The Columbus Crew opens play in its 18th season in Major League Soccer as the team travels to face Chivas USA on Saturday, March 2 at 10:30 p.m. ET at The Home Depot Center. FOX Sports Ohio is set to televise the game regionally, with Dwight Burgess and Duncan Oughton on the call. Neil Sika is calling the action for 610 AM WTVN, with Carlos Cordovoa behind the microphone for La Mega 103.1 FM.
After finishing one point shy of a playoff berth in 2012, Saturday’s opening match marks not only a rebirth for the Black & Gold, but also the earliest start to a season in club history, surpassing the previous earliest start date – last year’s opening match on March 10, 2012 at Colorado – by eight days.
The Black & Gold begin the campaign on the road for the second-consecutive year and have secured points in 10 of the first 17 season-opening matches since 1996. Columbus has a 6-7-4 overall record in the first 90 minutes of regular-season action.
The match will be the first and only meeting between the two teams this season. Chivas USA holds a slight all-time series lead (6-5-4) since the two teams first squared off in 2005. Crew forward Justin Meram scored an 89th minute goal and goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum stopped five shots en route to a 1-0 shutout win against the Goats when the two teams last met on September 19, 2012 at Crew Stadium.
Midseason additions Frederico Higuain and Jairo Arrieta combined for 14 goals and 11 assists in just 18 games for the Crew in 2012. The two forwards – who accounted for 25 of the Crew’s 44 goals last year – return to a roster that saw significant overhaul in the offseason. Several new additions are set to bolster the Crew’s ranks, including Brazilian centerback Glauber, MLS veteran forward Dominic Oduro and central midfielders Matias Sanchez and Agustin Viana. After a breakout performance in his first season as the club’s primary ‘keeper, Gruenebaum returns to build off of his 2012 League-leading saves total (124), which earned him a finalist nod for Major League Soccer’s Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year.
Saturday’s match is the first of two road contests to open the season as the Black & Gold play at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on March 9 before the team’s home-opener at Crew Stadium on March 16 against the 2012 Supporters Shield Winners, the San Jose Earthquakes. Each of the League’s 19 clubs play 34 matches – 17 at home and 17 away – over the course of 35 weeks. Within each conference, all clubs play the same number of in-conference and out-of-conference games. A full regular-season broadcast schedule can be found via TheCrew.com/schedule.
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