COLUMBUS — If the Madison girls soccer team repeats as state champions, it will do so from the newest MLS stadium downtown in the state’s capitol city.
The league has released the 2021 regular season schedule and loyal Columbus Crew fans finally got a date for the launching of what will be the greatest soccer venue in the history of human or alien kind. And expectations are high for the defending MLS CUP Champions.
“I love the schedule. Great nods to our past with the Fire closing out the historic stadium and Revs opening the new one. You can tell the schedule makers really put thought into this year’s games,” said Doug Russell, founder of Mansfield’s local Crew supporters group, Shawshank FC.
Crew Stadium’s historic first match will be Saturday, July 3, at 5 p.m. against the New England Revolution. It’s a fitting opponent considering the holiday weekend.
Other notable matches: The “Hell is Real” rivalry will be at FC Cincinnati on July 7 at 7:30 p.m. with the return leg in Columbus for a Friday night game, Aug. 27, at 6:30 p.m.
“I’m totally here for HIR on a Friday. I think it’s important to seek different days for matches especially when the league is fighting for market share,” Russell said.
The Seattle Sounders come back to Columbus on Aug. 21 for an MLS Cup rematch. The whole world remembers the glorious thrashing the Sounders took in the final, 3-0, even with Black and Gold stars Pedro Santos and Darlington Nagbe being out due to COVID-19.
The farewell home opener at the old stadium, now labeled “Historic Crew Stadium,” is slated for April 18 at 5:30 p.m.
Because the “The Massive” Crew won MLS Cup, they qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League to determine the top club in North and Central America.
The home-and-home knockout round begins Thursday, April 8 against Real Estelí F.C. of Nicaragua. The second leg will be at Historic Crew Stadium on April 15 at 8 p.m.
In honor of the new soccer stadium, a silver, special-edition jersey has been released (and don’t tell my cellmate but of course I already own it).
