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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#006633" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="03fd6c00ddvuru.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0066FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Windber Soccer</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT> |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Windber Soccer"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Me"><U>Contact Me</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="W.I.S.L."><U>W.I.S.L.</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="W.I.S.L. Stats"><U>W.I.S.L. 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Schedule"><U>Boys' Varsity/J.V. Schedule</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boys Jr. High Roster"><U>Boys' Jr. High Roster</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boys Varsity/ J.V. Stats"><U>Boys Varsity/ J.V. Stats</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Girls Varsity / J.V. Stats"><U>Girls Varsity / J.V. Stats</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boys Jr. High Stats"><U>Boys Jr. High Stats</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boys Jr. High Schedule"><U>Boys Jr. High Schedule</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boys Varsity/ J.V. Roster"><U>Boys' Varsity/ J.V. Roster</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Girls Varsity/ J.V. Roster"><U>Girls' Varsity/ J.V. Roster</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pictures"><U>Pictures</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" TEAM TALK "><U>" TEAM TALK "</U></A></div> <div> MLS</div> <div>                                                                                         <B>Updated  11/23/08</B></div> <bR> <div> For the first time in franchise history, the <U>Columbus Crew</U> are Major League Soccer champions.</div> <div> <U>Chad Marshall</U> snapped a tie in the 52nd minute and <U>Frankie Hejduk</U> added an insurance goal 30 minutes later as the Crew recorded a 3-1 triumph over the New York Red Bulls on Sunday in the MLS Cup Final.</div> <div> League MVP <U>Guillermo Barros Schelotto</U> recorded three assists to help deliver a championship in his second season in MLS. Fittingly, the captain claimed MVP honors for the MLS Cup as well.</div> <div> Columbus cruised to the Supporters’ Shield during the regular season but did not have much success against the Red Bulls, who took two of three meetings - including a 3-1 victory at Giants Stadium on October 18 as New York was making its playoff push.</div> <div> But the Crew were up to the task when it counted. In fact, they hardly let the Red Bulls garner any momentum at all.</div> <div> After New York forward <U>John Wolyniec</U> leveled the match in the 51st minute, Columbus immediately answered and reclaimed the lead - this time for good.</div> <div> Schelotto delivered a perfect corner kick right in front of the net to Marshall, who knocked home what proved to be the game-winner. The Crew maintained control throughout the rest of the second half with an aggressive offensive mentality - and that paid off once again in the 82nd minute.</div> <div> Schelotto lofted a high lob pass to Hejduk, who scored on a header to essentially put the game out of reach, all but officially bringing the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy to Columbus.</div> <div> <U>Alejandro Moreno</U>, who led the club with nine goals this season, opened the scoring in the 31st minute Sunday. From the right side of the box, the Venezuelan forward dribbled a soft roller just past the outstretched arm of New York goalkeeper <U>Danny Cepero</U>. The ball slipped inside the left post for a 1-0 lead.</div> <div> Early in the second half, the Red Bulls answered as Wolyniec redirected <U>Dane Richards</U>’ pass with his left foot and poked it past goalkeeper <U>William Hesmer</U> to knot the game at 1-1.</div> <div> But Schelotto and company ultimately were too much for New York, as Columbus claimed the league title in its first-ever appearance in the MLS Cup final.</div> <div> It was a fitting end to what was often a dominant regular season for the Crew, who compiled 17 victories and 57 points during the season. That included a nine-game unbeaten streak that lasted more than two months before, ironically, the Red Bulls’ aforementioned 3-1 triumph in October brought it to an end.</div> <div> Schelotto posted a league-best 19 assists and added six during the postseason.</div> <div> The Crew rebounded after missing the playoffs the last three years, as they finished in sixth in the Eastern Conference each campaign. They defeated the <U>Kansas City Wizards</U>, 4-1, in their first-round aggregate series before outlasting the <U>Chicago Fire</U> and their stingy defense in the conference final.</div> <div> For the Red Bulls, the road to the title game was a lot rockier.In fact, they needed a bit of help from Columbus to even qualify for the playoffs.</div> <div> New York had a chance to clinch a spot in its regular-season finale, but dropped an unimpressive 5-2 decision to Chicago. However, the Crew’s 1-0 win over <U>D.C. United</U> delivered the fourth and final Western Conference playoff berth to the Red Bulls.</div> <div> They upset the two-time reigning champion Houston Dynamo in the first round and advanced to the MLS Cup final with a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in last weekend’s Western Conference final.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>