Crew re-sign D Marshall

Dec 27, 2008 - 4:47 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- The MLS champion Columbus Crew on Friday re-signed Chad Marshall, who is generally regarded as the league's best defender, to a multi-year contract.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Originally taken by Columbus with the second overall pick in the 2004 draft, the 24-year-old Marshall returned from an injury-shortened 2007 campaign to earn MLS Defender of the Year honors this past season.

The California native solidified a defense that allowed the third-fewest fewest goals in the league with 36. Marshall started 29 games for the Crew and ranked second of the team in minutes played.

"Chad was an anchor of our defense. I am a believer, although we scored a lot of goals this year, that defense wins championship and we were very good defensively in large part due to Chad," Crew president and general manager Mark McCullers said.

"It's great we're going to keep our backline together. We're going to keep the spine of our team together with the exception of (central midfielder Brad) Evans. I feel awfully good about it in terms of keeping this team together and giving us the best chance to repeat."

Marshall contributed four goals during the regular season and added two more in the playoffs.

"We have made a significant commitment to ensure that Chad remains a member of the Crew and we are very pleased to have gotten that priority accomplished," Crew technical director Brian Bliss.

"It goes without saying that he played a vital role in our championship season and re-signing him allows us to retain our core group of key contributor."