The 2012 Columbus Crew season was the club's 17th season of existence and their 17th 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 10 against Colorado Rapids. It was the fourth season under head coach Robert Warzycha.
Background
Review
The Crew missed the playoffs in 2012 for the first time since 2007, marking a further step backwards from the height of 2008. The roster moves which took place leading into the season were ultimately unsuccessful, with both high-profile signings – Milovan Mirosevic and Olman Vargas – playing only a single season for the club.
The lackluster performance of Vargas and Mirosevic led the team to a series of midseason signings, which nearly salvaged the season. Costa Rican forward Jairo Arrieta joined the team in June, while Argentine midfielder Federico Higuain signed a Designated Player contract a month later. The tandem revitalized the Crew's offense, leading to a 4-game winning streak and thoughts of post-season glory. After this initial honeymoon, however, the team's performance declined; the team just missed out on a playoff berth.
After the season, coach Robert Warzycha began yet another rebuilding effort, jettisoning several veteran players including William Hesmer, Sebastian Miranda and Emilio Renteria.
The year's most significant event, however, had nothing to do with on-field performance. Rookie midfielder Kirk Urso collapsed and died on August 5 from a genetic heart defect (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy), providing an emotional rallying cry for the remainder of the season and beyond.
Roster As of August 29, 2012.
Technical Staff
Non-competitive Preseason The Crew started preseason in Columbus and played games in Florida and South Carolina before returning to Ohio. The Crew brought in the following trialists during training camp: Javier Alvial, Lance Laing, Travis Wall, Silvio Spann, Nermin Crnkić, John Daniele, Kasali Casal, Nemanja Vuković and Stéphane Auvray.
Unsigned draft picks Aubrey Perry, Kevan George, Kirk Urso, Jamie Finch, Darren Amoo and Andrew Bulls also joined the team for preseason.
Midseason Jamie Finch and Blas Iribarren were guest players against West Virginia Mountaineers.
Competitive Overview
MLS
Standings
Eastern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results
MLS Cup Playoffs
The Columbus Crew failed to qualify for the playoffs in this season.
U.S. Open Cup
Reserve League Eastern Pos Club Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts1Columbus Crew Reserves (C)10721219+12222Montreal Impact Reserves107211910+9223Philadelphia Union Reserves1044220200144New York Red Bulls Reserves103521416−2115D.C. United Reserves9351919−10106New England Revolution Reserves10253915−697Toronto FC Reserves92521316−38
Match results
Statistics Appearances and goals Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.
|colspan=12 align=center|Players who left Columbus during the season:
Disciplinary record No. Pos. Name MLS U.S. Open Cup Total 1 GK William Hesmer000000 2 DF Rich Balchan000000 3 DF Josh Williams110011 4 DF Carlos Mendes200020 5 DF Danny O'Rourke500050 6 MF Tony Tchani300030 7 MF Bernardo Añor300030 8 MF Chris Birchall400040 9 FW Justin Meram300030 10 MF Milovan Mirošević200020 11 MF Dilly Duka300030 12 MF Eddie Gaven200020 13 MF Ethan Finlay001010 14 DF Chad Marshall100010 16 DF Eric Gehrig100010 17 FW Olman Vargas100010 18 FW Ben Speas000000 19 FW Tom Heinemann000000 20 FW Emilio Rentería400040 21 DF Sebastián Miranda300030 22 MF Cole Grossman110011 25 FW Jairo Arrieta100010 26 DF Julius James200020 27 FW Aaron Horton000000 28 GK Matt Lampson000000 30 GK Andy Gruenebaum200020 32 DF Nemanja Vuković200020 33 FW Federico Higuaín200020 34 FW Aaron Schoenfeld200020 37 MF Kevan George200020Players who left Columbus during the season: 15 MF Kirk Urso100010 23 DF Korey Veeder000000 29 DF Shaun Francis100010 36 DF Aubrey Perry000000
Clean sheets No. Name MLS U.S. Open Cup Total Games Played 1 William Hesmer0000 28 Matt Lampson0004 30 Andy Gruenebaum80833
Reserve League Statistics Appearances and goals Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.
Disciplinary record No. Pos. Name MLS Reserve League Total 7 MF Bernardo Añor1010 25 FW Jairo Arrieta0000 2 DF Rich Balchan0000 8 MF Chris Birchall0000 – GK Nick Ciraldo0000 – DF Alex Crognale1010 – GK Ethan Dewhurst0000 11 MF Dilly Duka0000 – FW Brett Elder0000 – MF Evans0000 13 FW Ethan Finlay1010 29 DF Shaun Francis0000 12 MF Eddie Gaven0000 16 DF Eric Gehrig0000 37 MF Kevan George1010 22 MF Cole Grossman3030 1 GK William Hesmer0000 27 FW Aaron Horton0000 – MF Blas Iribarren0000 26 DF Julius James1010 – GK Francisco Juarez0000 – DF Irakli Khutsidze0000 – MF Conor Klekota0000 – FW Nathan Kohl0000 28 GK Matt Lampson0000 14 DF Chad Marshall0000 4 DF Carlos Mendes0000 9 FW Justin Meram0101 21 DF Sebastián Miranda0000 10 MF Milovan Mirošević0000 – MF Omar Mohamed0000 – MF Rhodes Moore0000 – GK Nick Noble0000 36 DF Aubrey Perry0000 20 FW Emilio Rentería0101 – GK Carter Richardson0000 34 FW Aaron Schoenfeld0000 – MF Andrew Souders0000 18 FW Ben Speas0000 – MF Ben Swanson0000 6 MF Tony Tchani4141 17 FW Olman Vargas2020 23 DF Korey Veeder0000 32 DF Nemanja Vuković0000 3 DF Josh Williams0000 – DF Rylee Woods0000 – GK Carl Woszczynski0000
Clean sheets No. Name MLS Reserve League Total Games Played – Nick Ciraldo000 – Ethan Dewhurst000 1 William Hesmer112 – Francisco Juarez000 28 Matt Lampson339 – Nick Noble001 – Carter Richardson000 – Carl Woszczynski000
Transfers
In Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource MF Milovan Mirošević Universidad Católica Free transfer January 4, 2012 FW Olman Vargas Deportivo Saprissa Free transfer January 6, 2012 FW Ben Speas North Carolina Tar Heels Signed to a homegrown contract January 11, 2012 FW Ethan Finlay Creighton Bluejays Drafted in round 1 of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft January 12, 2012 DF Aubrey Perry South Florida Bulls Drafted in round 2 of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft March 1, 2012 MF Kirk Urso North Carolina Tar Heels Drafted in round 1 of the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft March 1, 2012 MF Kevan George UCF Knights Drafted in round 2 of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft March 8, 2012 DF Nemanja Vuković OFK Grbalj Free transfer March 21, 2012 FW Aaron Schoenfeld Montreal Impact Traded for a third round draft pick in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft March 23, 2012 FW Jairo Arrieta Deportivo Saprissa Free transfer April 26, 2012 MF Chris Birchall Los Angeles Galaxy Free transfer May 7, 2012 FW Federico Higuaín Club Atlético Colón Transfer, $650,500 July 27, 2012 DF Tony Tchani Columbus Crew December 7, 2012 MF Wil Trapp Akron Zips Signed to a homegrown contract December 13, 2012
Out Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource DF Aubrey Perry Gimo IF Placed on waivers June 27, 2012 DF Shaun Francis Charlotte Eagles Placed on waivers June 27, 2012 DF Korey Veeder New York Cosmos Placed on waivers June 27, 2012 MF Kirk Urso Deceased Died due to a congenital heart defect August 5, 2012 MF Cole Grossman Real Salt Lake Placed on waivers; Selected in the 2012 MLS Waiver Draft November 19, 2012 FW Olman Vargas C.S. Herediano Placed on waivers November 19, 2012 DF Nemanja Vuković Mladost Podgorica Placed on waivers November 19, 2012 DF Rich Balchan Real Salt Lake Option declined November 28, 2012 DF Julius James Carolina RailHawks Option declined November 28, 2012 DF Sebastián Miranda Everton de Viña del Mar Option declined November 28, 2012 DF Chris Birchall Port Vale F.C. Option declined November 28, 2012 DF Tom Heinemann Vancouver Whitecaps FC Option declined November 28, 2012 GK William Hesmer Los Angeles Galaxy Option declined; Selected in stage 2 of the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft November 28, 2012 MF Tony Tchani Columbus Crew Option declined November 28, 2012 DF Carlos Mendes New York Cosmos Contract expired November 28, 2012 FW Emilio Rentería Defensor Sporting Contract expired November 28, 2012
Loans out Pos.PlayerLoanee clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource FW Aaron Horton Dayton Dutch Lions April 30, 2012 June 3, 2012
MLS Draft picks
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: Round Pick Player Position College 110 Ethan FinlayMFCreighton Bluejays226 Aubrey PerryDFSouth Florida Bulls229 Kevan GeorgeMFUCF Knights
Round Pick Player Position College 110 Kirk UrsoMFNorth Carolina Tar Heels229 Jamie FinchDFWashington Huskies348 Darren AmooFWLiberty Flames467 Andrew BullsFWUMBC Retrievers
Awards +MLS Team of the WeekWeekStartersHonorable MentionsOpponent(s)Link 3 Shaun Francis Emilio Rentería Montreal Impact 4 Shaun Francis Andy Gruenebaum Chad Marshall Toronto FC 6 Chad Marshall Philadelphia Union 7 Eddie Gaven Chad Marshall Houston Dynamo 8 Aaron Schoenfeld Vancouver Whitecaps FC 9 Andy Gruenebaum Josh Williams Portland Timbers 10 Justin Meram Sebastián Miranda FC Dallas 11 Andy Gruenebaum Justin Meram San Jose Earthquakes 12 Andy Gruenebaum Emilio Rentería Robert Warzycha (Coach) Eddie Gaven Seattle Sounders FCChicago Fire 13–15 Andy Gruenebaum Josh Williams New England Revolution 16 Tony Tchani Chicago Fire 17 Eddie Gaven Danny O'Rourke Josh Williams Real Salt Lake 18 Chad Marshall Josh Williams Montreal Impact 20 Jairo Arrieta Chris Birchall Andy Gruenebaum D.C. United 21 Jairo Arrieta Robert Warzycha (Coach) Andy Gruenebaum Sporting Kansas City 24 Jairo Arrieta Eddie Gaven Federico Higuaín Los Angeles Galaxy Houston Dynamo 25 Federico Higuaín Jairo Arrieta Eddie Gaven Milovan Mirošević New England Revolution 26 Federico Higuaín Eddie Gaven Justin Meram Emilio Rentería Philadelphia Union Montreal Impact 27 Andy Gruenebaum New England Revolution 28 Andy Gruenebaum New York Red Bulls 29 Jairo Arrieta Justin Meram Tony Tchani Chivas USA Chicago Fire 30 Jairo Arrieta Federico Higuaín Philadelphia Union 31 Eddie Gaven Dilly Duka Sporting Kansas City 32 Jairo Arrieta Josh Williams Toronto FC
MLS Player of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink 12 Emilio Rentería Seattle Sounders FC 21 Jairo Arrieta Sporting Kansas City 25 Federico Higuaín Toronto FCNew England Revolution 26 Federico Higuaín Philadelphia UnionMontreal Impact
MLS Save of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink 11 Andy Gruenebaum San Jose Earthquakes
Postseason MLS Newcomer of the Year FW Federico Higuaín
Crew Team Awards Most Valuable Player – Andy Gruenebaum Defensive Player of the Year – Andy Gruenebaum Scoring Champion – Jairo Arrieta & Eddie Gaven Breakout Performance of the Year – Jairo Arrieta Goal of the Year – Sebastian Miranda Humanitarian of the Year – Eddie Gaven Comeback Player of the Year – Julius James Kirk Urso Heart Award – Kirk Urso Special Recognition, The 200 Club – Eddie Gaven & Chad Marshall Jim Nelson Fan of the Year – Alex Thomas Academy U15/U16 Player of the Year – Ben Swanson Academy U17/U18 Player of the Year – Zach Mason Academy U19/U20 Player of the Year – Sage Gardner
References