The 2017 Columbus Crew SC season was the club's 22nd season of existence and their 22nd 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 4 against Chicago Fire. It was the fourth season under head coach Gregg Berhalter.
Background
Review Crew SC won the Carolina Challenge Cup by going 2–1–0, defeating Seattle Sounders FC in the final game to clinch the title. On August 26, the club won the Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup with a 2–1 victory over FC Dallas, their second straight year claiming the series and third time in five seasons.
Columbus finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, qualifying for the playoffs for the 14th time in club history. Crew SC eliminated Atlanta United FC and New York City FC, but fell 1–0 on aggregate to Toronto FC in the conference finals.
Roster
Out on loan
(on loan to IK Frej)
Technical Staff
Non-competitive The Crew started preseason in Columbus and traveled to Brazil and South Carolina before returning to Ohio. The Crew brought in the following academy players during training camp: Louis Bulger and Deihnia Sarnor.
Preseason
Midseason Crew academy player Louis Bulger joined the Crew as a guest player against Akron Zips, Emmanuel Sabbi joined the Crew as a guest player against Pittsburgh Riverhounds on April 30.
Competitive Overview
MLS
Standings
Eastern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results
MLS Cup Playoffs
Knockout Round
Conference Semifinals
Conference Finals
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 U.S. Open Cup Total 2 DF Jukka Raitala40000040 3 DF Josh Williams40000040 4 DF Jonathan Mensah72200092 7 MF Artur10200030 8 MF Mohammed Abu30100040 9 MF Justin Meram60000060 10 MF Federico Higuaín30000030 11 FW Ola Kamara00000000 12 FW Adam Jahn30000030 14 DF Waylon Francis00001010 16 MF Hector Jiménez10100020 17 DF Lalas Abubakar21000021 18 MF Cristian Martínez20000020 19 FW Kekuta Manneh00000000 20 MF Wil Trapp30000030 21 DF Alex Crognale10000010 22 DF Gastón Sauro00000000 23 GK Zack Steffen30000030 25 DF Harrison Afful31000031 26 MF Ben Swanson00000000 27 MF Abuchi Obinwa00000000 28 MF Niko Hansen00000000 29 MF Marshall Hollingsworth00000000 30 GK Logan Ketterer00000000 31 DF Connor Maloney00000000 32 MF Pedro Santos20100030 41 GK Brad Stuver00000000 — MF Rodrigo Saravia00000000Players who left the club during the season: 5 MF Dilly Duka00000000 6 MF Tony Tchani00000000 13 MF Ethan Finlay20000020 24 DF Nicolai Næss10000010
Clean sheets No. Name MLS MLS Cup U.S. Open Cup Total Games Played 23 Zack Steffen9201139 30 Logan Ketterer00000 41 Brad Stuver00001
Transfers
In Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource DF Jonathan Mensah Anzhi Makhachkala Signed as a Designated Player. January 3, 2017 DF Josh Williams Toronto FC Selected in stage two of the 2016 MLS Re-Entry Draft January 5, 2017 DF Lalas Abubakar Dayton Flyers Selected in the first round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft January 13, 2017 MF Niko Hansen New Mexico Lobos Selected in the first round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft January 13, 2017 MF Mohammed Abu Strømsgodset Signed as a Special Discovery Player January 24, 2017 MF Abuchi Obinwa Hannover 96 Free agent signing January 25, 2017 MF Cristian Martínez Chorrillo Completed permanent transfer January 25, 2017 DF Connor Maloney Penn State Nittany Lions Drafted in the third round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft February 20, 2017 GK Logan Ketterer Bradley Braves Drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft February 20, 2017 FW Kekuta Manneh Vancouver Whitecaps FC Traded for Tony Tchani, $225,000 in targeted allocation money, $75,000 general allocation money. If Columbus signs him to a new contract Vancouver will receive a first round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. If sold before December 31, 2018 Vancouver will receive additional general allocation money and Vancouver retains a percentage of any future transfer fee. March 30, 2017 MF Pedro Santos S.C. Braga Signed as a Designated Player August 8, 2017 MF Artur São Paulo FC Completed permanent transfer December 6, 2017 GK Jon Kempin LA Galaxy Traded for a fourth round draft pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft December 13, 2017 MF Mike Grella Colorado Rapids Traded for a second round draft pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft December 15, 2017
Loan in Pos.PlayerParent clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource MF Artur São Paulo Duration of the 2017 MLS season Feb 13, 2017 End of Season
Out Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource MF Tony Tchani Vancouver Whitecaps FC Traded with $225,000 in targeted allocation money, $75,000 general allocation money for Kekuta Manneh March 30, 2017 MF Dilly Duka New York Red Bulls Placed on waivers July 10, 2017 MF Ethan Finlay Minnesota United FC Traded for $100,000 in targeted allocation money and $250,000 in general allocation money August 9, 2017 DF Nicolai Næss Heerenveen Transfer, terms undisclosed August 29, 2017 GK Logan Ketterer Columbus Crew Option declined December 1, 2017 GK Brad Stuver New York City FC Option declined; Rights traded for a fourth round draft pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft December 1, 2017 DF Waylon Francis Seattle Sounders FC Option declined; Rights Traded for $50,000 in general allocation money December 1, 2017 DF Gastón Sauro Columbus Crew Option declined December 1, 2017 MF Marshall Hollingsworth Retired Option declined December 1, 2017 MF Abuchi Obinwa Inter Orlando FC Option declined December 1, 2017 MF Rodrigo Saravia Swope Park Rangers Option declined December 1, 2017 MF Ben Swanson Retired Option declined December 1, 2017 FW Kekuta Manneh C.F. Pachuca Contract expired December 1, 2017 DF Jukka Raitala Los Angeles FC Selected in the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft; Columbus receives $50,000 in general allocation money December 12, 2017
Loan out Pos.PlayerLoanee clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource MF Rodrigo Saravia IK Frej Columbus retains right to recall at any time March 4, 2017 November 12, 2017 MF Marshall Hollingsworth Pittsburgh Riverhounds On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. March 4, 2017 October 15, 2017 MF Cristian Martínez Pittsburgh Riverhounds On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. March 4, 2017 March 24, 2017 MF Ben Swanson Pittsburgh Riverhounds On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. March 4, 2017 April 20, 2017 MF Abuchi Obinwa Pittsburgh Riverhounds On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. March 24, 2017 October 15, 2017 DF Lalas Abubakar Pittsburgh Riverhounds On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. April 6, 2017 July 4, 2017 MF Cristian Martínez FC Cincinnati On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. May 4, 2017 May 8, 2017 DF Connor Maloney Pittsburgh Riverhounds On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. May 19, 2017 July 4, 2017
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: Stage Round Pick Player Position Team 113 Josh WilliamsDFToronto FC
Round Pick Player Position College 15 Lalas AbubakarDFDayton19 Niko HansenFWNew Mexico349 Connor MaloneyDFPenn State471 Logan KettererGKBradley
Awards +MLS Team of the WeekWeekStartersBenchOpponent(s)Link 3 Zack Steffen Alex Crognale Gregg Berhalter (Coach) D.C. United 4 Harrison Afful Federico Higuaín Artur Wil Trapp Portland Timbers 5 Justin Meram Alex Crognale Artur Orlando City SC 7 Nicolai Næss Justin Meram Toronto FC 10 Federico Higuaín Nicolai Næss New England Revolution 11 Justin Meram Toronto FC Montreal Impact 14 Federico Higuaín Justin Meram Colorado Rapids 16 Justin Meram Atlanta United FC 17 Federico Higuaín Kekuta Manneh Ola Kamara Montreal Impact 20 Alex Crognale Justin Meram Philadelphia Union 21 Ola Kamara Justin Meram Philadelphia Union Real Salt Lake 23 Lalas Abubakar Chicago Fire 24 Zack Steffen Orlando City SC 25 Jonathan Mensah Mohammed Abu Ola Kamara LA Galaxy FC Dallas 28 Kekuta Manneh Wil Trapp Vancouver Whitecaps FC 29 Josh Williams Federico Higuaín New York Red Bulls 30 Justin Meram D.C. United 32 Wil Trapp Orlando City SC 33 Zack Steffen Federico Higuaín New York City FC
MLS Player of the Week WeekPlayerOpponent(s)Link 11 Justin Meram Toronto FCMontreal Impact
Postseason Club Retailer of the Year
Crew SC Team Awards Most Valuable Player – Federico Higuaín Golden Boot Winner – Ola Kamara Defender of the Year – Zack Steffen Humanitarian of the Year – Jonathan Mensah Kirk Urso Heart Award – Josh Williams Crew SC Academy Player of the Year – Jensen Lukacsko
Kits
Type Shirt Shorts Socks First appearance / Record HomeGoldGoldGoldMatch 1 vs. Chicago Fire / 9-5-7 AwayBlackBlackBlackMatch 2 vs. Houston Dynamo / 7-1-5
References