Breaking Down The 2014 Columbus Crew Season
Nov 9, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; Columbus Crew midfielder Tony Tchani (6) dribbles the ball during the second half against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium. The New England Revolution defeated the Columbus Crew 3-1, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Gregg Berhalter, in his first season as Columbus Crew manager, accomplished a lot from the start. The Crew ended their campaign with a 14-10-10 record (52 points), good for third place in the MLS Eastern Conference. While it would have been nice for the Crew to go farther into the playoffs, the fact that their season ended at the hands of a worthy MLS Cup Contender in Jay Heaps’s New England Revolution is fair enough.
Indeed, Columbus started out their season on the right foot. They had victories over D.C. United (3-0, Mar. 8), Philadelphia (2-1, Mar. 22) and Seattle (2-1, Mar. 29), the latter being their most noteworthy win of the season. However, their worst stretch would come to pass. Between April 5 and July 16, the Crew had just one victory, nine draws and seven defeats, putting Columbus in a very dark place.
Notable losses from that dry spell included a 4-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on July 12 and a 3-2 defeat to Toronto FC in the battle for the Trillium Cup. The Crew’s most noteworthy draw came on May 17, against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park in Portland, Ore. During this spell, the Crew lost important season series to not only Toronto but also Sporting Kansas City (2-0, May 4 and 2-1, Jul. 16).
But after their midseason slump, the Crew were back in their hunt, with wins over the Montreal Impact (2-1, Ju. 19) and New England (2-1, Jul. 26). While a 3-2 loss to Toronto FC on Aug. 9 was less-than-noteworthy, their second-biggest win of the season wouild come on Aug. 16 at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio against the Los Angeles Galaxy, a 4-1 rout.
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What would follow was a string of noteworthy results: a 3-0 win over Houston on Aug. 23, a 3-0 shutout over Chivas USA on Spet. 7 and a 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls over Oct. 19. The Crew would end their regular season with a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union at home on Oct. 26. Between July 19 and Oct. 26, the Crew finished 10-3-2, with their only three defeats coming against Toronto, Montreal (2-0, Aug. 30) and New England (2-1, Oct. 4).
Speaking of New England, that was where Columbus’s season would end against. In the first leg of the 2014 MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals at Crew Stadium, Justin Meram (64′) and Federico Higuain (90′ + 4′) scored in a 4-2 loss. In the second leg, Tony Tchani scored in the 69th minute, but there was just too much Revolution talent all over the field as a nine-man Crew exited the playoff, 3-1, 7-3 on aggregate at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Ethan FInlay and Higuain led the Crew in goals with 11 on the season and also had seven assists apiece. Meram had eight goals, Bernardo Anor had six and Jairo Arrieta added five. Other major providers this season included Tchani (six assists), Waylon Francis (six assists) and Hector Jimenez (five assists). Goalkeeper Steve Clark recorded 111 saves in 2014 to lead the Crew.
Consider the future of the Crew very positive. A number of players will be back next season, as the club picked up the options of Clark, Matt Lampson and Brad Stuver; defenders Chad Barson, Francis, Ben Sweat, Tyson Wahl and Josh Williams; midfielders Romain Gall, Kevan George, Jimenez, Ben Speas, Tchani and Higuain; and forwards Adam Bedell and Aaron Schoenfeld. Also, the addition of Kei Kamara, a former Sporting Kansas City bookend, will make for an exciting 2015 run.
Meanwhile, the contract options of defenders Matt Wiet and Ross Friedman; midfielders Kingsley “Fifi” Baiden, Daniel Paladini, Agustin Viana and Matt Walker; and forward Jairo Arrieta have been declined. Eric Gehrig and Anor and Meram are out of contract and their future will be announced at a later time.
“Moving forward to 2015, we are excited to keep the core group of the team together and we look forward to our new additions to make an even stronger group next season,” said Berhalter. “In terms of the players we let go, those are always tough decisions, but we’d like to thank all the players for their contributions throughout the year and we continue to offer help as they pursue their careers in professional soccer.”
Here is Columbus’s 2015 roster at the moment.
Goalkeepers (3): Steve Clark, Matt Lampson, Brad Stuver
Defenders (7): Chad Barson, Waylon Francis, Michael Parkhurst, Emanuel Pogatetz, Ben Sweat, Tyson Wahl, Josh Williams
Midfielders (10): Romain Gall, Kevan George, Hector Jimenez, Ethan Finlay, Federico Higuain, Mohammed Saeid, Ben Speas, Ben Swanson, Tony Tchani, Wil Trapp
Forwards (3): Adam Bedell, Kei Kamara, Aaron Schoenfeld