2007 Columbus Crew season

Columbus Crew

2007 season
Investor-operators	Clark Hunt Dan Hunt Lamar Hunt Jr. Sharron Hunt Munson Ron Pizzuti and a group of local investors
Head Coach	Sigi Schmid
Stadium	Columbus Crew Stadium
Major League Soccer	Conference: 6th Overall: 9th
MLS Cup Playoffs	Did not qualify
U.S. Open Cup	Qualification Semifinals
Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup	Champions (3–0)[nb 1]
MLS Reserve League	7th Place
Top goalscorer	League: Alejandro Moreno (7) All: Alejandro Moreno (7)
Highest home attendance	24,300 (4/14 v. LA)
Lowest home attendance	5,424(4/24 v. LA)
Average home league attendance	15,230 (67.5%)
Biggest win	CLB 2–0 RSL (7/7) CLB 2–0 TOR (7/22)
Biggest defeat	NY 4-0 CLB (5/19)
Home colors Away colors

The 2007 Columbus Crew season was the club's 12th season of existence and their 12th 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 April 7 against New York Red Bulls. It was the second season under head coach Sigi Schmid. Columbus also competed in the U.S. Open Cup but failed to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

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.

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,^[1] but he would be replaced by 2007 MLS SuperDraft second-round selection Brad Evans.^[2] Coach Sigi Schmid would also bring in Danny O'Rourke,^[3] Robbie Rogers,^[4] Alejandro Moreno,^[5] William Hesmer,^[3] and the team's very first Designated Player, Guillermo Barros Schelotto.^[6]

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.

As of October 9, 2007^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  USA William Hesmer 2 DF  USA Frankie Hejduk (captain) 3 DF  USA Brad Evans 4 DF  USA Rusty Pierce 5 DF  USA Danny O'Rourke 6 DF  CHI Marcos González (INT) 7 FW  ARG Guillermo Barros Schelotto (INT) 8 DF  NZL Duncan Oughton 9 FW  USA Jason Garey 10 FW  VEN Alejandro Moreno 11 MF  USA Ned Grabavoy 12 MF  USA Eddie Gaven 13 DF  USA Andrew Peterson (DEV) 14 DF  USA Chad Marshall 15 MF  BRA Stefani Miglioranzi 16 FW  SLE Kei Kamara (GA; DEV)

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 GK  PUR Bill Gaudette 19 DF  USA Robbie Rogers (GA; DEV) 20 DF  USA Tim Ward (GA; DEV) 21 MF  USA Brandon Moss 22 MF  SCO Adam Moffat 23 DF  VIN Ezra Hendrickson 24 DF  USA Jed Zayner (GA; DEV) 25 DF  BRA Ricardo Virtuoso (INT) 26 FW  CRC Andy Herron (INT) 27 DF  USA Ryan Junge (DEV) 28 FW  ENG Ben Hunter (INT; DEV) 29 MF  TRI Andrei Pacheco (INT; DEV) 30 GK  USA Andy Gruenebaum (DEV) 31 DF  USA Leonard Griffin 34 MF  USA Jacob Thomas

Position	Staff
President/General Manager	Mark McCullers
Head Coach	Sigi Schmid
Assistant Coach	Robert Warzycha
Assistant Coach	Mike Lapper
Assistant Coach	Vadim Kirillov
Strength and Conditioning Coach	Steve Tashjian
Head Trainer	Jason Mathews
Team Manager	Tucker Walther
Equipment Manager	Rusty Wummel

The Crew started preseason in Columbus and played games in Florida, Arizona, Texas, California and North Carolina before returning to Ohio. The Crew brought in the following trialists during training camp: Juan Cobián

Unsigned draft picks Aaron Chandler, Ryan Junge, Tonci Skroce and Teddy Niziolek also joined the team for preseason.

Damian Blackburn and Jack Stewart were rostered as guest players against Tecos UAG

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Major League Soccer	April 7, 2007	October 20, 2007	Matchday 1	9th	30	9	10	11	39	44	−5	030.00
U.S. Open Cup	April 24, 2007	April 24, 2007	Qualification Semifinals	Qualification Semifinals	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Total					31	9	10	12	39	45	−6	029.03

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
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
5	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	12	7	45	45	0	40
6	Columbus Crew	30	9	11	10	39	44	−5	37
7	Toronto FC	30	6	17	7	25	49	−24	25

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
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

Overall								Home						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: 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

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

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

Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.

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

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS		U.S. Open Cup		Total
1	GK	William Hesmer	1	0	0	0	1	0
2	DF	Frankie Hejduk	5	0	0	0	5	0
3	DF	Brad Evans	0	0	0	0	0	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
13	DF	Andrew Peterson	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	DF	Chad Marshall	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	MF	Stefani Miglioranzi	3	0	0	0	3	0
16	FW	Kei Kamara	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	MF	Danny Szetela	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	GK	Bill Gaudette	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	DF	Robbie Rogers	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	DF	Tim Ward	0	0	1	0	1	0
21	MF	Brandon Moss	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF	Adam Moffat	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	FW	Ezra Hendrickson	3	1	0	0	3	1
24	DF	Jed Zayner	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	DF	Ricardo Virtuoso	1	0	0	0	1	0
26	FW	Andy Herron	2	0	0	0	2	0
27	DF	Ryan Junge	0	0	0	0	0	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	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	DF	Leonard Griffin	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	MF	Jacob Thomas	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left Columbus during the season:
10	FW	Joseph Ngwenya	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	MF	Danny Szetela	1	0	0	0	1	0
29	FW	Aaron Chandler	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	GK	Kenny Schoeni	0	0	0	0	0	0

No.	Name	MLS	U.S. Open Cup	Total	Games Played
1	William Hesmer	5	0	5	20
18	Bill Gaudette	0	0	0	1
30	Andy Gruenebaum	3	0	3	11
Players who left Columbus during the season:
40	Kenny Schoeni	0	0	0	0

Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		MLS Reserve League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
26	FW	USA	Adrian Balc	1	0	0+1	0
22	FW	USA	Damion Blackburn	4	0	1+3	0
-	MF	USA	Taylor Canel	1	0	0+1	0
-	FW	USA	Mike Caso	1	1	1+0	1
29	FW	USA	Aaron Chandler	6	0	3+3	0
-	MF	ROU	Danny Drăgoi	0	0	0+0	0
3	DF	USA	Brad Evans	4	0	4+0	0
9	FW	USA	Jason Garey	6	2	5+1	2
18	GK	PUR	Bill Gaudette	5	0	4+1	0
12	MF	USA	Eddie Gaven	4	0	3+1	0
6	DF	CHI	Marcos González	1	0	1+0	0
11	MF	USA	Ned Grabavoy	1	0	1+0	0
31	DF	USA	Leonard Griffin	1	0	1+0	0
30	GK	USA	Andy Gruenebaum	5	0	5+0	0
23	FW	VIN	Ezra Hendrickson	1	0	1+0	0
26	FW	CRC	Andy Herron	4	1	4+0	1
1	GK	USA	William Hesmer	1	0	0+1	0
28	FW	ENG	Ben Hunter	3	1	2+1	1
27	DF	USA	Ryan Junge	9	0	8+1	0
16	FW	USA	Kei Kamara	8	4	8+0	4
-	DF	USA	Ritchie Kotschau	1	0	0+1	0
13	DF	PUR	John Krause	4	0	0+4	0
3	MF	USA	Skelly Kellar	1	0	0+1	0
-	DF	USA	Ricky Lewis	2	0	0+2	0
14	DF	USA	Chad Marshall	2	1	2+0	1
32	FW	USA	Ryan Martin	2	1	0+2	1
15	MF	BRA	Stefani Miglioranzi	6	0	5+1	0
22	MF	SCO	Adam Moffat	2	0	2+0	0
-	DF	USA	Richard Moodie	1	0	1+0	0
20	MF	USA	Brandon Moss	4	0	4+0	0
8	DF	NZL	Duncan Oughton	5	1	5+0	1
29	MF	TRI	Andrei Pacheco	3	0	2+1	0
-	MF	USA	Raul Palomares	1	0	0+1	0
13	DF	USA	Andrew Peterson	6	0	6+0	0
4	DF	USA	Rusty Pierce	3	0	3+0	0
-	MF	USA	Derek Potteiger	1	0	0+1	0
19	DF	USA	Robbie Rogers	8	2	7+1	2
-	FW	USA	David Roman	2	0	1+1	0
40	GK	USA	Kenny Schoeni	2	0	2+0	0
-	FW	USA	Jamal Sutton	1	0	1+0	0
17	MF	USA	Danny Szetela	6	0	6+0	0
-	DF	USA	Ashleigh Townsend	1	0	0+1	0
28	MF	COL	Christian Turizo	2	0	0+2	0
25	DF	BRA	Ricardo Virtuoso	8	2	8+0	2
20	DF	USA	Tim Ward	8	1	8+0	1
36	FW	USA	Dante Washington	1	0	0+1	0
24	DF	USA	Jed Zayner	10	0	8+2	0
			Own Goal	0	0	-	0

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS Reserve League		Total
26	FW	Adrian Balc	0	0	0	0
22	FW	Damion Blackburn	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Taylor Canel	0	0	0	0
-	FW	Mike Caso	0	0	0	0
29	FW	Aaron Chandler	1	0	1	0
-	MF	Danny Drăgoi	0	0	0	0
3	DF	Brad Evans	0	0	0	0
9	FW	Jason Garey	0	0	0	0
18	GK	Bill Gaudette	0	0	0	0
12	MF	Eddie Gaven	0	0	0	0
6	DF	Marcos González	0	0	0	0
11	MF	Ned Grabavoy	1	0	1	0
31	DF	Leonard Griffin	0	0	0	0
30	GK	Andy Gruenebaum	0	0	0	0
23	FW	Ezra Hendrickson	1	0	1	0
26	FW	Andy Herron	1	0	1	0
1	GK	William Hesmer	0	0	0	0
28	FW	Ben Hunter	0	0	0	0
13	DF	Ryan Junge	0	0	0	0
16	FW	Kei Kamara	0	0	0	0
-	DF	Ritchie Kotschau	0	0	0	0
14	DF	Chad Marshall	0	0	0	0
32	FW	Ryan Martin	0	0	0	0
15	MF	Stefani Miglioranzi	0	0	0	0
22	MF	Adam Moffat	0	0	0	0
-	DF	Richard Moodie	1	0	1	0
20	MF	Brandon Moss	1	0	1	0
8	DF	Duncan Oughton	3	0	3	0
29	MF	Andrei Pacheco	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Raul Palomares	0	0	0	0
13	DF	Andrew Peterson	0	0	0	0
4	DF	Rusty Pierce	2	0	2	0
-	MF	Derek Potteiger	0	0	0	0
19	DF	Robbie Rogers	0	0	0	0
-	FW	David Roman	0	0	0	0
40	GK	Kenny Schoeni	0	0	0	0
-	FW	Jamal Sutton	0	0	0	0
17	MF	Danny Szetela	0	0	0	0
-	DF	Ashleigh Townsend	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Christian Turizo	1	0	1	0
25	DF	Ricardo Virtuoso	1	0	1	0
20	DF	Tim Ward	1	0	1	0
36	FW	Dante Washington	0	0	0	0
24	DF	Jed Zayner	2	0	2	0

No.	Name	MLS Reserve League	Total	Games Played
18	Bill Gaudette	1.5	1.5	5
30	Andy Gruenebaum	0.5	0.5	5
1	William Hesmer	0	0	1
40	Kenny Schoeni	1	1	2

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
FW	Andy Herron	Chicago Fire	Traded with a first round draft pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft for Ryan Coiner	January 12, 2007	[9]
MF	Stefani Miglioranzi	Los Angeles Galaxy	Traded for a third round draft pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft	January 19, 2007	[10]
DF	Brad Evans	UC Irvine Anteaters	Drafted in round 2 of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft	February 28, 2007	[9]
FW	Aaron Chandler	San Francisco Dons	Drafted in round 4 of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. Signed to a developmental contract.	February 28, 2007	[9]
DF	Robbie Rogers	SC Heerenveen	Allocated by the league by weighted lottery.	March 9, 2007	[11]
FW	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	Boca Juniors	Contract through 2008	April 19, 2007	[12]
FW	Alejandro Moreno	Houston Dynamo	Traded for Joseph Ngwenya	May 9, 2007	[13]
DF	Ryan Junge	Cleveland City Stars	Drafted in round 2 of the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft. Signed to a developmental contract.	May 2007	[14][15]
FW	Ben Hunter	North Carolina Tar Heels	Drafted in round 4 of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. Signed to a developmental contract.	June 2007	[9][16]
DF	Andrew Peterson	Cleveland City Stars	Signed to a developmental contract	July 3, 2007	[17]
MF	Andrei Pacheco	W Connection		August 31, 2007	[18]
DF	Leonard Griffin	Portland Timbers	Rights acquired from Chicago Fire for a fourth round pick in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft	September 14, 2007	[19]
MF	Adam Moffat	Cleveland City Stars	Signed via discovery. Signed to a developmental contract.	September 18, 2007	[20]
MF	Brian Carroll	D.C. United	Traded for Kei Kamara	November 26, 2007	[21]

Pos.	Player	Parent club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source
GK	Kenny Schoeni	MLS Pool		April 27, 2007	May 6, 2007

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
FW	Ryan Coiner	Chicago Fire	Traded with a first round draft pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft for Andy Herron	January 12, 2007	[9]
GK	Jonny Walker	Retired		January 26, 2007	[22]
GK	Jon Busch	Chicago Fire	Placed on waivers	March 1, 2007	[23]
DF	Ivan Becerra	Ventura County Fusion	Placed on waivers	March 1, 2007	[23]
DF	Chris Leitch	New York Red Bulls	Placed on waivers	March 1, 2007	[23]
MF	José Retiz	California Victory	Placed on waivers	March 1, 2007	[23]
FW	Marc Burch	D.C. United	Traded for a third round draft pick in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft	April 4, 2007	[24]
FW	Joseph Ngwenya	Houston Dynamo	Traded for Alejandro Moreno	May 9, 2007	[13]
FW	Aaron Chandler	California Victory	Placed on waivers	July 3, 2007	[17]
MF	Danny Szetela	Racing Santander	Transfer, terms undisclosed	August 31, 2007	[25]
MF	Ned Grabavoy	San Jose Earthquakes	Selected third in the 2007 MLS Expansion Draft	November 21, 2007	[26]
FW	Kei Kamara	San Jose Earthquakes	Traded for Brian Carroll	November 26, 2007	[21]
FW	Ben Hunter	Richmond Kickers	Placed on waivers	November 28, 2007	[27]
GK	Bill Gaudette	Puerto Rico Islanders	Contract expired	December 31, 2007
FW	Andy Herron	Puntarenas F.C.	Contract expired	December 31, 2007

Pos.	Player	Loanee club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source
FW	Aaron Chandler	Cleveland City Stars				[28]
DF	Ryan Junge	Cleveland City Stars				[28]
FW	Ben Hunter	Cleveland City Stars				[28]

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:

2007 Columbus Crew SuperDraft Picks[29]
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
2	15	Brad Evans	MF	UC Irvine
4	41	Aaron Chandler	FW	San Francisco
4	49	Ben Hunter	DF	North Carolina

2007 Columbus Crew Supplemental Draft Picks[30]
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
2	15	Ryan Junge	DF	Creighton
2	23	Tonci Skroce	MF	UIC
4	41	Teddy Niziolek	MF	Seton Hall
4	50	Kevin Burns	MF	UConn