2015 Columbus Crew SC season explained

Club:	Columbus Crew SC
Season:	2015
League:	Major League Soccer
League Result:	Conference: 2nd Overall: 4th
Chrtitle:	Owner
Chairman:	Precourt Sports Ventures LLC
Mgrtitle:	Head coach
Manager:	Gregg Berhalter
Average Attendance:	16,985 ^[1]
Cup1:	MLS Cup
Cup1 Result:	Runner-up
Cup2 Result:	Fifth round
Cup3:	Trillium Cup
Cup3 Result:	Winners (7–3)
Cup4:	Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup
Cup4 Result:	Runners-Up (0–3)
Cup5 Result:	Third place
League Topscorer:	Kei Kamara (22)
Highest Attendance:	22,719 (September 26 vs. Portland)
Lowest Attendance:	10,302 (March 22 vs. NYRB)
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Pattern So1:	_3_stripes_black
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Body1:	FFFFFF
Rightarm1:	FFFFFF
Shorts1:	FDF100
Socks1:	FDF100
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American:	true
Prevseason:	2014
Nextseason:	2016

The 2015 Columbus Crew SC season was the club's twentieth season of existence, and their twentieth consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer.

Background

See main article: 2014 Columbus Crew season.

Review

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.

Roster

Major League Soccer teams are limited to eight players without US citizenship, a permanent resident (green card holder), or other special status (e.g., refugee or asylum status). These international roster slots can be traded.

Competitions

U.S. Open Cup

See main article: 2015 U.S. Open Cup.

MLS

See main article: 2015 Major League Soccer season.

Standings

Overall table

Match results

MLS Cup Playoffs

See main article: 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs.

MLS Cup Final

Statistics

Appearances

Numbers outside parentheses denote appearances as starter.

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.

Players with no appearances are not included in the list.

^[2]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	MLS	U.S. Open Cup	Total
			data-sort-type="number"	Apps	data-sort-type="number"	Apps	data-sort-type="number"	Apps
1	GK			15	0	15
4	DF			14	0	14
5	DF			13 (1)	1	14 (1)
6	MF			32	1	14
8	MF			12 (1)	0 (1)	12 (2)
9	FW			12 (1)	0 (1)	12 (2)
10	FW			14	0	14
13	FW			15	1	16
14	FW			12	0	12
20	FW			3	0	3
23	FW			14 (1)	0	14 (1)
27	FW			7	0	7
2	DF			3 (2)	1	4 (2)
3	DF			4 (3)	0	4 (3)
7	DF			3 (10)	1	4 (10)
12	DF			2 (2)	1	3 (2)
16	DF			6 (6)	1	7 (6)
17	MF			1 (6)	1	2 (6)
18	FW			1 (9)	0 (1)	1 (10)
21	DF			1 (2)	1	2 (2)
29	FW			0	1	1
41	GK			0	1	1

Goals and assists

^[2]

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS		U.S. Open Cup		Total
			Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists
1	GK		0	1	0	0	0	1
2	DF		0	2	0	0	0	2
5	DF		0	1	0	0	0	1
6	MF		5	6	0	1	5	7
9	FW		6	5	0	0	6	5
10	MF		8	9	0	0	8	9
11	MF	Cedrick Mabwati		1	0	0	0	1	0
12	MF		0	1	0	0	0	1
13	MF		12	13	1	0	13	13
14	DF		0	7	0	0	0	7
16	MF		0	4	0	1	0	5
17	MF		0	0	0	1	0	1
20	MF		0	2	0	0	0	2
21	DF		0	1	0	0	0	1
23	FW		22	8	0	0	22	8
25	D		0	2	0	0	0	2
29	FW		0	0	2	0	2	0
30	FW		2	1	0	0	2	1
18	FW		1	0	0	0	1	0
Total			56	63	3	3	59	66

Disciplinary record

^[2]

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS		U.S. Open Cup		Total
2	DF		1	0	0	0	1	0
3	DF		1	0	0	0	1	0
4	DF		0	1	0	0	0	1
5	DF		2	0	0	0	2	0
6	MF		2	0	1	0	3	0
8	MF		3	1	0	0	3	1
9	FW		2	0	0	0	2	0
10	MF		2	1	0	0	2	1
12	MF		3	0	0	0	3	0
14	FW		1	0	0	0	1	0
16	MF		3	0	0	0	3	0
18	FW		1	0	0	0	1	0
23	FW		1	0	0	0	1	0
27	DF		1	0	0	0	1	0
Total			23	3	1	0	24	3

Additional suspensions

Transfers

See also: List of Major League Soccer transfers 2015.

In

Position	Player	Transferred from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
FW	Kei Kamara	Free Agent	Acquired via MLS allocation ranking	Oct 7, 2014	^[3]
MF	Ben Swanson		Homegrown signing	Oct 16, 2014
MF	Mohammed Saeid	Free Agent		Oct 29, 2014	^[4]
MF	Kristinn Steindorsson	Free Agent		Dec 11, 2014	^[5]
DF	Chris Klute	Colorado Rapids	Trade from Colorado Rapids	Dec 16, 2014	^[6]
DF	Hernan Grana	Free Agent		Jan 23, 2015	^[7]
MF	Cedrick Mabwati	Real Betis	Transfer from Real Betis	Jan 30, 2015	^[8]
DF	Sergio Campbell	Connecticut Huskies	Selected in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft with the 19th pick	Mar 2, 2015	^[9]
DF	Kalen Ryden	Midwestern State Mustangs Midland/Odessa Sockers	Selected in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft with the 35th pick	Mar 2, 2015
FW	Sagi Lev-Ari	Cal State Northridge Matadors	Selected in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft with the 35th pick	Mar 2, 2015
DF	Harrison Afful	ES Tunis	Sign	Jul 30, 2015	^[10]
FW	Jack McInerney	Montreal Impact	Acquired in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.	Aug 4, 2015	^[11]
DF	Gastón Sauro	FC Basel	Sign	Aug 6, 2015	^[12]

Out

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
MF	Matt Walker		Option declined	Nov. 18, 2014
MF	Agustín Viana	Danubio	Option declined	Nov. 18, 2014
MF	Daniel Paladini		Option declined	Nov. 18, 2014
MF	Fifi Baiden		Option declined	Nov. 18, 2014
DF	Matt Wiet		Option declined	Nov. 18, 2014
DF	Ross Friedman		Option declined	Nov. 18, 2014	^[13]
DF	Josh Williams	New York City FC	Crew SC acquires allocation money from NYCFC in exchange for the defender.	Dec. 8, 2014	^[14]
MF	Bernardo Añor	Sporting Kansas City	Crew SC acquires allocation money from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for the midfielder.	Dec. 8, 2014	^[15]
FW	Jairo Arrieta	Orlando City SC	Option declined Nov 18, 2014.Selected by Orlando City SC in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft.	Dec 10, 2014
DF	Eric Gehrig	Orlando City SC	Selected by Orlando City SC in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft.	Dec. 10, 2014	^[16]
DF	Ben Sweat		Waived	Feb. 9, 2015	^[17]
FW	Sagi Lev-Ari		Waived	Mar. 16, 2015	^[18]
DF	Hernán Grana		Grana and Crew SC mutually agreed to part ways.	May 12, 2015	^[19]
DF	Kalen Ryden		Waived	Aug. 6, 2015	^[20]
FW	Adam Bedell	Orlando City SC	Crew SC acquires a second-round selection in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.	Aug. 6, 2015	^[21]

Recognition

MLS Player of the Week

Week	Player	Opponent(s)	Link
Week 8	Ethan Finlay	Philadelphia Union	Report
Week 12	Kei Kamara	Chicago Fire	Report
Week 23	Kei Kamara	Colorado Rapids	Report

MLS Team of the Week

Week	Player	Opponent(s)	Link
Week 2	Hernán Grana	Toronto FC	Report
	Justin Meram
Week 7	Federico Higuaín	Orlando City SC	Report
	Kei Kamara
Week 8	Ethan Finlay	Philadelphia Union	Report
	Waylon Francis
	Kei Kamara
Week 10	Federico Higuaín	Seattle Sounders FC	Report
	Kei Kamara
	Emanuel Pogatetz
Week 12	Kei Kamara	Chicago Fire	Report
Week 15	Tony Tchani	LA Galaxy	Report
Week 17	Ethan Finlay	New England Revolution & Real Salt Lake	Report
	Kei Kamara
Week 18	Ethan Finlay	New York Red Bulls	Report
	Kei Kamara
Week 20	Ethan Finlay	Chicago Fire	Report
	Waylon Francis
	Kei Kamara
Week 23	Kei Kamara	Colorado Rapids	Report

Kits

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

See also

• Columbus Crew SC
• 2015 in American soccer
• 2015 Major League Soccer season

Notes and References

1. Web site: All-Time Attendance Columbus Crew SC . 2015-12-15 . 2015-12-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151210115102/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/media/all-time-attendance . dead .
2. Web site: Team Stats (MLS) Columbus Crew SC . May 30, 2015 .
3. Web site: Crew signs forward Kei Kamara. 28 January 2015.
4. Web site: Crew signs midfielder Mohammed Saeid. 28 January 2015.
5. Web site: MLSsoccer profile for Kristinn Seindorsson. 28 January 2015.
6. Web site: Crew acquire Rapids defender Chris Klute. 28 January 2015.
7. Web site: Crew signs Argentine right back Hernan Grana. 28 January 2015.
8. Web site: Crew SC acquires Cedrick Mabwati. 7 August 2015. 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210407/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/preseason/news/2015/01/crew-sc-acquires-cedrick-mabwati. dead.
9. Web site: Columbus Crew SC signs three 2015 MLS SuperDraft selections. 7 August 2015. 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205608/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/draftcentral/news/2015/03/columbus-crew-sc-signs-three-2015-mls-superdraft-selections. dead.
10. Web site: Crew SC signs defender Harrison Afful. 7 August 2015. 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210248/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2015/07/crew-sc-signs-defender-harrison-afful. dead.
11. Web site: Crew SC acquires forward Jack McInerney from the Montreal Impact. 7 August 2015.
12. Web site: Crew SC signs defender Gaston Sauro. 7 August 2015. 8 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150808074309/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2015/08/crew-sc-signs-defender-gaston-sauro. dead.
13. Web site: Core of 2014 MLS Cup Playoff team to return as Crew SC exercises options on contracts of 16 players. 10 August 2015. 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205908/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2014/11/core-2014-mls-cup-playoff-team-return-crew-sc-exercises-options-contracts-16-players. dead.
14. Web site: Crew SC trades defender Josh Williams to New York City FC. 10 August 2015. 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205943/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2014/12/crew-sc-trades-defender-josh-williams-new-york-city-fc. dead.
15. Web site: Crew SC acquires allocation money in trade with Sporting Kansas City. 10 August 2015. 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205931/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2014/12/crew-sc-acquires-allocation-money-trade-sporting-kansas-city. dead.
16. Web site: Two Crew SC players selected by Orlando City SC in the 2015 MLS Expansion Draft. 10 August 2015. 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205954/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2014/12/two-crew-sc-players-selected-orlando-city-sc-2015-mls-expansion-draft. dead.
17. Web site: Crew SC preseason roster update: February 9, 2015. 10 August 2015. 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210418/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/preseason/news/2015/02/crew-sc-preseason-roster-update-february-9-2015. dead.
18. Web site: Columbus Crew SC waives rookie forward Sagi Lev-Ari. 10 August 2015. 28 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150628071747/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2015/03/columbus-crew-sc-waives-rookie-forward-sagi-lev-ari. dead.
19. Web site: Crew SC mutually agrees to part ways with Hernan Grana. 10 August 2015. 23 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210149/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2015/05/crew-sc-mutually-agrees-part-ways-hernan-grana. dead.
20. Web site: Crew SC waives rookie defender Kalen Ryden. 8 August 2015. 8 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150808074347/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2015/08/crew-sc-waives-rookie-defender-kalen-ryden. dead.
21. Web site: Crew SC acquires 2016 MLS SuperDraft Second Round selection from Orlando City SC. 10 August 2015. 10 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150810012428/http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/news/2015/08/crew-sc-acquires-2016-mls-superdraft-second-round-selection-orlando-city-sc. dead.