Crew Signs Gavin to Contract Extension

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.

“I love it here in Columbus, so this means a lot to me,” Gaven said. “I love the team and our fans. The past six years have been great, and hopefully we can make my next few years just as great and bring the team back to the MLS Cup final.”

A native of Hamilton, N.J., Gaven joined the Crew via a trade with New York on March 28, 2006, along with the rights to Chris Leitch, in exchange for Edson Buddle. Since then, he has appeared in 165 matches, starting 154, for a total of 13,362 minutes, with 26 goals and 19 assists. He was the club’s Most Valuable Player in 2010, when he appeared in 28 games and tallied three goals and five assists.

Gaven was instrumental in the Crew’s run to the MLS Cup, scoring the game-winning goal in the Eastern Conference Championship on Nov. 13, 2008 vs. Chicago, and assisting on another in the MLS Cup 2008 victory.

“Eddie is an extremely important part of our team, so we are very happy to reach this agreement with him,” said Crew head coach Robert Warzycha. “His versatility, composure and commitment have made him a key member of our core group of players, and getting him re-signed was absolutely a priority.”

Selected by New York in the second round (No. 12 overall) of the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, Gaven became the league’s youngest-ever player at that time. While with the MetroStars, as they were then known, he established a club record for the youngest player to score a goal (16 years, 253 days).

Gaven has earned eight caps with the U.S. National Team and also represented his country at the U23, U20 and U17 levels.