Jose probably felt they gave away those extra two points and should have come away with a win.

 

The beginning of the first half was all San Jose.  The Quakes held possession and peppered Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum with shot after shot.  This surge culminated when former Crew player Steven Lenhart got fouled in the box by Crew defender Eric Gehrig in the 22nd minute.  San Jose's (and MLS') leading scorer Chris Wondolowski took the penalty kick - and it was blocked by Gruenebaum!  San Jose kept the pressure on the Crew defense in the rest of the first half but never got a better scoring chance. 

 

The first half moved into its 2 minutes of stoppage time when something amazing happened for the Crew.  Justin Meram gained possesion at midfield and tapped the ball to Gaven.  Gaven moved it back to Tchani, who found Meram on the left flank making a run forward.  Meram got the ball and was one-on-one with a defender at the edge of the box.  Then Meram lofted a shot that went over the Quakes keeper and ever-so-gently curved into the upper corner of the goal - giving the Crew a 1-0 lead heading into halftime!  The second straight game that Meram scored for the Crew.

 

The second half saw the Crew trying to preserve the lead and San Jose pushing forward to get a tying goal.  The Crew defense and Gruenubaum held firm for almost the entire second half.  Then in the 90th minute, 2nd half sub Alan Gordon blasted a shot for San Jose that hit the crossbar, deflected back to him, and was hit into the net for the tying goal.

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COLUMBUS AT SAN JOSE - 5-19-12

 

Although Columbus was disappointed they couldn't get the win by denying San Jose for just a few more minutes, the Crew should be pleased with this road draw.  Especially when the final match stats are viewed.  San Jose outshot Columbus 24 to 9.  The shots-on-goal were 8 for SJ and only 1 for the Crew (which was Meram's goal).  If not for Gruenubaum's 7 saves (including the PK) Columbus could have been blown out at Buck Shaw Stadium.

 

Columbus is in the middle of a 3 games in 8 days stretch.  Their next game is at Seattle on Wednesday.  Then they return home for a Saturday night match against Chicago.  On the injury front: Mirosevic was subbed at halftime because of a groin injury and is questionable for the Seattle game - Duka played 30 minutes in the second half, which was his first apparance since April 7.

The NY is still the odds on favorite. They seem to be scared of Florida. I think Arizona, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, a New South city are possibilities. There are consistent rumors that D.C. may move to Baltimore if they can't get a new stadium soon. I don't think they would be opposed to a fourth Canadian team (Calgary perhaps).

The NY is still the odds on favorite. They seem to be scared of Florida. I think Arizona, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, a New South city are possibilities. There are consistent rumors that D.C. may move to Baltimore if they can't get a new stadium soon. I don't think they would be opposed to a fourth Canadian team (Calgary perhaps).

 

As someone who was fortunate to experience the craze spurred by the Cosmos in the 70's, I'm hoping for NY. It was truly amazing and I'd love to relive even a fraction of that excitement once again, and see the MLS benefit from it.

 

The Cosmos have a favored waterfront site in Manhattan, but it being NYC, still a lot of hurdles to overcome.

 

edit - Oh yeah, I have to rep this:

 

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489247/

Crew fans had every right to feel pessimistic about their chances at the start of this west coast road trip.  Columbus was 8th in the east and getting ready to face two teams (San Jose & Seattle) that were in the top 1/3 of the west.  Even last Saturday's draw at San Jose, though good, could have easily been a win instead.  But last night's match at Seattle gave much more hope to Crew supporters.

 

Last night's game against Seattle had a lot of similarities with the San Jose match.  The Crew was behind in possession, scoring chances, shots, corner kicks - basically every stat except for goals.  The first Crew goal came in the 15th minute.  Duka blasted a cross into the box that found Justin Meram in front of the Seattle goalkeeper.  Meram deftly headed the ball into the net.  Meram's third goal in three straight games!

 

The Crew's second goal was a rare finesse shot from Emilio Renteria in the 76th minute.  Off a midfield throw-in, the ball bounced from a Seattle defender to Gaven to the feet of Renteria outside the box at least 35 yards away from goal.  Renteria noticed the Seattle keeper was off his line and lofted a shot over his outstretched hand into the net.  Renteria's first goal of the season.  And only the second shot-on-goal of the night for the Crew.

 

Meanwhile, Seattle kept the pressure on Crew's goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum.  But just like the San Jose game, Gruenebaum was outstanding.  He finished with six saves.  CREW WIN 2-0

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COLUMBUS AT SEATTLE - 5-23-12

 

The win vaults Columbus into 5th place in the east.  The only dark cloud from the game was another prominent player getting inured for the Crew.  This time it was Danny O’Rourke - who suffered an apparent ankle injury just before halftime.  O'Rourke was taken off the field by stretcher and immediately replaced in the lineup.  There was no word on the seriousness of the injury, but O'Rourke was sporting a pair of crutches after the game ended.  The Crew return home for a Saturday night match against Chicago.

Justin Meram's play over the past three games has been amazing - three goals in those three games.  Surprising too - considering that Meram went scoreless in the 17 games he played during his rookie season last year.  Even more amazing is the variety and quality of his three goals.  The first was a 35-yard rocket blast in front of the net.  The second was a bending chip shot from left of the net to beat a keeper off his line.  The third was a beautiful diving header from a crossing pass.  I don't know if he can keep this level of production up, but it is just what the Crew needed.

 

Also, Danny O’Rourke has an MRI scheduled for today on his left ankle.

Columbus came into last night's game riding a four-game point streak.  Chicago came into Crew Stadium three points ahead of Columbus in the eastern conference standings.  But it was the Crew who struck first. 

 

Eddie Gaven found some space at the left corner of the box and blasted a 30-yarder in the 9th minute to give the Crew a 1-0 lead.  Gaven impacted play later in the first half when he found Emilio Renteria deep in the box in the 43rd minute.  Renteria took the pass, turned and fired it into the net to give the Crew a 2-0 lead at halftime.

 

In the second half, the Crew fell back into a defensive shell and tried to wear Chicago down on a hot night.  The strategy almost backfired when Chicago scored in the 72nd minute.  But after that the Crew held possession more to take pressure off Crew goalkeeper Gruenebaum.  Still, Gruenebaum needed to make seven saves to preserve the 2-1 Crew victory.  Below are the MLS highlights:

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - CHICAGO AT COLUMBUS - 5-26-12

 

The win vaulted Columbus into a fourth-place tie in the East with Chicago.  The Crew join the rest of MLS in a 2 1/2 week hiatus while the U.S. National Team begins World Cup qualifying matches.  The Crew won't play again until Saturday, June 16 when they travel to New England.  Despite the Crew's run of good play, the MLS break comes at an opportune time for the team.  It lets some of their injured roster heal up.

 

More about some of the Crew's injures from the Dispatch's Crew Blog: Chicago Postgame. (Some good news about Danny O’Rourke - some potentially bad news about Chad Marshall - and an explanation about why Justin Meram did not play in last night's game.)

The Columbus Crew and New England Revolution had a 0-0 tie Saturday night at New England.  The scoreless game wasn't due to a lack of scoring chances though.  The Crew had more attempts on goal (13 to 11) then the Revs.  But the Revs had better scoring chances with more shots on target (6 to 3) then the Crew.

 

The Revs first scoring chance occurred in the first minute when longtime U.S. national team member Benny Feilhaber was open just left of the six-yard box and bounced a shot in front of the net that trickled wide.  But the Revs best chance of the night occurred in the 15th minute.  A perfectly timed run found Moreno completely open in space and one-on-one against Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum.  Gruenebaum came out to make the save-of-the-match with a spectacular diving kick save.

 

The Revs had a 30-yard shot bounce off the crossbar in the 29th minute and had a clear shot in the 38th minute from 10 yards right of goal that was brilliantly deflected by Gruenebaum.  They ended with two more scoring chances in 2nd half stoppage time that forced Gruenebaum to make one more quality save.

 

The Crew had two pretty good scoring chances.  The first in the 8th minute on a Mirosevic shot that was saved by the Rev goalkeeper and bounced around the box until it was cleared.  The second in the 65th minute when Meram found Renteria well positioned in front of the net, but then left-footed wide by Renteria.  Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum was definitely the Man-of-the-Match and the reason the Crew left Gillette Stadium with a road draw.  Gruenebaum stayed top three in GAA with this shutout and leads MLS in saves.  Not bad for a player who was slated to be the Crew's back-up keeper behind Will Hesmer!

 

Below are the match highlights from MLS:

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COLUMBUS AT NEW ENGLAND - 6-16-12

 

The Crew are now riding a six game point streak with 3 wins and 3 ties.  Saturday's draw temporarily put Columbus into a fourth-place tie in the East.  A Chicago win on Sunday vaulted them 2 points ahead of Columbus for 4th in the East (although Columbus does have one game-in-hand over Chicago).  And Chicago is where the Crew will be next Saturday - as they continue their road trip before returning home on June 30 to face Real Salt Lake.

The Crew came into Chicago with a six-game point streak and chance to vault over the host Fire with a win.  But things didn't go the Crew's way in the beginning.  In the 2nd minute, Marco Pappa of the Fire blasted a 25-yard shot past a diving Andy Gruenebaum for a goal.  Then, in the 26th minute, a combination of poor defense and a well timed run allowed a second Fire goal from 10 yards out.  CHICAGO LEADS 2-0

 

The Crew caught a huge break only three minutes later though.  In the 29th minute, a Fire midfielder committed a late studs-up challenge that caught the Crew's Kevan George in the leg and was given a straight red card ejection.  The Crew capitalized in the 36th minute when Tony Tchani made a great move to lose a defender at the edge of the box, moved into the box and knocked the ball past the on-rushing Fire keeper for a goal.  CHICAGO LEADS 2-1

 

Despite the one-man advantage, the Crew didn't generate many dangerous scoring chances the rest of the game.  They dominated statisically with a 21-9 attempts-on-goal and 9-2 shots-on-target advantage.  But the final touch was lacking.  The Crew's best scoring chance came in the 57th minute when Josh Williams' header off a Vokovic free kick was nicely blocked by the Fire keeper.  But the best scoring opportunity in the second half came from the Fire in the 61st minute when the Crew defense was forced to make a 50-50 tackle in the box that sometimes results in a PK.  CHICAGO WINS 2-1 

 

Below are the match highlights from MLS:

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO - 6-23-12

 

A win over Chicago would have vaulted the Crew over the Fire for fourth-place in the East.  Instead, the loss drops them to sixth with a 5-5-4 record.  Columbus hosts Real Salt Lake on Saturday, June 30. 

The Crew's Saturday night game started one hour late because of all the power outages caused by Friday night's storms.  The power to Crew Stadium didn't get turned on until 5:30PM.  But the near capacity crowd was pleased that it did.  Fireworks on the field and fireworks after the game in the annual Red, White and Crew match.

 

The Crew's offense, which looked underpowered in their two previous games, got its first jolt in the 16th minute.  Emilio Renteria controlled a long ball and took it to the end line.  As Renteria drew the defense to him, he passed it back an on-rushing Tony Tchani in the box - who right-footed it into the goal.  Great pass from Renteria - great finish from Tchani.  CREW LEAD 1-0

 

The Crew got their second goal in the 44th minute on a corner kick that found Josh Williams open right of the goal in the box.  Williams passed it back to an unmarked Eddie Gaven in front of the net - who top shelved it home.  With the exception of one lose ball in the box in the 71st minute, RSL never threatened to score in the second half.  CREW WIN 2-0

 

Below are the match highlights from MLS:

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - REAL SALT LAKE AT COLUMBUS - 6-30-12

 

The win gives the Crew a 6-5-4 record.  Columbus travels to Montreal on Sunday, July 8 for their first game in the Impact's newly renovated stadium. 

 

The Crew's sunday night game went from looking like they might steal three points in the standings with a road win at Montreal - to looking like they might survive with a road tie and add one point in the standings - to eventually losing and gaining zero points.

 

After a lackluster first half, the Crew got the game's first goal in 64th minute.  On a corner kick from Vukovic, Mirosevic snuck into the near side six-yard box unmarked.  Vukovic served a good ball to Mirosevic - who quickly headed it before the defense could close in.  Really good goal by Mirosevic.  Unfortunately, it proved to be the Crew's sole offensive highlight of the night.

 

But it still might have been enough for a win, if the Crew defense could keep Montreal from scoring.  But two defensive miscues set up Montreal's goals.  The first was committed by Vukovic in the 78th minute.  Vokovic was out of position and allowed a Montreal player to outflank him into the 18-yard box to score.  The second was committed by Birchall in the 89th minute.  Birchall made a poor clearance that Montreal was able to maneuver back into the 18-yard box.  The Montreal player was then knocked down by Birchall in the box and awarded a penalty kick.  Montreal converted the PK to win 2-1.

 

Match highlights from MLS:

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COLUMBUS AT MONTREAL - 7-08-12

 

The loss drops Columbus into a tie for sixth in the East.  The good news is that the Crew will be returning home for their next two games.  The bad news is the games are against the two teams currently tied for first place in the Eastern Conference.  The Crew face Sporting KC on Saturday, July 14 and DC United on Saturday, July 21.

The Crew followed up their poor performance at Montreal with an equally poor match back home against Kansas City.  Coach Warzycha's constant fiddling with the starting lineup extended to the defense in this game.  Miranda was replaced with Gehrig on the wing.  Williams was moved from center to wing.  Anor, usually a midfielder, was shifted to left center to take Williams place.  These changes proved critical when KC scored their first goal at the 6 minute mark.  KC struck a through ball to unmarked player running into the 18-yard box.  That unmarked player knocked the ball past Gruenebaum to give KC a 1-0 lead.

 

With the lead, KC fell back into a defensive shell.  The Crew had some good scoring chances.  But their old bugaboo of not finishing well and a few sterling saves from KC's All-Star starting goaltender Jimmy Nielsen kept the Crew off the scoreboard until KC could score their second goal in the 82nd minute.  The best chance the Crew had to tie came in the 48th minute when a crossing pass from Gaven found Meram in the 6-yard box.  Meram's header hit the bottom part of the crossbar but bounced away from goal and was saved by KC.

 

Match highlights from MLS:

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - KANSAS CITY AT COLUMBUS - 7-14-12

After two straight losses dropped Columbus to 8th in the Eastern Conference, the Crew were facing a virtual "must win" last Saturday against D.C. United at Crew Stadium.  The Crew's revolving lineup was missing defensive midfielder Anor, who suffered a season ending injury in last week's game, and forward striker Renteria, who was suspended for this game because he headbutted an opposing player in last week's game.  Newly healthy Dilly Duka, newly acquired Jairo Arrieta and Chris Birchall started for the Crew.

 

Duka and Arrieta seemed to inject life into the Crew's offense in the first half.  It looked like the Crew cashed in with a goal in the 44th minute on a beautiful long pass from Justin Meram to a diving header from Josh Williams.  But Williams was ruled offside and the goal disallowed.  After halftime, the Crew finally did cash in.  In the 46th minute, Arrieta hit a through ball to Birchall streaking past the D.C. defense.  Birchall pushed the ball into the 18-yard box and past the on-rushing goalkeeper into the goal.  CREW LEAD 1-0

 

Later in the second half D.C. got the same tough treatment from the line judges as the Crew.  In the 50th minute, a D.C. corner kick was deflected around in the 18-yard box.  Eventually the ball bounced into the 6-yard box was deflected to D.C.'s De Rosario, who knocked it in goal.  However, just like earlier with the Crew, he was ruled offside and the goal disallowed. 

 

The Crew had a chance to put the game away in the 73rd minute when a Meram shot deflected to Arrieta one-on-one in front of the D.C. goalkeeper.  But Arrieta's shot went off target.  That miss would lead to some nail-biting moments later in the game.  Gruenebaum needed to acrobatically clean up some defensive miscues in the 76th and 78th minutes.  And a D.C. shot rang off the post in the 88th minute.  But the Crew managed to hang on to their 1-0 lead for the win. CREW WINS 1-0

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - D.C. UNITED AT COLUMBUS - 7-21-12

 

The win vaulted Columbus from 8th into 6th place in the East, keeping them in the playoff hunt.  The Crew have an exhibition July 24 against English Premier League's Stoke City at Crew Stadium before travelling to Kansas City on July 28.

First, a little bit of off-the-field news.  The Massive Report fansite looked at the Crew's attendance numbers.  At the time the article, the Crew averaged 14,141 through seven games.  Best attendance over the first seven games since 14,368 in 2010.  Second best start over the last seven years.  And since the article was written, the Crew had two straight 17,000+ home games.  So it looks like the attendance has recovered from last year's dip.

 

Massive Report: Cautious Optimism In Attendance Numbers

 

---

But the MLS Commissioner would still like to see more support for the Crew.  Or so he said in a wide ranging interview with the Sporting News about the overall health of MLS.  The Commish has a point, but as Business First also pointed out, the team is making progress on the business front.  The team has a new jersey sponsorship deal with Barbasol, two new sponsorship deals with prominent local companies, and the new television deal with Fox Sports Ohio.  (Just in time on the TV deal too - their former broadcaster ONN is closing down next month)  Below is the link to the non-paywall Business First article:

 

Columbus Business first: MLS Commish Garber: Columbus Crew needs more support

And in some off-the-field news that will affect the Crew on the field.  The Crew finally signed a Designated Player for the team.  Reports are that the new DP might play for the Crew by their August 15 game against the LA Galaxy.

 

Crew signs Argentine striker Federico Higuain as third Designated Player in Club history

And for some on-the-field news.  The Crew travelled to Kansas City Saturday night.  Just below the Eastern Conference playoff line and needing some road points to stay in the race.  The Crew's quest for points didn't look too encouraging at first.  KC's Kei Kamara scored in the 8th minute on a really good header from a free kick.  KC LEADS 1-0

 

The Crew struck back in the 17th minute.  Jairo Arrieta took a through pass from Josh Williams into the box and deftly avoided two defenders and the goalkeeper for the goal.  GAME TIED 1-1

 

Jairo Arrieta struck again in the 34th minute.  The KC defense turned the ball over to Arrieta 30 yards from the KC goal.  Arrieta moved into space and blasted a 25-yard shot past the KC goalkeeper into top left corner of the net.  Just a beautiful shot.  CREW LEADS 2-1

 

In the second half, the Crew fended off KC chance after KC chance.  In the 51st minute, Gruenebaum saved a 20-yard blast that deflected off the crossbar to an unmarked KC player in front off a completely unguarded net - which the KC player struck wide left!  The 55th minute saw Gruenebaum make two point-blank saves at the edge of the 6-yard box.  In the 65th minute, Kamara nearly duplicated his first goal with a header that struck the crossbar.  Two more near misses in the 78th and 84th minutes.  Two straight yellow cards got Cole Grossman of the Crew ejected in stoppage time.  And finally, late into the lenghty stoppage time, a KC player again found to ball deflected to him directly in front of the Crew net - only to see it struck wide right this time!  CREW WIN 2-1

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COLUMBUS AT KANSAS CITY - 7-28-12

 

So, despite KC's 18 shots on goal, the Crew managed to hang on.  The road win keeps the Crew in sixth place and in range of fifth place Chicago.  The Crew is four points behind Chicago - but still has two games-in-hand over Chicago.  Columbus has another tough road test next Saturday against fourth place D.C. United.

^ They really need to come out of these next two games with 4, if not all 6, points.  After that they have LA and Houston, and with the Galaxy rounding into form those are going to be hard matches to end up with points. 

 

Still upset that Gruenebaum didn't get onto the All-star team.  He has single handedly, sometimes literally, kept the Crew in the race for a post season spot. 

^ You're right on about the Crew needed to rack some points against DC and Toronto.  After next Saturday's Toronto game, the Crew face a quick turnaround with a mid-week game against LA and a weekend game against Houston.

 

At first it looked like the Crew might get some much needed points at DC after the first half ended 0-0.  A three-point win if lucky, but a one-point draw if the Crew defense could hang on.  But in the 49th minute, DC scored on after a series of deflections and blocked shots in front the Crew net.  It was enough to hold up for a 1-0 DC win.  Below are the MLS game highlights:

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COLUMBUS AT D.C. UNITED - 8-4-12

 

Columbus drops to 8-8-4 (28 points).  The next match is against Toronto FC at Crew Stadium on Aug. 11.

As disappointing as the Crew's loss at DC was, it pales to insignificance after news that broke after the game ended.  According to The Columbus Dispatch, police officers were dispatched to Park Street Patio in Columbus at 12:50 am Sunday morning.  Columbus Crew player Kirk Urso was taken to Grant Hospital and pronounced dead at 1:51 am.  No cause of death has been announced.

 

Kirk Urso was 22-years-old.  Last year, he was the captain of North Carolina's NCAA championship squad.  Urso was in his MLS rookie season after the Crew drafted him with the 10th overall pick in January's MLS Supplemental Draft.  He started in the Crew's first five matches this season, but had not played since April 28.  Urso underwent sports hernia surgery on June 18 and was rehabbing in Columbus with the hopes of rejoining the team later in the year.  Because of this, he did not travel with the team for Saturday night's game in DC.

 

Below are some articles from MLS Soccer about Kirk Urso's death and reaction from his Crew teammates and around MLS:

 

Columbus Crew mourn passing of midfielder Kirk Urso

 

Teammates & MLS community react to Urso's death

 

Gone too soon: Crew players, staff share memories of Urso

RIP Kirk Urso.  While details are sparse right now, this sounds like it could be a true tragedy.

Horrible news. 

Thoughts go out to the family...

 

On a side note, did you see they had 61,000 fans in Seattle for the Sounders/Galaxy game?

By far the best market in MLS...what a success story that team has been at the gate...outdrawing markets that are much bigger on a consistent basis.

RIP Kirk Urso.  While details are sparse right now, this sounds like it could be a true tragedy.

It might be a while before a definitive cause of death is given.  According to this report from 10TV, today's Coroner autopsy was inconclusive and toxicology results could take four to six weeks. 

 

That 10TV report also has a recording of a police dispatcher call requesting a medic to the Park Street bar at 12:50am Sunday morning.  The call requested a medic for a person described as "very drunk" and according to the dispatcher, the person fell down and was unconscious.  The Charlotte Observer reported that one of Urso's UNC teammates traded text messages with him Saturday night while he was home watching the Olympics.  They also report he last texted him around 10:15pm to 10:30pm but never heard back from him after that.

Horrible news. 

Thoughts go out to the family...

 

On a side note, did you see they had 61,000 fans in Seattle for the Sounders/Galaxy game?

By far the best market in MLS...what a success story that team has been at the gate...outdrawing markets that are much bigger on a consistent basis.

 

I did catch the first half of that game and noticed the extra large crowd.  They play in the Seahawks football stadium and normally cover the top seating deck.  This still provides about 42,000 seats which they sell out every game.  I guess for the LA Galaxy they decided to remove the upper deck tarps.  The U.S. Northwest (Seattle & Portland) and Canada (Vancouver & Toronto) are really setting the standard in MLS.

Horrible news. 

Thoughts go out to the family...

 

On a side note, did you see they had 61,000 fans in Seattle for the Sounders/Galaxy game?

By far the best market in MLS...what a success story that team has been at the gate...outdrawing markets that are much bigger on a consistent basis.

 

I did catch the first half of that game and noticed the extra large crowd.  They play in the Seahawks football stadium and normally cover the top seating deck.  This still provides about 42,000 seats which they sell out every game.  I guess for the LA Galaxy they decided to remove the upper deck tarps.  The U.S. Northwest (Seattle & Portland) and Canada (Vancouver & Toronto) are really setting the standard in MLS.

 

Don't forget Montreal.  There are 5 teams that average over 20K a game o far this season.  Seattle, Portland, Montreal, Houston, and LA.  Those last three are new to the league, and Competed for the championship last year respectivly.  So for them a healthy attendance like that should be expected.  It's the other 3 that are right below 20K that show the leagues strength (Toronto, Vancouver and KC).  Toronto is having a terrible season too. 

 

The Crew are finally getting some people in the seats it seams.  As of today they are +22% from last year.  Hopefully more and more seats can get filled as they are still only at a 73% usage rate.

 

http://mlsattendance.blogspot.com/

^ D'oh. Didn't mean to leave Montreal off the Canada team list.  It's only Montreal's first year, but they're kicking it too aren't they?  Selling out the opening game with 60,000+ in old Olympic Stadium.

 

The rabid Canadian fan base has been surprising (to me anyway).  I've never heard about Canadian national teams making any impact in world tournaments (with the exception of their women's team).  But they are really soccer crazy north of the border.

 

BTW - neat MLS attendance website.  Thanks for the link.

Uncharted territory ahead for the Crew players, management and fans in playing on after the Kirk Urso tragedy.  But some of the memorials for Kirk Urso are being announced for this Saturday's home game.

 

From Massive Report - 'Urso Memorial Service To Be Held Saturday', the team announced how they will honor Urso during the game:

Prior to the Crew’s 7:30 p.m. match against Toronto FC this Saturday, Aug. 11, a floral wreath featuring Kirk's image will be displayed in front of the Lamar Hunt statue at Founder’s Park located on the Crew Stadium plaza.  Fans are encouraged to pay respects and leave remembrances, which will then be delivered to the Urso family.

 

During a pre-game ceremony, a video tribute honoring Urso and his accomplishments will run on the video board, followed by a moment of silence.  Additionally, Crew players and coaches will wear a number 15 arm band, which will be replaced by a commemorative uniform patch for the remainder of the season.  The Crew Stadium pitch will also feature a number 15 insignia, and the official Match Day program will include a special poster celebrating Urso’s career with the team.

From Massive Report - 'Nordecke In Solidarity To Honor Urso', the Nordecke supporters section announced how they will honor Urso during the game:

15:00-15:59 - The entire Nordecke will observe a moment of silence in memory of Kirk.  There will be Tifo displays during this time, but all chants, songs and drumming will stop for the entire minute.

 

16:00-16:59 - The entire Nordecke will sing "Yellow" by Coldplay, in memory of Kirk. Lyrics will be distributed prior to the match, but everyone is encouraged to familiarize themselves beforehand.

 

After "Yellow" the entire Nordecke will chant "Columbus Till I Die" 15 times.

They just announced that Saturday's game will be postponed to the 22nd of August so the team can attend Urso's funeral.

They just announced that Saturday's game will be postponed to the 22nd of August so the team can attend Urso's funeral.

It figures that after posting all that memorial info for Saturday's game, the postponement announcement would come just one hour later - after I logged out for the night.  But postponing Saturday's game does seem like the right thing to do.  According to an article in this morning's Dispatch - since Urso's funeral is in Illinois on Saturday, the team couldn't both attend the funeral and be back in Columbus for the evening kickoff time. 

 

Plus, I don't think the team really wanted to play so soon after the funeral.  Or that MLS, Toronto or anyone else wanted to force the Crew players to do so.  Like I said before - uncharted territory.  The postponement looks like a classy move all around.

 

So the next Crew game will be Wednesday's home game against the LA Galaxy.  All the pre-game memorials announced by the team and during-the-game memorials announced by the Nordecke supporters section will carry over to Wednesday's game.  The Wednesday game against LA is a "black-out" game that's probably close to a sell out.  The game is going to be nationally televised on the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus).  So the tributes planned for Urso seems even more appropriate for the Wednesday game - where they will get a larger audience.

 

Everyone associated with the Columbus Crew will try to get back to some sense of normalcy starting with tonight's game.  The Crew will face the LA Galaxy in their first game since the untimely passing of Kirk Urso. 

 

Hard to say how this will affect the team on the field.  The Crew fansite 'Massive Report' has had a number of recent reports that look into this much better than I can.  I can only say that I will be watching tonight's game on the NBC Sports Network to cheer the Crew on with a hopeful but heavy heart.

The Crew restarted their MLS schedule with a 1-1 draw against the LA Galaxy last night in Crew Stadium.  Jairo Arrieta continued his impressive play with 47th minute goal to put the Crew up 1-0 at the beginning of the second half.  As the second half wore on, the Galaxy seemed to gain strength started to consistently pressure the Crew defense.  The Galaxy's Irish superstar Robbie Keane finally cashed in with an equalizing goal in the 64th minute.  A couple of quality saves by Andy Gruenebaum and one last ditch save by defender Sebastian Miranda kept the Galaxy from adding a second goal to preserve the draw.

 

But beyond the final score, everyone on hand realized this wasn't an ordinary game.  The pre-game ceremony and the 15th minute in-game memorial made that clear.  This game was as much a tribute to a promising career cut short and a friend missing from the team.  Below are some reports on the game and the tributes to Kirk Urso:

 

 

Columbus Underground: Crew Ties Galaxy 1-1 at Emotional Home Game

 

MLS Soccer: Arrieta, Keane trade goals in emotional return

 

The Crew: Moment of the Match: A Moment For Kirk - Nordecke goes silent for Urso

 

MLS Soccer: Most poignant moment in Crew's draw comes postgame

The Crew faced a tough road test Sunday night in a game that could have been better/worse and featured a number of firsts.  First road game after Kirk Urso's death, first game with newly signed designated player Federico Higuaín on the roster and first game at Houston's beautiful new downtown soccer stadium.

 

Houston struck first in the 19th minute on a dagger-like one-timer shot from Brad Davis.  No chance at all for Crew keeper Andy Gruenebaum to save it.  The Crew tied it in the 33rd minute on an equally dazzling shot from Cole Grossman.  The Crew goal was beautifully set up by a Dilly Duka run down the right side and his back pass in the box to an on-rushing Grossman.  The Grossman shot blasted past the Houston keeper into the upper corner of the net.  Two of the best shots you'll see in MLS over this weekend.

 

DP'er Federico Higuaín came on as a sub to start the second half and immediately made an offensive impact.  In the 58th minute, Higuaín touched the ball three times in a counterattack that started deep in Houston territory and broke into midfield.  Higuaín saw Eddie Gaven breaking into the clear and perfectly lofted the ball to him.  Gaven beat the on-rushing Houston keeper for the goal and put the Crew up 2-1.

 

Despite the late second half Houston pressure, it looked the Crew were going to hold the one goal lead, with Gruenebaum making some outstanding saves.  But instead, a 82nd minute gift from Gruenebaum allowed a tying goal.  After a scramble in the box, the ball found Houston's Adam Moffat at the edge of the box.  Moffat struck an eye-level shot directly at Gruenebaum.  The shot hit Gruenebaum's hands and deflected over him into the goal!  Very uncharacteristic for Gruenebaum - and even stranger is that Moffat is a former Crew player and one of Gruenebaum's best friends!  So instead of the road win, the Crew leave Houston with a 2-2 draw.

 

MLS: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COLUMBUS AT HOUSTON - 8-19-12

 

Columbus goes to 8-8-6 (30 points).  This places them 7 points out of the Eastern Conference playoff race - behind fifth place D.C. United with only one game-in-hand over them now.  Columbus is in the middle the toughest part of a 7 games in 3 weeks stretch.  They return home to play Toronto on Wednesday in the rescheduled postponement game.  Then they will host New England on Saturday, August 25.

 

The following week sees Columbus travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday, August 29 - return home to face Montreal on Saturday, September 1 - and go to New England the following Wednesday, September 5

Given everything that has happened to the club in the past two weeks, 2 pts from these two games is a fairly decent showing.  Could it have been better? Sure, but not having those would have been worse.  The next two games, Toronto and NE, are must wins though.  Toronto is playing terrible, and have all season, while NE has been playing much better as of late it is a must for the Crew to take the full 3 pts.  Actually, they really need to take 3 pts from all of the matches you mention.  Only Montreal is a decent side.  The Crew's schedule toward the end is a rough one, so they need a cushion now.

Totally agree about the next two home games being "must wins".  Being seven points below the playoff line within only one game-in-hand remaining gives the Crew very little margin for error.  If they win both of these games, then they'll have a decent shot to make a September run for the playoffs.  If they can't win both games, it may not matter how they do in September.

^ Off to a good start.  2-1 win v. TFC, however their habit of giving up second half goals (caused the last two ties, and made this game much closer) is disturbing.  The need to salt these games that they get leads in away.  I predict that this flaw is what will keep them out of the playoffs this year.

 

Their new Designated Player (Higuain) though looks like the real deal though.  He's played 1 1/2 games and has 1 goal and 2 assists.

 

http://www.thecrew.com/news/2012/08/match-recap-crew-vs-toronto-fc

 

Match Recap: Crew vs. Toronto FC

 

Gaven, Higuain lead Crew to 2-1 win over Toronto

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Federico Higuaín continued to give Columbus a charge, this time in his home debut, as the Crew defeated Toronto FC 2-1 on Wednesday evening.

 

Higuaín, the Argentine attacker who tallied an assist off the bench in his first match with the Crew on Sunday at Houston, set up Eddie Gaven in the fourth minute and scored in the 58th for a 2-0 lead before Luis Silva netted for Toronto in the 71st.

 

The Crew (9-8-6, 33 points) ended a three-game winless streak while TFC (5-15-5, 20 points) fell to 0-4-1 in the past five games.

 

^ Got game one of the two "must wins".  Agree about the impressive/yet not so impressive nature of the win.  They should've cruised to a 2-0 win.  Instead, that 71st minute Toronto goal made for some nail-biting moments finishing out the game.  Unfortunate that last night's win didn't gain the Crew any ground in the standings against D.C. though.  D.C. beat Chicago to stay 7 points ahead of the Crew (w/ 1 game-in-hand for the Crew).

 

Higuain really does look like the real deal doesn't he.  Both him and Arrieta have really ramped up the Crew's offense.  Columbus might not make the playoffs this year - but it makes you wonder just how good the Crew could be next year with both Higuain and Arrieta on the roster for a full season.

A little more about how the Crew added Federico Higuain to their roster from a recent Dispatch article: Crew ready to see what Higuain can bring.  Kind of amusing because the Crew had been looking to add a designated player to their roster from the beginning of this season.  According to the article, Crew technical director Brian Bliss was in Argentina in May for that reason.  He found himself in a Buenos Aires airport after not finding a player he wanted to add as a DP.  While waiting for his flight, he happened to meet former Crew star Guillermo Barros Schelotto.  GBS advised Bliss to take a look at Higuain.  GBS added "he plays alot like I did".  It looks like Schelotto is still helping the Crew - even from Argentina!

Saturday's game was one for the ages. Two goals each by the new guys if only it wasn't nearly September.

Hopefully they can keep up the luck, heart attack wins don't usually land teams in the playoffs.  However as long as they can take care of business against Philly there is a potential six pointer on the schedule against Montreal.  Win that and we take a huge step into overtaking them and staring at the back of DC's head for the last playoff spot.  5 pts separate 7th (Crew) and 4th (Chicago).  It's going to be a crazy run in for these teams.