Columbus Crew

The Columbus Crew have announced the framework of its 2012 preseason schedule, which includes trips to Bradenton, Fla. and Charleston, S.C. Training begins this Thursday, Jan. 19, at 10 a.m., under head coach Robert Warzycha and his staff at the SuperKick/TeamZone facility in Lewis Center (409 Orangepointe Drive).

The Columbus Crew bolstered its roster with three selections at the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, presented by adidas, Thursday in Kansas City. With its first-round pick (No. 10 overall), the Black & Gold selected 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy finalist and Creighton University graduate Ethan Finlay. The Crew then selected University of South Florida defender Aubrey Perry (No. 26 overall) and University of Central Florida midfielder Kevan George (No. 29) in the second round.

The Columbus Crew announced this week that it has signed Chilean midfielder Milovan Mirosevic to a multi-year contract, pending receipt of his P-1 work visa. Per club and league policy, no further terms of the deal were disclosed.

The Columbus Crew has announced its schedule for the 2012 Major League Soccer regular season, which has it opening on the road Saturday, March 10, against the Colorado Rapids. Following a bye week, the Black & Gold will then host the first home match of its 17th season, FirstKick 2012, on Saturday, March 24, when the expansion Montreal Impact visits Crew Stadium for the first time.

The Columbus Crew announced today that it has exercised the contract options on 14 players from its 2011 roster, while six others were already under contract for next year, giving the club a roster that currently features 20 players.

The Columbus Crew announced today that it has signed veteran midfielder Eddie Gaven to a multi-year contract extension. Per club and league policy, no further terms of the deal were disclosed.

At just 25 years of age, Gaven is already coming off his ninth MLS season overall, and sixth with the Crew. Despite missing eight games with an ankle injury in 2011, he scored five goals and added an assist in 26 games.

U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has named a squad of 22 players – including Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers – to prepare for the upcoming friendlies against France and Slovenia. The U.S. will first face France on Nov. 11 in Paris. Kickoff at the famed Stade de France is set for 3 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2, ESPN3, Univision and Univision.com.

The Columbus Crew suffered a season-ending 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids on Thursday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in a Wild Card game to determine who would advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Omar Cummings scored the lone goal, assisted by Kosuke Kimura and Brian Mullan.

The Colorado Rapids will host the Crew in a single-elimination Wild Card match in the MLS Cup Playoffs this Thursday, October 27, at 10 p.m. ET at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The game will be televised live regionally on ONN.

The playoff-bound Columbus Crew (13-13-8, 47 pts.) closed the 2011 regular season with a 3-2 loss at the hands of the Chicago Fire (9-9-16, 43 pts.), after mounting a late rally at TOYOTA Park in Bridgeview, Ill., on Saturday night.