Tuesday’s women’s U.S. Cup soccer doubleheader scheduled at Crew Stadium was canceled due to the terrorists attacks earlier that day in New York and Washington D.C.

According to Jeff Wuerth, Columbus Crew spokesman, the safety of players and fans is the number one concern for the Crew. “Although many were looking forward to the event,” he said, “we know we did what was best for everyone.”

Wuerth said the Crew Stadium employees, as well U.S. Soccer team, did not hesitate to make the decision to cancel the event.

He said Crew officials feel confident the stadium will be secure in the future, citing that the Crew Stadium had already hosted international events such as the U.S. men’s World Cup qualifier versus Mexico earlier this year.

However, he said, playing the games on Tuesday was just not the right thing to do.

Jim Morehouse, a U.S. Soccer offical, said the decision to cancel the matches was an easy one because of tragic events that occurred earlier Tuesday.

The match was to feature an opening game between Germany and Japan followed by a game between the U.S. and China.

Ticket holders for the match were given the opportunity to obtain full refunds at the points of purchase. Columbus Crew season ticket holders were given the option of having the match’s purchase amount applied to their existing accounts towards purchasing future events.

Major League Soccer also canceled the rest of their regular season and will resume action Thursday when the playoffs begin.

The Crew did decide to go through with their scheduled 2001 Family Picnic yesterday at Crew Stadium for season ticket holders.

Unlike many sporting events, including the NFL and Major League Baseball, the women’s U.S. Cup doubleheader and the rest of the MLS season was canceled instead of postponed because of time restrictions.

In a MLS press release, MLS commissioner Don Garber said, “Major League Soccer shares the grief of the nation at Tuesday’s appalling tragedy. As we all mourn, MLS believes it is appropriate to take some time to acknowledge the nation’s loss and honor the victims and heroes.”

Originally the MLS had only canceled games up to Thursday, but by the end of the week the entire rest of the regular season was canceled. Among the games canceled were the Columbus Crew home games versus the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the San Jose Earthquakes.

The Crew will return Thursday when they host the San Jose Earthquakes in round one of the MLS playoffs.