The 2014 Columbus Crew season was the club's 19th season of existence and their 19th 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 8 against D.C. United. It was the first season under head coach Gregg Berhalter.
Background
Review
The 2014 season was a significant break from the past, particularly off the field. New owner Anthony Precourt, having purchased the team from Hunt Sports Group midway through 2013, made his presence felt often through the year. The team enjoyed its best performance in several years, including an appearance in the playoffs for the first time in three years. Gregg Berhalter was handed the helm, serving both as head coach and sporting director. He was joined by a trio of assistant coaches that included fellow World Cup veteran Josh Wolff, and longtime MLS goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
Columbus started the season with three consecutive victories, including a road win over Seattle Sounders FC. This torrid beginning then cooled dramatically as Columbus won only one of their next 16 games. Dominic Oduro, the leading scorer from the previous year, was dealt to Toronto while Jairo Arrieta likewise struggled to make an impact. Defensively a pair of new Costa Rican signings, Giancarlo Gonzalez and Waylon Francis, missed significant time due to Costa Rica's run to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The defensive changes could have been more drastic, however, as Michael Parkhurst was left off the American squad.
A handful of players emerged in the latter half of the season, however, leading the team to a dramatic turnaround and ultimately a postseason berth. Federico Higuain was joined atop the scoring charts by third-year winger Ethan Finlay, with both ending the year with 11 goals and seven assists. Other significant players included the pairing of Tony Tchani and Wil Trapp at holding midfield and goalkeeper Steve Clark.
Ultimately, however, the team's quest for its first hardware since 2009 came up empty. It was eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup after two games, falling once again to the Chicago Fire. The mid season doldrums ruled the club out of contention for Supporters Shield (won dramatically on the last day of the season by Seattle). Finally, the team was comprehensively outplayed in the playoffs by the New England Revolution, defeated 7–3 on aggregate over a two-game series. The team finished their last playoff game with only nine players on the field after ejections to Ethan Finlay and Justin Meram.
Off the field, new owner Anthony Precourt made sweeping changes. Long-serving General Manager Mark McCullers left the organization in the spring, replaced by Andy Loughnane after a nationwide search. While there was widespread criticism of the team's new television contract with Time Warner Sportschannel Ohio, the team continued its success at the turnstile. Three years after team attendance plummeted to less than 12,000, the team enjoyed five sellout crowds during 2014 and finished the year with the highest total attendance in the history of Crew Stadium.
The most significant change, however, was the revelation of a new team identity. The team's logo, unchanged since 1996, was jettisoned in favor of a new design that tried to better reflect the team's relationship to central Ohio. The name of the team was also changed slightly, becoming Columbus Crew SC. These changes were nearly unanimously applauded, in sharp contrast to the reaction to a new MLS logo that was also unveiled during the course of the season.
Roster
Out on loan
(on loan to Dayton Dutch Lions) (on loan to Dayton Dutch Lions) (on loan to Dayton Dutch Lions) (on loan to Dayton Dutch Lions)
Technical Staff
Non-competitive Preseason The Crew started preseason in Columbus and played games in Florida before returning to Ohio. The Crew brought in the following trialists during training camp: Konrad Warzycha and Patrick Slogic.
Unsigned draft picks Ben Sweat, Fifi Baiden and Adam Bedell also joined the team for preseason.
Midseason
Competitive Overview
MLS
Standings
Eastern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results
MLS Cup Playoffs
Conference Semifinals
U.S. Open Cup
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 MLS Cup Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Total 1 GK Steve Clark20001030 2 DF Tyson Wahl30000030 3 DF Josh Williams10000010 4 DF Michael Parkhurst10000111 5 DF Emanuel Pogatetz00000000 6 MF Tony Tchani70000070 7 MF Bernardo Añor50100060 9 FW Justin Meram20210041 10 FW Federico Higuaín80000080 11 MF Daniel Paladini10000111 12 MF Hector Jiménez20000020 13 MF Ethan Finlay20010021 14 DF Waylon Francis40100050 16 DF Eric Gehrig30000030 17 FW Ben Speas00000000 18 FW Aaron Schoenfeld10000010 19 FW Jairo Arrieta10000010 20 MF Wil Trapp40000040 21 DF Chad Barson10000010 22 DF Ben Sweat00000000 23 MF Kevan George00000000 24 DF Agustín Viana10000010 25 MF Romain Gall00000000 27 MF Ross Friedman00000000 28 GK Matt Lampson00000000 29 FW Adam Bedell00000101 30 MF Fifi Baiden00000000 31 DF Matt Wiet00000000 33 MF Matt Walker00000000 41 GK Brad Stuver00000000Players who left Columbus during the season: 5 DF Giancarlo González30000030 8 FW Dominic Oduro10000010 25 MF Álvaro Rey00000000 26 FW Ryan Finley00000000 40 GK Daniel Withrow00000000
Clean sheets No. Name MLS MLS Cup Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Total Games Played 1 Steve Clark800838 28 Matt Lampson00000 41 Brad Stuver00000Players who left Columbus during the season: 40 Daniel Withrow00000
Transfers
In Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource DF Ross Friedman Harvard Crimson Signed to a homegrown contract January 8, 2014 MF Matt Walker Xavier Musketeers Signed to a homegrown contract January 8, 2014 DF Michael Parkhurst FC Augsburg Rights traded from New England Revolution for a first round draft pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft January 13, 2014 MF Hector Jiménez LA Galaxy Traded with a first round draft pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft for a second round draft pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money January 14, 2014 DF Ben Sweat South Florida Bulls Drafted in round 1 of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft February 14, 2014 MF Fifi Baiden UC Santa Barbara Gauchos Drafted in round 3 of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft February 14, 2014 DF Giancarlo González Vålerenga Fotball Signed via discovery February 21, 2014 FW Adam Bedell Detroit Mercy Titans Drafted in round 3 of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft March 5, 2014 MF Álvaro Rey Toronto FC Traded for Dominic Oduro June 6, 2014 MF Romain Gall FC Lorient II Acquired via weighted lottery August 7, 2014 DF Emanuel Pogatetz FC Augsburg Signed via discovery September 9, 2014 FW Kei Kamara Middlesbrough F.C. Signed via allocation ranking October 7, 2014 MF Ben Swanson Columbus Crew Academy Signed to a homegrown contract October 16, 2014 FW Mohammed Saeid Örebro SK Free transfer October 29, 2014 MF Bernardo Añor Columbus Crew Signed to a new contract December 2, 2014 FW Justin Meram Columbus Crew Signed to a new contract December 2, 2014 MF Kristinn Steindorsson Halmstads BK Free transfer December 11, 2014
Loans in Pos.PlayerParent clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource GK Daniel Withrow MLS Pool Short term agreement June 17, 2014 June 26, 2014
Out Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource MF Shawn Sloan Oakland County FC Released February 14, 2014 GK Daniel Withrow MLS Pool Released March 1, 2014 FW Ryan Finley Chivas USA Traded for a second round draft pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft May 8, 2014 FW Dominic Oduro Toronto FC Traded for Álvaro Rey June 6, 2014 MF Álvaro Rey AD Alcorcón Mutually agreed to terminate contract July 15, 2014 DF Giancarlo González Palermo FC Transfer, terms undisclosed August 26, 2014 DF Matt Wiet Retired Option declined November 18, 2014 DF Ross Friedman Retired Option declined November 18, 2014 MF Fifi Baiden Retired Option declined November 18, 2014 MF Daniel Paladini Retired Option declined November 18, 2014 MF Agustín Viana Danubio F.C. Option declined November 18, 2014 MF Matt Walker AFC Cleveland Option declined November 18, 2014 FW Jairo Arrieta Orlando City SC Option declined; Selected in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft November 18, 2014 DF Eric Gehrig Orlando City SC Contract expired; Selected in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft November 18, 2014 MF Bernardo Añor Columbus Crew Contract expired November 18, 2014 FW Justin Meram Columbus Crew Contract expired November 18, 2014 DF Josh Williams New York City FC Traded for allocation money December 8, 2014 MF Bernardo Añor Sporting Kansas City Traded for allocation money December 8, 2014
Loans out Pos.PlayerLoanee clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource FW Ryan Finley Dayton Dutch Lions Columbus retains right to recall at any time March 12, 2014 May 8, 2014 DF Ross Friedman Dayton Dutch Lions Columbus retains right to recall at any time March 12, 2014 End of Season MF Kevan George Dayton Dutch Lions Columbus retains right to recall at any time March 12, 2014 End of Season GK Brad Stuver Dayton Dutch Lions Columbus retains right to recall at any time March 12, 2014 End of Season MF Matt Walker Dayton Dutch Lions Columbus retains right to recall at any time March 12, 2014 End of Season
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 114 Ben SweatDFSouth Florida342 Fifi BaidenMFUC Santa Barbara345 Adam BedellFWDetroit Mercy
Awards +MLS Team of the WeekWeekStartersBenchOpponent(s)Link 1 Michael Parkhurst Federico Higuaín Gregg Berhalter (Coach) Josh Williams Wil Trapp D.C. United 3 Bernardo Añor Giancarlo González Philadelphia Union 4 Federico Higuaín Steve Clark Seattle Sounders FC 6 Federico Higuaín San Jose Earthquakes 7 Wil Trapp D.C. United 8 Steve Clark New York Red Bulls 11 Federico Higuaín Portland Timbers 12 Federico Higuaín Chicago Fire 14 Michael Parkhurst Steve Clark Ethan Finlay Real Salt Lake D.C. United 17 Ethan Finlay Colorado Rapids 19 Bernardo Añor Montreal Impact 20 Giancarlo González Steve Clark New England Revolution 23 Steve Clark Giancarlo González Tony Tchani Justin Meram LA Galaxy 24 Justin Meram Steve Clark Houston Dynamo 26 Justin Meram Chivas USA 28 Steve Clark Eric Gehrig Tony Tchani New England Revolution 29 Ethan Finlay Montreal Impact 31 Tony Tchani Hector Jiménez Philadelphia Union 32 Ethan Finlay Wil Trapp Gregg Berhalter (Coach) Tony Tchani Aaron Schoenfeld New York Red Bulls 33 Waylon Francis Tony Tchani Philadelphia Union
MLS Player of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink 3 Bernardo Añor Philadelphia Union 11 Federico Higuaín Portland Timbers
MLS Save of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink 19 Steve Clark Montreal Impact 29 Steve Clark Montreal Impact
2014 MLS All-Star Game Starters DF Michael Parkhurst
2014 MLS Homegrown Game GK Matt Lampson MF Wil Trapp
Postseason MLS Fair Play Award DF Michael Parkhurst Marketing Team of the Year Ticketing Sales Innovation Award Membership Extension Program Article of the Year Behind the Brand: The Story of #NewCrew
Crew Team Awards Circle of Honor – Frankie Hejduk Most Valuable Player – Federico Higuaín Golden Boot – Federico Higuaín & Ethan Finlay Defender of the Year – Steve Clark Goal of the Year – Ben Speas Kirk Urso Heart Award – Steve Clark Humanitarian of the Year – Matt Lampson Academy Player of the Year – Ben Swanson
Kits
Type Shirt Shorts Socks First appearance / Info Home Yellow Yellow Yellow Away White / Black-Yellow White Black Away Alt. White / Black-Yellow White White MLS, March 8 against D.C. United
References