# 2016 Columbus Crew SC season

The 2016 Columbus Crew SC season was the club's twenty-first season of existence and their twenty-first consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. Columbus also competed in the U.S. Open Cup and took part in the Desert Diamond Cup during preseason. The season covered the period from December 7, 2015 to the start of the 2017 Major League Soccer season.

## Roster

    As of match played October 23, 2016
| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Signed in | Previous club | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Steve Clark | GK | (1986-04-14)April 14, 1986 (aged 30) | 2014 | Hønefoss | 109 | 0 |
| 23 | Zack Steffen | GK | (1995-04-02)April 2, 1995 (aged 21) | 2016 | SC Freiburg | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Matt Pacifici | GK | (1993-08-31)August 31, 1993 (aged 23) | 2016 | Davidson Wildcats | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Brad Stuver | GK | (1991-04-16)April 16, 1991 (aged 25) | 2014 | MLS pool goalkeeper | 6 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Tyson Wahl | DF | (1984-02-23)February 23, 1984 (aged 32) | 2013 | Colorado Rapids | 85 | 0 |
| 3 | Corey Ashe | DF | (1986-03-14)March 14, 1986 (aged 30) | 2016 | Orlando City SC | 19 | 0 |
| 4 | Michael Parkhurst | DF | (1984-01-24)January 24, 1984 (aged 32) | 2014 | FC Augsburg | 111 | 0 |
| 14 | Waylon Francis | DF | (1990-09-20)September 20, 1990 (aged 26) | 2014 | Herediano | 80 | 0 |
| 21 | Chad Barson | DF | (1991-02-25)February 25, 1991 (aged 25) | 2013 | Akron Zips | 57 | 0 |
| 22 | Gastón Sauro | DF | (1990-02-23)February 23, 1990 (aged 26) | 2015 | Basel | 21 | 0 |
| 24 | Nicolai Næss | DF | (1993-01-18)January 18, 1993 (aged 23) | 2016 | Stabæk | 13 | 0 |
| 25 | Harrison Afful | DF | (1986-07-24)July 24, 1986 (aged 30) | 2015 | ES Tunis | 44 | 3 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 5 | Dilly Duka | MF | (1989-09-15)September 15, 1989 (aged 27) | 2016 | Montreal Impact | 69 | 3 |
| 6 | Tony Tchani | MF | (1989-04-13)April 13, 1989 (aged 27) | 2011 | Toronto FC | 145 | 9 |
| 8 | Mohammed Saeid | MF | (1990-12-24)December 24, 1990 (aged 25) | 2015 | Örebro SK | 53 | 0 |
| 9 | Justin Meram | MF | (1988-12-04)December 4, 1988 (aged 27) | 2011 | Michigan Wolverines | 173 | 28 |
| 10 | Federico Higuaín | MF | (1984-10-25)October 25, 1984 (aged 31) | 2012 | Colón | 131 | 41 |
| 11 | Cedrick Mabwati | MF | (1992-03-08)March 8, 1992 (aged 24) | 2015 | Real Betis | 30 | 2 |
| 13 | Ethan Finlay | MF | (1990-08-06)August 6, 1990 (aged 26) | 2012 | Creighton Bluejays | 145 | 33 |
| 16 | Hector Jiménez | MF | (1988-11-03)November 3, 1988 (aged 27) | 2014 | LA Galaxy | 79 | 1 |
| 18 | Cristian Martínez | MF | (1997-02-06)February 6, 1997 (aged 19) | 2016 | Chorrillo (loan) | 7 | 2 |
| 19 | Rodrigo Saravia | MF | (1993-02-22)February 22, 1993 (aged 23) | 2016 | Florida Gulf Coast Eagles | 12 | 0 |
| 20 | Wil Trapp | MF | (1993-01-15)January 15, 1993 (aged 23) | 2013 | Akron Zips | 104 | 1 |
| 26 | Ben Swanson | MF | (1997-07-18)July 18, 1997 (aged 19) | 2015 | Crew SC Academy | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | Marshall Hollingsworth | MF | (1993-08-06)August 6, 1993 (aged 23) | 2016 | Wheaton Thunder | 1 | 1 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 12 | Adam Jahn | FW | (1991-01-05)January 5, 1991 (aged 25) | 2016 | San Jose Earthquakes | 12 | 5 |
| 17 | Ola Kamara | FW | (1989-10-15)October 15, 1989 (aged 27) | 2016 | Austria Wien | 26 | 16 |
| 27 | Conor Casey | FW | (1981-07-25)July 25, 1981 (aged 35) | 2016 | Philadelphia Union | 4 | 0 |

## Non-competitive
### Preseason

On December 23, 2015, Columbus announced its preseason schedule for the 2016 season. Crew SC were to open preseason by traveling to Lakewood Ranch, Florida for a two-week camp, followed by a week-long camp in Powell, Ohio. Columbus would then travel to Arizona to compete in the 2016 Desert Diamond Cup, one of six Major League Soccer sides taking place in the tournament. Crew SC had scheduled matches against Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake, and Swope Park Rangers, with an additional placement match to be determined after the conclusion of the scheduled matches.

### Midseason
## Competitive
### MLS
#### Standings
##### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 6 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 52 | 55 | −3 | 42 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 7 | New England Revolution | 34 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 42 | |
| 8 | Orlando City SC | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 55 | 60 | −5 | 41 | |
| 9 | Columbus Crew SC | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 36 | |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 42 | 58 | −16 | 31 | |

##### Overall table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 16 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 39 |
| 17 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 32 | 40 | −8 | 38 |
| 18 | Columbus Crew SC | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 36 |
| 19 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 39 | 45 | −6 | 34 |
| 20 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 42 | 58 | −16 | 31 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 34 | 36 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 33 | −14 |
Source: MLS standings Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Stadium | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A |
| Result | L | L | D | D | L | W | W | L | D | D | D | W | L | D | D | L | L | D | D | D | L | D | W | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | W | D | L | L |

#### Match results
### U.S. Open Cup
## Statistics
### Goals and assists

    As of match played Oct 24, 2016
Transferred/Waived player
| No. | Pos. | Name | MLS | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Goals | Assists | Goals | Assists | Goals | Assists |
| 3 | DF | Corey Ashe | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | DF | Michael Parkhurst | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | MF | Dilly Duka | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | Tony Tchani | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | Mohammed Saeid | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | MF | Justin Meram | 5 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| 10 | MF | Federico Higuaín | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| 11 | MF | Cedrick Mabwati | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Adam Jahn | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | Ethan Finlay | 6 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
| 14 | DF | Waylon Francis | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | MF | Hector Jiménez | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | FW | Ola Kamara | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
| 18 | MF | Cristian Martínez | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Wil Trapp | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | FW | Kei Kamara | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Nicolai Naess | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | DR | Harrison Afful | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 29 | MF | Marshall Hollingsworth | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 42 | 47 | 5 | 3 | 47 | 50 |

### Disciplinary record

Transferred/Waived player
| No. | Pos. | Name | MLS | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Total |
| 2 | DF | Tyson Wahl | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Corey Ashe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Michael Parkhurst | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | Tony Tchani | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | Mohammed Saeid | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | Justin Meram | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | Ethan Finlay | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Waylon Francis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Cristian Martínez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Wil Trapp | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Gastón Sauro | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | DR | Harrison Afful | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | FW | Conor Casey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 5 |

## Transfers
### In

| Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes | Date |
| DF | Corey Ashe | Orlando City SC | Signed as a free agent. | Dec 18, 2015 |
| MF | Emil Larsen | OB | Terms of the deal were undisclosed. | Jan 22, 2016 |
| FW | Conor Casey | Philadelphia Union | Signed as a free agent. | Jan 26, 2016 |
| MF | Rodrigo Saravia | Florida Gulf Coast Eagles | Selected in the First Round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. | Feb 4, 2016 |
| FW | Ola Kamara | Austria Wien | Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Signed as a Discovery Signing. | Feb 4, 2016 |
| MF | Marshall Hollingsworth | Wheaton Thunder | Selected in the second round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. | Mar 4, 2016 |
| GK | Matt Pacifici | Davidson Wildcats | Signed as an undrafted free agent. | Mar 4, 2016 |
| MF | Dilly Duka | Montreal Impact | Montreal receives general and targeted allocation money and a Second Round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. | Jun 20, 2016 |
| DF | Nicolai Næss | Stabæk | Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Signed using targeted allocation money. | Jul 21, 2016 |
| GK | Zack Steffen | SC Freiburg | Signed as a Discovery Signing. | Jul 22, 2016 |
| FW | Adam Jahn | San Jose Earthquakes | San Jose receives targeted allocation money. | Jul 30, 2016 |

#### SuperDraft

The following players were selected by Columbus in the MLS SuperDraft, but did not sign a contract with the club.
| Pos. | Player | College | Notes | Date |
| MF | Chase Minter | Cal Poly Mustangs | Selected in the second round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. Signed for Sacramento Republic on Mar 16, 2016. | Jan 14, 2016 |
| FW | Kyle Parker | Charlotte 49ers | Selected in the second round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. Signed for Wilmington Hammerheads on Mar 24, 2016. | Jan 14, 2016 |
| FW | Vince Cicciarelli | Saint Louis Billikens | Selected in the Third Round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. Signed for Saint Louis FC on Mar 3, 2016. | Jan 19, 2016 |

### Loan in

| Pos. | Player | Parent club | Length/Notes | Beginning | End | Source |
| DF | Amro Tarek | Real Betis | Duration of the 2016 Major League Soccer season. Signed as a Discovery Signing. | Feb 3, 2016 | May 5, 2016 | |
| MF | Cristian Martínez | Chorrillo | Duration of the 2016 Major League Soccer season | May 17, 2016 | Oct 24, 2016 | |

### Out

| Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes | Date |
| MF | Kevan George | Jacksonville Armada | Contract expired. Signed for Jacksonville on Apr 10, 2016. | Dec 7, 2015 |
| GK | Matt Lampson | Chicago Fire | Contract expired. Signed for Chicago on Feb 26, 2016. | Dec 7, 2015 |
| DF | Emanuel Pogatetz | Union Berlin | Option declined. Signed for Union Berlin on Jan 5, 2016. | Dec 7, 2015 |
| FW | Aaron Schoenfeld | Maccabi Netanya | Contract expired. Signed for Netanya on Jan 19, 2016. | Dec 7, 2015 |
| MF | Ben Speas | Minnesota United | Contract expired. Signed for Minnesota on Feb 12, 2016. | Dec 7, 2015 |
| MF | Kristinn Steindórsson | GIF Sundsvall | Option declined. Signed for Sundsvall on Dec 16, 2015. | Dec 7, 2015 |
| DF | Chris Klute | Portland Timbers | Columbus receives general allocation money. | Dec 11, 2015 |
| FW | Jack McInerney | Portland Timbers | Contract expired. Traded to Portland in exchange for general and targeted allocation money. | Jan 13, 2016 |
| DF | Sergio Campbell | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | Waived. Signed for Pittsburgh on Feb 22, 2016. | Feb 8, 2016 |
| MF | Romain Gall | Nyköpings BIS | Waived. Signed for Nyköpings on Mar 31, 2016. | Feb 8, 2016 |
| FW | Kei Kamara | New England Revolution | Columbus receives general and targeted allocation money, a First Round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, a Second Round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft, a 2016 international roster slot, future considerations. | May 12, 2016 |
| MF | Emil Larsen | Lyngby | Terms of the deal were undisclosed. | Jul 10, 2016 |

### Loan out

| Pos. | Player | Loanee club | Length/Notes | Beginning | End |
| MF | Marshall Hollingsworth | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | On a match-by-match basis. | Mar 17, 2016 | Sep 25, 2016 |
| MF | Ben Swanson | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | On a match-by-match basis. | Mar 17, 2016 | Jul 29, 2016 |
| DF | Chad Barson | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | On a match-by-match basis. | Apr 30, 2016 | May 21, 2016 |
| DF | Chad Barson | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | On a match-by-match basis. | Aug 10, 2016 | Aug 20, 2016 |
| MF | Cristian Martínez | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | On a match-by-match basis. | Aug 10, 2016 | Sep 25, 2016 |
| MF | Rodrigo Saravia | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | On a match-by-match basis. | Aug 10, 2016 | Aug 20, 2016 |
| GK | Zack Steffen | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | On a match-by-match basis. | Aug 13, 2016 | Sep 25, 2016 |

## Awards
### MLS Team of the Week

| Week | Starters | Bench | Opponent(s) |
| 5 | | Justin Meram | FC Dallas |
| 7 | Justin Meram | Ethan Finlay | New York City FC |
| 12 | | Federico Higuaín | Toronto FC |
| 13 | Ola Kamara | Federico Higuaín | Real Salt Lake |
| 14 | Ola Kamara | | Philadelphia Union |
| 16 | | Ola Kamara | New York Red Bulls |
| 17 | Ola Kamara | | Sporting Kansas City |
| 19 | | Harrison Afful | Toronto FC D.C. United |
| 20 | | Justin Meram | Orlando City SC |
| 23 | Ethan Finlay | | New York City FC |
| 24 | Michael Parkhurst | Federico Higuaín | New England Revolution |
| 25 | Nicolai Næss | Steve Clark | Philadelphia Union San Jose Earthquakes |
| 28 | Nicolai Næss | Ethan Finlay Ola Kamara | Orlando City SC |
| 29 | Harrison Afful | Ola Kamara | New England Revolution |
| 30 | | Harrison Afful | D.C. United Chicago Fire |
| 32/33 | Adam Jahn | | Chicago Fire New York Red Bulls |

## Kits

| Home | Away |
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance |
| Home | Black | Black | Black | Week 3 against Chicago Fire |
| Away | White/Yellow | Teal | White | Week 1 against Portland Timbers |
The away kit was based on the flag of Columbus.