2008 Columbus Crew season

Columbus Crew

2008 season
Investor-operators	Clark Hunt Dan Hunt Lamar Hunt Jr. Sharron Hunt Munson Ron Pizzuti and a group of local investors
Head Coach	Sigi Schmid
Stadium	Columbus Crew Stadium
Major League Soccer	Conference: 1st Overall: 1st
MLS Cup Playoffs	Eastern Conference Champions MLS Cup Champions
U.S. Open Cup	Qualification Finals
Trillium Cup	Champions (3–1)
MLS Reserve League	10th Place
Top goalscorer	League: Alejandro Moreno (9) All: Alejandro Moreno (10)
Highest home attendance	22,685 (10/4 v. LA)
Lowest home attendance	4,816(5/24 v. RSL)
Average home league attendance	14,422 (63.9%)
Biggest win	CLB 4–0 NE (9/6)
Biggest defeat	NY 2-0 CLB (4/5) CHV 2-0 CLB (5/31) CLB 0-2 SJ (6/7) RSL 2-0 CLB (7/12) HOU 2-0 CLB (8/2) NY 3-1 CLB (10/18)
Home colors Away colors

The 2008 Columbus Crew season was the club's 13th season of existence and their 13th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of soccer in the United States and Canada. The first match of the season was on March 29 against Toronto FC. It was the third season under head coach Sigi Schmid. Columbus also competed in the U.S. Open Cup and the MLS Cup Playoffs.

The Crew's rebuilding under Sigi Schmid paid immense dividends in 2008, as the team won the Supporters Shield and their first MLS Cup championship. Argentine midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto won the league MVP award, capping an incredible season with his three-assist performance in the championship game.

As of match played November 23, 2008

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  USA William Hesmer 2 DF  USA Frankie Hejduk (captain) 3 DF  USA Brad Evans 4 DF  ARG Gino Padula (INT) 5 DF  USA Danny O'Rourke 6 DF  ENG Andy Iro (INT) 7 FW  ARG Guillermo Barros Schelotto (INT) 8 DF  NZL Duncan Oughton 9 FW  USA Jason Garey 10 FW  VEN Alejandro Moreno 11 FW  USA Pat Noonan 12 MF  USA Eddie Gaven 13 DF  USA Andrew Peterson (DEV) 14 DF  USA Chad Marshall 15 MF  BRA Stefani Miglioranzi 16 MF  USA Brian Carroll 17 MF  NGA Emmanuel Ekpo (INT)

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 GK  USA Kenny Schoeni (DEV) 19 DF  USA Robbie Rogers (DEV) 20 MF  USA Brian Plotkin (DEV) 22 MF  SCO Adam Moffat (INT; DEV) 23 DF  VIN Ezra Hendrickson 24 DF  USA Jed Zayner (GA; DEV) 25 FW  USA George Josten (DEV) 26 FW  USA Cory Elenio (DEV) 27 DF  USA Ryan Junge (DEV) 29 FW  HAI Ricardo Pierre-Louis (INT; DEV) 30 GK  USA Andy Gruenebaum 31 MF  USA Kevin Burns (DEV) 32 MF  USA Steven Lenhart (DEV) 37 MF  ZIM Stanley Nyazamba (INT; DEV)

Position	Staff
President/General Manager	Mark McCullers
Technical Director	Brian Bliss
Head Coach	Sigi Schmid
Assistant Coach	Robert Warzycha
Assistant Coach	Mike Lapper
Assistant Coach	Vadim Kirillov
Strength and Conditioning Coach	Steve Tashjian
Head Trainer	Jason Mathews
Assistant Trainer	Skylar Richards
Team Manager	Tucker Walther
Equipment Manager	Rusty Wummel

The Crew started preseason in Columbus and played games in Florida, California and England before returning to Ohio. The Crew brought in the following trialists during training camp: Osvaldo Alonso, Mamadou Bah, Sandro, Álvaro Pires, Lars Ricken, Roman Friedli and Michael Ricketts.

Unsigned draft picks Ryan Miller, Zola Short, Ricardo Pierre-Louis, Lukasz Tumicz, Cory Elenio, Steven Lenhart and George Josten also joined the team for preseason.

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Major League Soccer	March 29, 2008	October 26, 2008	Matchday 1	Winner	30	17	6	7	50	36	+14	056.67
MLS Cup Playoffs	November 1, 2008	November 23, 2008	Conference Semifinals	Winners	4	3	1	0	8	3	+5	075.00
U.S. Open Cup	May 27, 2008	June 10, 2008	Qualification Semifinals	Qualification Finals	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	050.00
Total					36	21	7	8	62	42	+20	058.33

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46
3	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43
4	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	10	9	37	39	−2	42
5	New York Red Bulls	30	10	11	9	42	48	−6	39

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew (C, S)	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	CONCACAF Champions League
2	Houston Dynamo	30	13	5	12	45	32	+13	51
3	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46	North American SuperLiga
4	Chivas USA	30	12	11	7	40	41	−1	43
5	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
30	57	17	7	6	50	36	+14	11	2	2	30	15	+15	6	5	4	20	21	−1

Pos	Club	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Houston Dynamo Reserves (C)	12	9	1	2	33	15	+18	29
2	Kansas City Wizards Reserves	11	8	1	2	31	13	+18	26
3	Real Salt Lake Reserves	12	7	3	2	31	24	+7	23
4	Chicago Fire Reserves	12	5	5	2	25	22	+3	17
5	D.C. United Reserves	10	5	4	1	19	21	−2	16
5	Toronto FC Reserves	10	5	4	1	12	19	−7	16
7	Chivas USA Reserves	12	4	5	3	19	21	−2	15
7	San Jose Earthquakes Reserves	12	4	5	3	18	22	−4	15
7	FC Dallas Reserves	12	4	5	3	19	24	−5	15
10	Columbus Crew Reserves	11	4	5	2	13	13	0	14
11	Colorado Rapids Reserves	12	4	6	2	16	21	−5	14
12	New York Red Bulls Reserves	12	3	7	2	16	23	−7	11
13	New England Revolution Reserves	10	2	6	2	11	16	−5	8
14	Los Angeles Galaxy Reserves	12	1	8	3	15	23	−8	6

Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		MLS		MLS Cup Playoffs		U.S. Open Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	USA	William Hesmer	34	0	29+0	0	4+0	0	1+0	0
2	DF	USA	Frankie Hejduk	28	2	24+0	1	4+0	1	0+0	0
3	DF	USA	Brad Evans	32	6	18+8	5	4+0	1	1+1	0
4	DF	ARG	Gino Padula	18	0	14+0	0	4+0	0	0+0	0
5	DF	USA	Danny O'Rourke	34	0	28+0	0	4+0	0	2+0	0
6	DF	ENG	Andy Iro	22	1	11+7	1	0+3	0	1+0	0
7	FW	ARG	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	31	7	27+0	7	4+0	0	0+0	0
8	DF	NZL	Duncan Oughton	6	0	1+4	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
9	FW	USA	Jason Garey	11	4	0+10	3	0+0	0	0+1	1
10	FW	VEN	Alejandro Moreno	33	10	27+0	9	4+0	1	2+0	0
11	FW	USA	Pat Noonan	11	1	6+5	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
12	MF	USA	Eddie Gaven	30	4	22+2	3	4+0	1	1+1	0
13	DF	USA	Andrew Peterson	3	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+2	0
14	DF	USA	Chad Marshall	34	6	29+0	4	4+0	2	1+0	0
15	MF	BRA	Stefani Miglioranzi	14	0	7+7	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
16	MF	USA	Brian Carroll	36	1	30+0	1	4+0	0	2+0	0
17	MF	NGA	Emmanuel Ekpo	22	3	7+10	2	0+3	0	2+0	1
18	GK	USA	Kenny Schoeni	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
19	DF	USA	Robbie Rogers	33	8	26+1	6	4+0	1	1+1	1
20	MF	USA	Brian Plotkin	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
22	MF	SCO	Adam Moffat	8	2	6+1	2	0+0	0	1+0	0
23	FW	VIN	Ezra Hendrickson	14	0	7+6	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
24	DF	USA	Jed Zayner	8	0	2+4	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
25	FW	USA	George Josten	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
26	MF	USA	Cory Elenio	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
27	DF	USA	Ryan Junge	7	0	3+2	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
29	FW	HAI	Ricardo Pierre-Louis	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
30	GK	USA	Andy Gruenebaum	2	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
31	MF	USA	Kevin Burns	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
32	FW	USA	Steven Lenhart	14	6	3+7	4	0+2	1	2+0	1
37	MF	ZIM	Stanley Nyazamba	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
			Own Goal	0	1	-	1	-	0	-	0
Players who left Columbus during the season:
4	DF	USA	Leonard Griffin	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
11	FW	BRA	Guilherme Só	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
20	FW	ARG	Nicolás Hernández	5	0	1+4	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
21	DF	USA	Ryan Miller	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS		MLS Playoffs		U.S. Open Cup		Total
1	GK	William Hesmer	3	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
2	DF	Frankie Hejduk	9	1	1	0	0	0	10	1
3	MF	Brad Evans	3	1	1	0	0	0	4	1
4	DF	Gino Padula	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	0
5	DF	Danny O'Rourke	5	1	1	0	0	0	6	1
6	DF	Andy Iro	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
7	FW	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
8	DF	Duncan Oughton	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
9	FW	Jason Garey	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
10	FW	Alejandro Moreno	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
11	FW	Pat Noonan	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
12	MF	Eddie Gaven	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
13	MF	Andrew Peterson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	DF	Chad Marshall	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
15	MF	Stefani Miglioranzi	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
16	MF	Brian Carroll	5	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
17	MF	Emmanuel Ekpo	1	0	1	0	1	0	3	0
18	GK	Kenny Schoeni	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	MF	Robbie Rogers	2	0	1	0	1	0	4	0
20	MF	Brian Plotkin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF	Adam Moffat	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
23	DF	Ezra Hendrickson	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
24	DF	Jed Zayner	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
25	FW	George Josten	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF	Cory Elenio	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	DF	Ryan Junge	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	FW	Ricardo Pierre-Louis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	GK	Andy Gruenebaum	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	MF	Kevin Burns	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	FW	Steven Lenhart	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
37	MF	Stanley Nyazamba	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left Columbus during the season:
4	DF	Leonard Griffin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW	Guilherme Só	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	FW	Nicolás Hernández	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	DF	Ryan Miller	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

No.	Name	MLS	MLS Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup	Total	Games Played
		1	William Hesmer	10	1	0	11	34
18	Kenny Schoeni	0	0	0	0	0
30	Andy Gruenebaum	0	0	1	1	2

Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		MLS Reserve League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
-	DF	USA	Eric Brunner	3	0	1+2	0
17	MF	NGA	Emmanuel Ekpo	5	0	5+0	0
26	MF	USA	Cory Elenio	7	3	5+2	3
3	DF	USA	Brad Evans	3	0	3+0	0
9	FW	USA	Jason Garey	11	5	10+1	5
12	MF	USA	Eddie Gaven	0	0	0+0	0
-	MF	USA	Steve Gillespie	1	0	0+1	0
30	GK	USA	Andy Gruenebaum	7	0	7+0	0
23	FW	VIN	Ezra Hendrickson	4	0	4+0	0
20	FW	ARG	Nicolás Hernández	5	0	4+1	0
-	MF	USA	Eddie Hertsenberg	1	0	0+1	0
-	FW	USA	Jason Hotchkin	0	0	0+0	0
6	DF	ENG	Andy Iro	7	0	7+0	0
25	FW	USA	George Josten	11	1	8+3	1
27	DF	USA	Ryan Junge	7	0	5+2	0
-	FW	USA	Ryan Kustos	1	0	0+1	0
-	GK	USA	Casey Latchem	0	0	0+0	0
32	FW	USA	Steven Lenhart	9	1	7+2	1
28	DF	USA	Devon McKenney	5	0	4+1	0
15	MF	BRA	Stefani Miglioranzi	5	0	5+0	0
21	DF	USA	Ryan Miller	7	0	4+3	0
22	MF	SCO	Adam Moffat	1	0	1+0	0
34	MF	USA	Craig Neal	3	0	0+3	0
37	MF	ZIM	Stanley Nyazamba	4	0	4+0	0
8	DF	NZL	Duncan Oughton	8	0	8+0	0
4	DF	ARG	Gino Padula	2	0	2+0	0
13	DF	USA	Andrew Peterson	11	2	10+1	2
29	FW	HAI	Ricardo Pierre-Louis	5	0	2+3	0
20	MF	USA	Brian Plotkin	3	0	1+2	0
18	GK	USA	Kenny Schoeni	6	0	4+2	0
11	FW	BRA	Guilherme Só	4	0	1+3	0
-	MF	USA	Steve Traeger	1	0	0+1	0
24	DF	USA	Jed Zayner	10	0	10+0	0
			Own Goal	0	1	-	1

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS Reserve League		Total
-	DF	Eric Brunner	1	0	1	0
17	MF	Emmanuel Ekpo	0	0	0	0
26	MF	Cory Elenio	0	0	0	0
3	MF	Brad Evans	2	0	2	0
9	FW	Jason Garey	0	0	0	0
12	MF	Eddie Gaven	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Steve Gillespie	0	0	0	0
30	GK	Andy Gruenebaum	0	0	0	0
23	DF	Ezra Hendrickson	0	0	0	0
20	FW	Nicolás Hernández	1	0	1	0
-	MF	Eddie Hertsenberg	0	0	0	0
-	FW	Jason Hotchkin	0	0	0	0
6	DF	Andy Iro	0	0	0	0
25	FW	George Josten	0	0	0	0
27	DF	Ryan Junge	0	0	0	0
-	FW	Ryan Kustos	0	0	0	0
-	GK	Casey Latchem	0	0	0	0
32	FW	Steven Lenhart	0	0	0	0
28	DF	Devon McKenney	0	0	0	0
15	MF	Stefani Miglioranzi	1	0	1	0
21	DF	Ryan Miller	0	0	0	0
22	MF	Adam Moffat	0	0	0	0
34	MF	Craig Neal	0	0	0	0
37	MF	Stanley Nyazamba	0	0	0	0
8	DF	Duncan Oughton	1	0	1	0
4	DF	Gino Padula	0	0	0	0
13	MF	Andrew Peterson	0	0	0	0
29	FW	Ricardo Pierre-Louis	0	0	0	0
20	MF	Brian Plotkin	0	0	0	0
18	GK	Kenny Schoeni	0	0	0	0
11	FW	Guilherme Só	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Steve Traeger	0	0	0	0
24	DF	Jed Zayner	2	0	2	0

No.	Name	MLS Reserve League	Total	Games Played
30	Andy Gruenebaum	0	0	7
-	Casey Latchem	0	0	0
18	Kenny Schoeni	2	2	6

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
DF	Andy Iro	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	Drafted in round 1 of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft	January 18, 2008	[2]
FW	Nicolás Hernández	Colorado Rapids	Traded for Tim Ward and a third round draft pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft	February 27, 2008	[3]
MF	Kevin Burns	Rochester Raging Rhinos	Drafted in round 4 of the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft. Signed to a developmental contract.	March 20, 2008	[4]
FW	George Josten	Michigan Bucks	Drafted in round 2 of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. Signed to a developmental contract.	March 27, 2008	[2][5]
DF	Ryan Miller	Indiana Invaders	Drafted in round 3 of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. Signed to a developmental contract.	March 27, 2008	[2][5]
FW	Steven Lenhart	Southern California Seahorses	Drafted in round 4 of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. Signed to a developmental contract.	March 27, 2008	[2][5]
GK	Kenny Schoeni	MLS Pool	Signed to a developmental contract.	March 20, 2008	[4]
DF	Gino Padula	Montpellier HSC	Signed via discovery	March 24, 2008	[6]
FW	Guilherme Só	Brasil de Pelotas	Signed via discovery	March 28, 2008	[7]
FW	Emmanuel Ekpo	Enyimba International	Signed via discovery	April 15, 2008	[8]
MF	Cory Elenio	Evansville Purple Aces	Drafted in round 2 of the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft. Signed to a developmental contract.	May 23, 2008	[9]
FW	Ricardo Pierre-Louis	Cape Cod Crusaders	Drafted in round 2 of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft	June 5, 2008	[2][10]
FW	Pat Noonan	New England Revolution	Traded for allocation money, a first round draft pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, and allocation order	August 7, 2008	[11]
MF	Brian Plotkin	Chicago Fire	Signed to a developmental contract.	August 22, 2008	[12]
MF	Stanley Nyazamba	Richmond Kickers	Signed via discovery. Signed to a developmental contract.	September 16, 2008	[13]

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
DF	Marcos González	Club Deportivo Universidad Católica	Transfer, terms undisclosed	January 24, 2008	[14]
MF	Brandon Moss	Retired		January 25, 2008	[15]
FW	Tim Ward	Colorado Rapids	Traded with a third round draft pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft for Nicolás Hernández	February 27, 2008	[3]
DF	Andrei Pacheco	W Connection	Contract expired	March 3, 2008	[16]
DF	Rusty Pierce	Wilmington Hammerheads	Contract expired	March 3, 2008	[16]
MF	Jacob Thomas	Retired	Contract expired	March 3, 2008	[16]
DF	Ricardo Virtuoso	SC Zofingen	Contract expired	March 3, 2008	[16]
DF	Leonard Griffin	Portland Timbers	Placed on waivers	April 2, 2008
FW	Nicolás Hernández	Liga Deportiva Alajuelense	Placed on waivers	June 28, 2008	[17]
FW	Guilherme Só	Retired	Placed on waivers	June 28, 2008	[17]
DF	Ryan Miller	D.C. United	Placed on waivers	September 12, 2008	[18]
DF	Brad Evans	Seattle Sounders FC	Drafted 10th in the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft	November 26, 2008	[19]
FW	George Josten	Portland Timbers	Placed on waivers	November 26, 2008	[20]
DF	Ryan Junge	Omaha Vipers	Placed on waivers	November 26, 2008	[20]
DF	Andrew Peterson	Minnesota Thunder	Placed on waivers	November 26, 2008	[20]
FW	Ricardo Pierre-Louis	Cleveland City Stars	Placed on waivers	November 26, 2008	[20]
MF	Brian Plotkin	Carolina RailHawks	Placed on waivers	November 26, 2008	[20]
MF	Kevin Burns	Columbus Crew	Placed on waivers	November 26, 2008	[20]

Pos.	Player	Loanee club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source
DF	Ryan Miller	Cleveland City Stars				[21]
FW	George Josten	Cleveland City Stars				[21]
DF	Jed Zayner	Cleveland City Stars				[21]

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. The picks for the Columbus Crew are listed below:

2008 Columbus Crew SuperDraft Picks[22]
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	6	Andy Iro	DF	UC Santa Barbara
2	20	George Josten	FW	Gonzaga
2	22	Ricardo Pierre-Louis	FW	Lee
3	31	Ryan Miller	DF	Notre Dame
4	48	Steven Lenhart	FW	Azusa Pacific

2008 Columbus Crew Supplemental Draft Picks[23]
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	6	Billy Chiles	GK	Towson
2	20	Cory Elenio	FW	Evansville
3	34	Lukasz Tumicz	FW	Rhode Island
3	38	Zola Short	DF	Virginia