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The official start of the 2020 seasonal slate for Columbus Crew SC was announced on Tuesday as the club will be a preseason participant in the 2020 Visit Tucson Sun Cup in Arizona. The tournament will feature four additional Major League Soccer clubs in the Houston Dynamo, the New York Red Bulls, Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake. United Soccer League Championship side Phoenix Rising FC will be the sixth team to feature. The tournament will run from Feb. 15-22.
As part of their inclusion in the tournament, the Black & Gold will play three matches. Their first will kickoff on opening night against Phoenix Rising on Feb. 15 at 9:00 p.m. ET in Scottsdale, Arizoona at Casino Arizona Field. Columbus will follow that game by facing the Red Bulls four days later on Feb. 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET in Tucson, Arizona at Kino North Stadium. The Crew will conclude its preseason tournament with a third and final match against the Houston Dynamo on Feb. 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET again in Tucson at Kino North Stadium.
While it has not been announced yet, there are plans in place to have each of these preseason matches streamed, Massive Report has learned. Details of how to watch the streams are expected to be released closer to the start of the Visit Tucson Sun Cup.
The tournament announced that the winner of the Visit Tucson Sun Cup will be determined by the total points earned over three matches. Teams will follow the tradition method of three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss.
In 2019, Columbus fell 2-0 away from home to the Dynamo but played significantly better against the Red Bulls. In two matches versus their longtime Eastern Conference rival, the Black & Gold drew 1-1 on the opening day of 2019 but followed up with a 3-2 victory away from home to conclude a busy July slate.
In addition, head coach Caleb Porter and the Black & Gold will look to build upon a strong 2019 preseason where they finished unbeaten in a total of six preseason friendlies. Their most notable was a 3-0 victory against FC Cincinnati to close out last year’s run of matches before the start of the regular season.
FC Tucson announced the full schedule of the 2020 Visit Tucson Sun Cup schedule on FCTucson.com and can purchase tickets on their website as well.