Crew goalkeeper out with knee injury
Crew SC enters a game Saturday at Los Angeles FC hoping to extend its road shutout streak to four games. It will be a tough task without its starting keeper.
Zack Steffen will not travel with the team after suffering a knee injury in training Thursday, coach Gregg Berhalter said. The extent of the injury was not immediately known, and Steffen will undergo an MRI, Berhalter said.
Steffen’s absence for Saturday’s game means that backup keeper Jon Kempin is likely to start.
Regardless of Steffen’s recovery time, his absence will be significant. The 23-year-old was named Major League Soccer player of the month for May after posting five consecutive shutouts.
Steffen’s only other absences have been because of U.S. nationalteam duty. Steffen started an exhibition June 9 against France and made seven saves in Crew SC goalkeeper Zack Steffen (23), shown in a game last fall, is to have an MRI after suffering a knee injury in training Thursday. He will not travel with the team for Saturday’s game at Los Angeles FC.
a 1-1 tie in Lyon, France.
The Crew is 1-0-2 in games started by Kempin this season.
Berhalter also confirmed that defender Josh Williams, who is suffering from concussion-like symptoms, did not participate in training Thursday.
Ohio’s 10th District Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal by Major League Soccer and Precourt Sports Ventures in a lawsuit by Ohio and Columbus against the league and the Crew operating group.
Thursday’s dismissal comes a little more than a month after PSV and MLS appealed an order by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey M. Brown. They had argued that the order, which paused the lawsuit for 90 days, amounted to an
injunction preventing the team’s ability to potentially relocate to Austin, Texas, for next season.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein have held that because the order was not final, it could not be appealed. The appellate court agreed.
“Appellants have not met that burden with respect to the trial court’s May 8 order,” the 10-page decision concluded. “We do not have a final appealable order in the matter, appellees’ motion to dismiss is granted, and this appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.”
The court also argued that PSV and MLS overstated the impact of the order on relocation efforts, indicating it is instead the six-month notice period spelled out in state law — the basis for the lawsuit — that might affect or delay a move.
In separate statements, Klein and DeWine approved of the ruling. Columbus Partnership CEO Alex Fischer declined to comment and said he is under a nondisclosure agreement and participating in a valuation of the team.
An MLS spokesperson expressed disappointment with the ruling but added that, “as we have publicly stated, Major League Soccer has been engaged in discussions during the ongoing lawsuit with potential local investors and business leaders about a plan to keep MLS in Columbus. We will continue these discussions in an effort to determine whether there is a viable plan for MLS to be successful in Columbus.”