Tune into TheCrew.com for a LIVE stream of the “State of the League” conversation Wednesday, February 22 from 6:00-8:00 PM with MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Columbus Crew Owner Clark Hunt and Crew President & GM Mark McCullers.

Along with the LIVE stream we will be taking a few questions via Twitter using the hashtag #Crew96. Make sure to follow the Columbus Crew on Twitter for further updates.

Every practice brings a new lesson, and sometimes terse words from the older players around him. But Crew rookie Ethan Finlay doesn’t mind the prodding.

“It’s challenging,” the 10th pick in this year's SuperDraft said to MLSsoccer.com this week. “I’m trying to keep my head up about everything. It is preseason. You’ve got to kind of roll with the punches.”

While much of the preseason attention in Ohio has justifiably been on the Crew’s successful pursuit of more scoring punch, adding depth at left back continues to be a problem.

When the Crew travel to Charleston, S.C., later this week for the three-match Carolina Challenge Cup, they will have another defensive trialist, head coach Robert Warzycha told MLSsoccer.com on Monday after practice in Crew Stadium.

Major League Soccer today announced the schedule for the 2012 MLS Reserve League season. Each of the 19 MLS clubs will participate in 10 matches for a total of 95 Reserve League games. The full MLS Reserve League schedule is below.
 
The league will again be divided into Eastern, Central, and Western conferences with each team playing all games within their conference. The club list for each conference can be found below.
 
Read More]]> Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:49:43 GMT http://www.thecrew.com/news/2012/02/video-ethan-finlay-skating-pros Ethan Finlay talks about why he started playing soccer, having three different head coaches at Creighton and why he decided to pursue a professional soccer career.

Read More]]> Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:11:58 GMT http://www.thecrew.com/news/2012/02/duka-named-us-u-23-national-team-roster-training-camp-frisco-texas

CHICAGO (Feb. 16, 2012) – U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team head coach Caleb Porter named a 23-player roster that includes Crew midfielder Dilly Duka as the group convenes Feb. 19 for a 10-day training camp in Frisco, Texas. The camp culminates with a match against Mexico’s U-23 National Team on Feb. 29 at FC Dallas Stadium. Kickoff is set for 10 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on Univision. Fans can also follow on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and via Twitter @ussoccer.

Read More]]> Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:47:40 GMT http://www.thecrew.com/news/2012/02/battered-crew-conclude-florida-swing-loss-seattle

The Columbus Crew lost 2-0 to Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday in their final preseason game in Bradenton, Fla., and will return Thursday to Ohio with some injury issues.

Midfielders Eddie Gaven (knee), Danny O’Rourke (knee), Rich Balchan (sports hernia) and Dilly Duka (ankle) did not play in the 120-minute scrimmage, and goalkeeper William Hesmer’s sprained ankle will be examined by team doctors on Friday. Hesmer sat out all three Florida games.

After going sponsorless for the 2011 season, the Columbus Crew hit the jersey sponsor trifecta on Wednesday.

Perio, Inc., based in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, will have its Barbasol shaving products name front and center on all Crew jerseys at every level beginning this year as a part of a five-year, multimillion-dollar contract.

The Crew fell to the Seattle Sounders, 2-0, Wednesday in a hotly contested preseason match at IMG Fields in Bradenton, Fla. Fredy Montero and Cordell Cato tallied for Seattle in a match played in two 45-minute and one 30-minute periods.

Seattle defenders Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Amadou Sanyang, as well as Crew midfielder Bernardo Anor, all received red cards during the match. Being a preseason match, however, the teams were permitted to substitute for the ejected players.

Read More]]> Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:03:45 GMT http://www.thecrew.com/news/2012/02/crew-and-barbasol-strike-jersey-partnership

The Columbus Crew and Perio, Inc. announced today a major, long-term partnership that positions the Barbasol brand as the new jersey partner of Ohio’s Major League Soccer club. Through the strategic partnership, the Barbasol wordmark will have prominent placement on the front of all Crew jerseys starting this season. Per club policy, financial terms of the five-year deal were not disclosed.
 
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