Ohio well represented at MLS Cup

COLUMBUS -- No matter the outcome of Sunday's MLS Cup in Carson, Calif., a player from the Columbus area will be on the winning side.

That's because Columbus Crew midfielder Danny O'Rourke and defender Chris Leitch of the New York Red Bulls will be in their respective lineups with the championship at stake.

O'Rourke, 25, is from the Columbus suburb of Worthington. He won the 2004 MAC Hermann Trophy as the best college player and led Indiana to national titles in 2003 and '04. Leitch, 29, was Ohio's prep player of the year in 1997 at Pickerington High School just outside Columbus and helped North Carolina win the 2001 NCAA title.

"He's a good guy," O'Rourke said of Leitch. "I was a freshman and he was a senior in high school and college when we played. Any other game I'd wish him the best."

Actually, O'Rourke is better friends with another Central Ohio product, injured Red Bulls midfielder Seth Stammler from nearby Gahanna. Stammler has been with New York since being drafted out of Maryland in 2004.

"We hang out together when he's in town," O'Rourke said.

The two got to know each other better when O'Rourke spent the 2006 season with New York. In a strange twist, he and Leitch missed playing together. Leitch played 13 games for the Crew in 2002 before being traded to New York where he spent the next three seasons.

In 2006, as O'Rourke was heading to New York, Leitch was released and had a brief second stint with the hometown Crew. A year later, Leitch signed a free agent contract with New York while O'Rourke went to Toronto in the expansion draft before being acquired by the Crew.

"It's kind of neat we have several players from Columbus playing for the MLS Cup," O'Rourke said. "It shows the impact the Crew has had on soccer in the area. We all went to their games growing up. But right now my focus is on winning for the organization and the city."

The Crew have two other former New York players in defender Ezra Hendrickson (1997) and midfielder Eddie Gaven, who started 113 games from 2003-06.

"There's always a little extra incentive when you go against the team you played for at one time but I'm so psyched. This is the first time I've been in an MLS final," said Gaven.

The same can be said for each organization despite being charter member of MLS from its inception in 1996.

While the Crew were the first team to clinch and won the Supporters' Shield as the best regular season team, the Red Bulls took the hard route but have the Crew to thank in some measure for qualifying in the final spot on the last day of the season.

In the penultimate game of the season, the Crew rested six starters and lost 3-1 to the Red Bulls in Giants Stadium to give New York three badly needed points. Still, it took the Crew defeating D.C. United in the last game of the season for New York to qualify as the second wild card and earn a berth as the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

From there, the Red Bulls tied Houston at home and then stunned the two-time defending MLS Cup champions 3-0 on the road to win the first-round series. The Red Bulls won their way to Carson with a 1-0 road win vs. Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

"They've made it this far which is a testament to their hard work," Crew midfielder Brad Evans said.

Meanwhile, the Crew got by Kansas City then downed Chicago 2-1 on Thursday for their first conference championship in five tries.

Columbus is 10-1-3 since Aug. 2 but that lone loss came to the Red Bulls and was the second win of the season over a Crew team that has just seven defeats in 33 regular season and playoff matches. New York beat the visiting Crew 2-0 in the second game of the season on April 5. The Crew won 3-1 at home on Sept. 18.

"We talked all year about winning season series. That's the only one we lost," Evans said.

"If anything we owe them a little payback," O'Rourke said. "We lost both times we played them there. It's going to be a difficult match. They play us hard. We're ready for a fight."

The Crew are not buying that they are the favorite.

"In a one-off final, if you had to flip a coin. It would be tough to call," midfielder Duncan Oughton said. "I'd like to think we are (favorites) but I wouldn't put odds on it."

A better bet is that the Crew know they face a stern challenge despite getting 18 more points (57-39) during the season.

"They made a statement at Houston, which was unbelievable. They fought to the end at Salt Lake. They deserve to be there," O'Rourke said. "We're not going to take them lightly."