2015 Columbus Crew SC season

Columbus Crew SC

2015 season
Investor-operators	Anthony Precourt
Head Coach	Gregg Berhalter
Stadium	MAPFRE Stadium
Major League Soccer	Conference: 2nd Overall: 4th
MLS Cup Playoffs	Eastern Conference Champions
U.S. Open Cup	Round of 16
Trillium Cup	Winners (7 - 3)
Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup	Runners-up (0 - 3)
ATX Pro Challenge	3rd Place
IMG Suncoast Pro Classic	3rd Place
Top goalscorer	League: Kei Kamara (22) All: Kei Kamara (25)
Highest home attendance	22,719 (9/26 v. POR)
Lowest home attendance	10,302 (3/22 v. NY)
Average home league attendance	17,155 (85.9%)
Biggest win	CLB 5–0 DC (10/25)
Biggest defeat	PHI 3-0 CLB (6/3) MTL 3-0 CLB (7/11) ORL 5-2 CLB (8/1) CLB 3–0 DAL (9/6)
Home colors Away colors

The 2015 Columbus Crew SC season was the club's 20th season of existence and their 20th 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 7 against Houston Dynamo. It was the second season under head coach Gregg Berhalter. The Crew's USL Pro affiliate this season was Austin Aztex.^[1]

In coach Berhalter's second season, he led the club to an MLS Cup appearance that resulted in a loss to the Portland Timbers. This season also saw returning striker Kei Kamara contend for the league's golden boot.

As of August 28, 2015^[2]

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 Steve Clark 2 DF  USA Tyson Wahl 3 DF  USA Chris Klute 4 DF  USA Michael Parkhurst (Captain) 5 DF  AUT Emanuel Pogatetz (INT) 6 MF  CMR Tony Tchani 7 MF  ISL Kristinn Steindórsson (INT) 8 MF  ERI Mohammed Saeid (INT) 9 FW  IRQ Justin Meram 10 FW  ARG Federico Higuaín (DP) 11 MF  COD Cedrick Mabwati (INT) 12 MF  TRI Kevan George (SUP) 13 MF  USA Ethan Finlay 14 DF  CRC Waylon Francis (INT)

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  USA Hector Jiménez 17 FW  USA Ben Speas (HGP) 18 FW  USA Aaron Schoenfeld (SUP) 20 MF  USA Wil Trapp (HGP) 21 DF  USA Chad Barson (HGP; SUP) 22 DF  ARG Gastón Sauro (INT) 23 FW  SLE Kei Kamara 25 DF  GHA Harrison Afful (INT) 26 MF  USA Ben Swanson (HGP; SUP) 28 GK  USA Matt Lampson (HGP; SUP) 30 FW  USA Jack McInerney 41 GK  USA Brad Stuver (SUP)

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 19 MF  USA Romain Gall (SUP) (on loan to Austin Aztex) 24 DF  JAM Sergio Campbell (INT; SUP) (on loan to Austin Aztex)

Position	Staff
President, Precourt Sports Ventures	Dave Greeley
President of Business Operations	Andy Loughnane
Director of Soccer Operations	Asher Mendelsohn
Sporting Director/Head Coach	Gregg Berhalter
Assistant Coach	Sixten Boström
Assistant Coach	Pat Onstad
Assistant Coach	Josh Wolff
High Performance Director	Steve Tashjian
Strength/Conditioning Coach	Brook Hamilton
Director of Team Operations	Tucker Walther
Equipment Manager	John Velasco
Team Operations Assistant	Ron Meadors
Head Athletic Trainer	Craig Devine
Assistant Trainer	Jon MacGregor

The Crew started preseason in Columbus and played games in Texas and Florida before returning to Ohio.

Unsigned draft picks Sergio Campbell, Sagi Lev-Ari, Tomas Gomez and Kalen Ryden 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 7, 2015	October 25, 2015	Matchday 1	4th	34	15	8	11	58	53	+5	044.12
MLS Cup Playoffs	November 1, 2015	December 6, 2015	Conference Semifinals	Eastern Conference Champions	5	2	0	3	7	6	+1	040.00
U.S. Open Cup	June 17, 2015	June 30, 2015	Fourth Round	Round of 16	2	1	0	1	3	3	+0	050.00
Total					41	18	8	15	68	62	+6	043.90

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	New York Red Bulls	34	18	10	6	62	43	+19	60	MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2	Columbus Crew	34	15	11	8	58	53	+5	53
3	Montreal Impact	34	15	13	6	48	44	+4	51	MLS Cup Knockout Round
4	D.C. United	34	15	13	6	43	45	−2	51
5	New England Revolution	34	14	12	8	48	47	+1	50

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
2	FC Dallas	34	18	10	6	52	39	+13	60	CONCACAF Champions League
3	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	34	16	13	5	45	36	+9	53
4	Columbus Crew	34	15	11	8	58	53	+5	53
5	Portland Timbers (C)	34	15	11	8	41	39	+2	53	CONCACAF Champions League
6	Seattle Sounders FC	34	15	13	6	44	36	+8	51

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
34	53	15	11	8	58	53	+5	9	4	4	38	25	+13	6	7	4	20	28	−8

Last updated: 18 Nov 2015
Source: Columbus Crew
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

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	Steve Clark	39	0	34+0	0	5+0	0	0+0	0
2	DF	USA	Tyson Wahl	23	0	14+4	0	1+2	0	2+0	0
3	DF	USA	Chris Klute	17	0	8+6	0	0+2	0	1+0	0
4	DF	USA	Michael Parkhurst	38	0	33+0	0	5+0	0	0+0	0
5	DF	AUT	Emanuel Pogatetz	21	0	16+3	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
6	MF	CMR	Tony Tchani	39	5	32+0	5	5+0	0	2+0	0
7	MF	ISL	Kristinn Steindórsson	23	0	4+17	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
8	MF	ERI	Mohammed Saeid	21	7	18+0	7	0+2	0	0+1	0
9	FW	IRQ	Justin Meram	38	7	28+3	6	5+0	1	0+2	0
10	FW	ARG	Federico Higuaín	37	9	32+0	8	5+0	1	0+0	0
11	MF	COD	Cedrick Mabwati	13	1	1+8	1	0+4	0	0+0	0
12	MF	TRI	Kevan George	10	0	2+4	0	0+2	0	2+0	0
13	MF	USA	Ethan Finlay	40	14	34+0	12	5+0	1	1+0	1
14	DF	CRC	Waylon Francis	33	0	28+0	0	5+0	0	0+0	0
16	MF	USA	Hector Jiménez	24	0	12+11	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
17	FW	USA	Ben Speas	10	0	2+6	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
18	FW	USA	Aaron Schoenfeld	19	1	1+16	1	0+0	0	1+1	0
19	MF	USA	Romain Gall	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
20	MF	USA	Wil Trapp	25	0	17+2	0	5+0	0	0+1	0
21	DF	USA	Chad Barson	12	0	4+6	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
22	DF	ARG	Gastón Sauro	8	0	4+0	0	4+0	0	0+0	0
23	FW	SLE	Kei Kamara	37	26	31+1	22	5+0	4	0+0	0
24	DF	JAM	Sergio Campbell	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
25	DF	GHA	Harrison Afful	14	0	9+0	0	5+0	0	0+0	0
26	DF	USA	Ben Swanson	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
28	GK	USA	Matt Lampson	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
30	FW	USA	Jack McInerney	7	2	2+3	2	0+2	0	0+0	0
41	GK	USA	Brad Stuver	2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
			Own Goal	0	1	-	1	-	0	-	0
Players who left Columbus during the season:
22	DF	USA	Kalen Ryden	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
25	FW	ISR	Sagi Lev-Ari	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
27	DF	ARG	Hernán Grana	7	0	7+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
29	FW	USA	Adam Bedell	2	2	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	2

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS		MLS Cup Playoffs		U.S. Open Cup		Total
1	GK	Steve Clark	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
2	DF	Tyson Wahl	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
3	DF	Chris Klute	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
4	DF	Michael Parkhurst	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
5	DF	Emanuel Pogatetz	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
6	MF	Tony Tchani	5	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
7	MF	Kristinn Steindórsson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
8	MF	Mohammed Saeid	4	1	0	0	0	0	4	1
9	FW	Justin Meram	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
10	FW	Federico Higuaín	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	1
11	MF	Cedrick Mabwati	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	MF	Kevan George	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
13	MF	Ethan Finlay	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	DF	Waylon Francis	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
16	MF	Hector Jiménez	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
17	FW	Ben Speas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	FW	Aaron Schoenfeld	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
19	MF	Romain Gall	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	MF	Wil Trapp	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	DF	Chad Barson	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
22	DF	Gastón Sauro	2	0	3	0	0	0	5	0
23	FW	Kei Kamara	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
24	DF	Sergio Campbell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	DF	Harrison Afful	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
26	MF	Ben Swanson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	GK	Matt Lampson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	FW	Jack McInerney	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
41	GK	Brad Stuver	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left Columbus during the season:
22	DF	Kalen Ryden	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	FW	Sagi Lev-Ari	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	DF	Hernán Grana	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
29	FW	Adam Bedell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

No.	Name	MLS	MLS Cup Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup	Total	Games Played
		1	Steve Clark	6	1	0	7	39
28	Matt Lampson	0	0	0	0	0
41	Brad Stuver	0	0	0	0	2

Position	Player	Transferred from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
DF	Chris Klute	Colorado Rapids	Traded for a first round draft pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft	January 16, 2015	[4]
DF	Hernan Grana	All Boys	Signed via discovery	January 23, 2015	[5]
MF	Cedrick Mabwati	Real Betis	Transfer, terms undisclosed	January 30, 2015	[6]
DF	Sergio Campbell	Connecticut Huskies	Drafted in round 1 of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft	March 2, 2015	[7]
FW	Sagi Lev-Ari	Cal State Northridge Matadors	Drafted in round 2 of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft	March 2, 2015	[7]
DF	Kalen Ryden	Midwestern State Mustangs	Drafted in round 4 of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft	March 2, 2015	[7]
DF	Harrison Afful	ES Tunis	Signed via discovery	July 30, 2015	[8]
FW	Jack McInerney	Montreal Impact	Traded for a second round draft pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft	August 4, 2015	[9]
DF	Gastón Sauro	FC Basel	Signed via discovery	August 6, 2015	[10]
DF	Corey Ashe	Orlando City SC	Signed as a free agent.	December 18, 2015	[11]

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
DF	Ben Sweat	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Placed on waivers	February 9, 2015	[12]
FW	Sagi Lev-Ari	Retired	Placed on waivers	March 16, 2015	[13]
DF	Hernán Grana	All Boys	Mutually agreed to terminate contract	May 12, 2015	[14]
DF	Kalen Ryden	Oklahoma City Energy FC	Placed on waivers	August 6, 2015	[15]
FW	Adam Bedell	Orlando City SC	Traded for a second round draft pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft	August 6, 2015	[16]
DF	Emanuel Pogatetz	1. FC Union Berlin	Option declined	December 7, 2015	[17]
MF	Kristinn Steindórsson	GIF Sundsvall	Option declined	December 7, 2015	[17]
MF	Ben Speas	Minnesota United	Contract expired	December 7, 2015	[17]
GK	Matt Lampson	Chicago Fire	Contract expired	December 7, 2015	[17]
MF	Kevan George	Jacksonville Armada	Contract expired	December 7, 2015	[17]
FW	Jack McInerney	Portland Timbers	Contract expired; rights traded for targeted allocation money and general allocation money	December 7, 2015	[17][18]
FW	Aaron Schoenfeld	Maccabi Netanya F.C.	Contract expired	December 7, 2015	[17]
DF	Chris Klute	Portland Timbers	Traded for general allocation money	December 11, 2015	[19]

Pos.	Player	Loanee club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source
MF	Cedrick Mabwati	CA Osasuna	Signed, then loaned through the remainder of the season	January 30, 2015	July 6, 2015	[20]
DF	Kalen Ryden	Austin Aztex	Columbus retains right to recall at any time	March 26, 2015	August 6, 2015	[21]
FW	Adam Bedell	Austin Aztex	Columbus retains right to recall at any time	May 1, 2015	End of Season	[22]
MF	Romain Gall	Austin Aztex	Columbus retains right to recall at any time	July 9, 2015	End of Season	[21]
MF	Sergio Campbell	Austin Aztex	Columbus retains right to recall at any time	September 8, 2015	End of Season	[23]

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:

2015 Columbus Crew SC SuperDraft Picks[24]
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	19	Sergio Campbell	DF	Connecticut
2	35	Sagi Lev-Ari	FW	Cal State Northridge
3	55	Robert Kristo	FW	Saint Louis
3	60	Tomas Gomez	GK	Georgetown
4	69	Kalen Ryden	DF	Midwestern State Mustangs

MLS Team of the Week

Week	Starters	Bench	Opponent(s)	Link
2	Hernán Grana Justin Meram		Toronto FC	[25]
7	Federico Higuaín Kei Kamara		Orlando City SC	[26]
8	Waylon Francis Ethan Finlay Kei Kamara Gregg Berhalter (Coach)		Philadelphia Union	[27]
10	Emanuel Pogatetz Federico Higuaín Kei Kamara	Hector Jiménez	Seattle Sounders FC	[28]
12	Kei Kamara		Chicago Fire	[29]
13		Kei Kamara	Orlando City SC	[30]
15	Tony Tchani			[31]
17	Ethan Finlay Kei Kamara		New England Revolution Real Salt Lake	[32]
18	Ethan Finlay Kei Kamara	Tony Tchani	New York Red Bulls	[33]
20	Waylon Francis Ethan Finlay Kei Kamara Gregg Berhalter (Coach)		Chicago Fire	[34]
21		Ethan Finlay	Toronto FC	[35]
23	Kei Kamara	Michael Parkhurst	Colorado Rapids	[36]
25		Wil Trapp Kei Kamara	New York City FC Sporting Kansas City	[37]
26	Federico Higuaín		New York City FC	[38]
28	Harrison Afful Kei Kamara		Philadelphia Union	[39]
29	Tony Tchani	Kei Kamara	D.C. United	[40]
34	Harrison Afful Ethan Finlay	Jack McInerney	D.C. United	[41]

Home

Away

Type	Shirt	Shorts	Socks	First appearance / Info
Home	Yellow	Yellow	Yellow	Week 1 against Houston Dynamo
Away	Black	Black	Black	Week 2 against Toronto FC