# 2007 Columbus Crew season

The 2007 Columbus Crew season was the club's twelfth season of existence, and their twelfth consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. Columbus also competed in the U.S. Open Cup but failed to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The season covered the period from November 9, 2006 to the start of the 2008.
Although the Crew faced FC Dallas in the regular season, control of the inaugural edition of the Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup was decided in the preseason. Columbus claimed a 3–0 victory and hoisted the cup for the first time. The Crew were eliminated in the U.S. Open Cup qualification semifinals by Los Angeles Galaxy and finished three points out of a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, the third consecutive season without a playoff berth for Columbus.

## Background

In the 2006 season the Crew finished sixth place in the East, finished last in the Supporters' Shield table, and failed to qualify for the U.S. Open Cup or the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Columbus lost defender Ritchie Kotschau to expansion team Toronto FC, but he would be replaced by 2007 MLS SuperDraft second-round selection Brad Evans. Coach Sigi Schmid would also bring in Danny O'Rourke, Robbie Rogers, Alejandro Moreno, William Hesmer, and the team's very first Designated Player, Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
The 2007 season was ultimately unsuccessful, but would be a rebuilding year for Columbus in preparation for the 2008 season, in which they would win both the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup.

## Roster

    As of match played October 21, 2007
| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Signed in | Previous club | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | William Hesmer | GK | (1981-11-23)November 23, 1981 (aged 25) | 2007 | Kansas City Wizards | 20 | 0 |
| 18 | Bill Gaudette | GK | (1981-09-14)September 14, 1981 (aged 26) | 2005 | St. John's Red Storm | 18 | 0 |
| 30 | Andy Gruenebaum | GK | (1982-12-30)December 30, 1982 (aged 24) | 2006 | Kentucky Wildcats | 14 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 3 | Brad Evans | DF | (1985-04-20)April 20, 1985 (aged 22) | 2007 | UC Irvine Anteaters | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | Rusty Pierce | DF | (1979-07-24)July 24, 1979 (aged 28) | 2006 | Real Salt Lake | 39 | 0 |
| 5 | Danny O'Rourke | DF | (1983-05-31)May 31, 1983 (aged 24) | 2007 | New York Red Bulls | 28 | 0 |
| 6 | Marcos González | DF | (1980-06-09)June 9, 1980 (aged 27) | 2006 | Palestino | 49 | 1 |
| 8 | Duncan Oughton | DF | (1977-06-14)June 14, 1977 (aged 30) | 2001 | Cal State Fullerton Titans | 127 | 3 |
| 13 | Andrew Peterson | DF | (1984-12-02)December 2, 1984 (aged 22) | 2007 | Cleveland City Stars | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Chad Marshall | DF | (1984-08-22)August 22, 1984 (aged 23) | 2004 | Stanford Cardinal | 98 | 4 |
| 19 | Robbie Rogers | DF | (1987-04-12)April 12, 1987 (aged 20) | 2007 | SC Heerenveen | 11 | 3 |
| 20 | Tim Ward | DF | (1987-02-28)February 28, 1987 (aged 20) | 2006 | MetroStars | 20 | 0 |
| 21 | Brandon Moss | DF | (1984-04-12)April 12, 1984 (aged 23) | 2006 | New Mexico Lobos | 21 | 0 |
| 23 | Ezra Hendrickson | DF | (1972-01-16)January 16, 1972 (aged 35) | 2006 | Chivas USA | 47 | 2 |
| 24 | Jed Zayner | DF | (1984-12-13)December 13, 1984 (aged 22) | 2006 | Indiana Hoosiers | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | Ryan Junge | DF | (1984-09-07)September 7, 1984 (aged 23) | 2007 | Cleveland City Stars | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | Leonard Griffin | DF | (1982-09-11)September 11, 1982 (aged 25) | 2007 | Portland Timbers | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 2 | Frankie Hejduk | MF | (1974-08-05)August 5, 1974 (aged 33) | 2003 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | 91 | 5 |
| 11 | Ned Grabavoy | MF | (1983-07-01)July 1, 1983 (aged 24) | 2006 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 37 | 4 |
| 12 | Eddie Gaven | MF | (1986-10-25)October 25, 1986 (aged 20) | 2006 | MetroStars | 58 | 9 |
| 15 | Stefani Miglioranzi | MF | (1977-09-20)September 20, 1977 (aged 30) | 2007 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 24 | 3 |
| 22 | Adam Moffat | MF | (1986-04-15)April 15, 1986 (aged 21) | 2007 | Cleveland City Stars | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Ricardo Virtuoso | MF | (1984-03-01)March 1, 1984 (aged 23) | 2006 | Chiasso | 18 | 1 |
| 29 | Andrei Pacheco | MF | (1984-09-20)September 20, 1984 (aged 23) | 2007 | W Connection (loan) | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 7 | Guillermo Barros Schelotto | FW | (1973-05-04)May 4, 1973 (aged 34) | 2007 | Boca Juniors | 22 | 5 |
| 9 | Jason Garey | FW | (1984-07-19)July 19, 1984 (aged 23) | 2006 | Maryland Terrapins | 37 | 6 |
| 10 | Alejandro Moreno | FW | (1979-07-08)July 8, 1979 (aged 28) | 2007 | Houston Dynamo | 25 | 7 |
| 16 | Kei Kamara | FW | (1984-09-01)September 1, 1984 (aged 23) | 2006 | Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros | 37 | 5 |
| 26 | Andy Herron | FW | (1978-02-03)February 3, 1978 (aged 29) | 2007 | Chicago Fire | 19 | 4 |
| 28 | Ben Hunter | FW | (1985-06-16)June 16, 1985 (aged 22) | 2007 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Jacob Thomas | FW | (1977-02-14)February 14, 1977 (aged 30) | 2006 | VfB Lübeck | 28 | 2 |

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | D.C. United | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 55 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | New England Revolution | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 50 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | New York Red Bulls | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 43 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 31 | 36 | −5 | 40 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 5 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 40 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 6 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 37 | |
| 7 | Toronto FC | 30 | 6 | 17 | 7 | 25 | 49 | −24 | 25 | |
* 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2008 U.S. Open Cup
* 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card)
* 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card), 2008 U.S. Open Cup
* ^1 – Toronto FC cannot qualify for the U.S. Open Cup, as it is a Canadian-based team. If they had qualified for an automatic berth into the U.S. Open Cup, the next highest placed team in the Eastern Conference not already qualified would have qualified.

##### Overall table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | D.C. United (S) | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 55 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
| 2 | Chivas USA | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 46 | 28 | +18 | 53 | North American SuperLiga |
| 3 | Houston Dynamo (C) | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 23 | +20 | 52 | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
| 4 | New England Revolution | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 50 | North American SuperLiga |
| 5 | FC Dallas | 30 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 44 | |
| 6 | New York Red Bulls | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 43 | |
| 7 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 31 | 36 | −5 | 40 | |
| 8 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 40 | |
| 9 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 37 | |
| 10 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 35 | |
| 11 | LA Galaxy | 30 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 34 | |
| 12 | Real Salt Lake | 30 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 27 | |
| 13 | Toronto FC | 30 | 6 | 17 | 7 | 25 | 49 | −24 | 25 | |

#### 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 |
| 30 | 37 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 27 | −5 |
Source: Columbus results 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 |
| 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 |
| Result | D | D | D | W | L | D | L | D | L | L | D | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | D | L | L | D | D | L | L | W | L | L | W | W |

#### Match results
### MLS Cup Playoffs

The Columbus Crew failed to qualify for the playoffs in this season.

### U.S. Open Cup
## Reserve League
### Overall table

| Pos | Club | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Colorado Rapids Reserves (C) | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 8 | +14 | 24 |
| 2 | Chivas USA Reserves | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 20 |
| 2 | New England Revolution Reserves | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 14 | +6 | 20 |
| 4 | Kansas City Wizards Reserves | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 19 |
| 5 | D.C. United Reserves | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 17 |
| 6 | FC Dallas Reserves | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 18 | −1 | 16 |
| 7 | Columbus Crew Reserves | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 14 | +3 | 15 |
| 7 | New York Red Bulls Reserves | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 15 | −1 | 15 |
| 7 | Real Salt Lake Reserves | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 15 |
| 10 | Toronto FC Reserves | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 19 | −5 | 13 |
| 11 | Houston Dynamo Reserves | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 21 | −5 | 12 |
| 12 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 19 | −7 | 9 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Galaxy Reserves | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 29 | −15 | 8 |

### Match results
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos. | Name | MLS | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | William Hesmer | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | Frankie Hejduk | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Brad Evans | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Rusty Pierce | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Danny O'Rourke | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Marcos González | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| 7 | FW | Guillermo Barros Schelotto | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 |
| 8 | DF | Duncan Oughton | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | Jason Garey | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | Alejandro Moreno | 25 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 7 |
| 11 | MF | Ned Grabavoy | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 3 |
| 12 | MF | Eddie Gaven | 27 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 5 |
| 13 | DF | Andrew Peterson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Chad Marshall | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| 15 | MF | Stefani Miglioranzi | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 3 |
| 16 | FW | Kei Kamara | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| 18 | GK | Bill Gaudette | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Robbie Rogers | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| 20 | DF | Tim Ward | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Brandon Moss | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Adam Moffat | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Ezra Hendrickson | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| 24 | DF | Jed Zayner | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Ricardo Virtuoso | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | Andy Herron | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 4 |
| 27 | DF | Ryan Junge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | Ben Hunter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Andrei Pacheco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | Andy Gruenebaum | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | Leonard Griffin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | Jacob Thomas | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Players who left the club during the season: |||||||||
| 10 | FW | Joseph Ngwenya | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Danny Szetela | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Aaron Chandler | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Columbus stats

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Name | MLS | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Total |
| 2 | MF | Frankie Hejduk | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Rusty Pierce | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Danny O'Rourke | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | Marcos González | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | FW | Guillermo Barros Schelotto | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | Duncan Oughton | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Jason Garey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Alejandro Moreno | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Ned Grabavoy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Eddie Gaven | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Stefani Miglioranzi | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Tim Ward | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Ezra Hendrickson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | Ricardo Virtuoso | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | Andy Herron | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Players who left the club during the season: |||||||||
| 17 | MF | Danny Szetela | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Source: Columbus stats

### Clean sheets

| No. | Name | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Games Played |
| No. | Name | 1 | William Hesmer | 5 | 0 | 5 | 20 |
| 18 | Bill Gaudette | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 30 | Andy Gruenebaum | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
Source: Columbus stats

## Awards

Sources: