The 2010 Columbus Crew season was the club's 15th season of existence and their 15th 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 March 27 against Toronto FC. It was the second season under head coach Robert Warzycha.
Background
Review
Prior to the start of the 2010 MLS season, the Crew began play in the CONCACAF Champions League, with a quarterfinal-fixture against Group B winner, Toluca of Mexico.
During group stage, the Crew finished in a second place in their group with an even 2-2-2 record, narrowly edging the Costa Rican champions Saprissa to become the only American club in the knockout stage. On February 22, 2010; Columbus hosted Toluca before 4,500 people at Crew Stadium for the first leg. For the match, Columbus would be missing veteran striker Guillermo Barros Schelotto and defender Frankie Hejduk.
In the match, Mexican-international Sinha opened the scoring giving Los Rojos a critical away goal and the lead over the Crew. Following the goal near misses from Steven Lenhart and Eddie Gaven later on in the half almost drew things level. Shortly before halftime, however, Antonio Ríos doubled the lead for Toluca giving them a very strong advantage. However, the Rojos would relinquish their lead in the second half. Lenhart would bag a pair of goals in the 66th and 83rd minute of play to draw the match back on parity, and the Crew would head to Toluca tied at two on aggregate.
Roster
As of Aug 5, 2010. Columbus Dispatch roster update article
Technical Staff
Non-competitive Preseason
The Crew started preseason in Columbus and played games in Florida and Arizona before returning to Ohio. The Crew brought in the following trialists during training camp Ray Burse, Hugo Acosta, Kamil Witkowski, Doudou Touré, Yevhen Bredun, Sergei Kosov, Ireneusz Kowalski, Carlos Diaz, Conor O'Brien and Miloš Kocić.
Unsigned draft picks Dilly Duka, Bright Dike, Shaun Francis and Othaniel Yanez also joined the team for preseason.
Midseason The Crew played some friendly matches during the season to keep fit during bye weeks or to get reserve players minutes. Saidi Isaac, Douglas Reisinger, Michael Amicone were guest players against Marshall Thundering Herd, assistant coach Mike Lapper subbed in against Michigan State Spartans, John Owoeri was a guest player against Duquesne Dukes, and draft pick Kwaku Nyamekye joined the team for the match against Dayton Dutch Lions.
Competitive Overview
MLS
Standings
Eastern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results
MLS Playoffs Conference Semifinals
CONCACAF Champions League 2009-10 Championship Round
TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts Cruz Azul6510164+1216 Columbus Crew622259−48 Saprissa612368−25 Puerto Rico Islanders6033612−63
Quarterfinals
2010-11 Group Stage
TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts Santos Laguna6411197+1213 Columbus Crew6402104+612 Municipal6222913−48 Joe Public6015721−141
U.S. Open Cup
Prior to 2010, the Columbus Crew had been to the U.S. Open Cup final twice in 1998 and 2002 and only won the cup once in 2002. On June 29, 2010, the Crew began the competition in the third round hosting the Rochester Rhinos of the D2 Pro League at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew's Andy Iro scored first in the 30th minute by heading in a corner kick from teammate Eddie Gavin. Later, in the second half, Rochester evened the score at one when substitute Darren Spicer scored from 17 yards out. The Rhinos' Alfonso Motagalvan was sent off in the 84th minute for a dangerous tackle on Emilio Rentería forcing Rochester to play the final minutes of the game with just ten men on the field. The score remained level until the 4th minute of stoppage time when Steven Lenhart scored on a "half volley" giving Columbus the victory.
A week later on July 6, Columbus faced the Charleston Battery of the USL Second Division in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals. The match was hosted by Columbus, again at Crew Stadium. In the 37th minute, Steven Lenhart was fouled in the penalty area while going for a cross and the referee signalled for a penalty kick. Emilio Rentería took the penalty kick and drove a right-footed shot into the back of the net making the score 1–0. Columbus extended their lead in the 70th minute on a goal from Steven Lenhart, and again in the 87th minute when Eddie Gavin scored off of a pass from Emmanuel Ekpo. The Crew won 3–0 earning their first U.S. Open Cup semifinal appearance since 2002.
On September 1, 2010, the Columbus Crew visited Washington, D.C. to face MLS club D.C. United in their semifinal match at RFK Stadium. Pablo Hernández scored in the 17th minute on a penalty kick to give D.C. an early lead at 1–0. D.C. United almost kept that lead for the victory until the 89th minute when United's Marc Burch deflected a shot by Columbus's Andy Iro into the net for an own goal, tying the score and sending the match into extra time. In the 98th minute, the Crew's Steven Lenhart dribbled the ball into the 18-yard box and was tripped by D.C. United's Carey Talley to draw a penalty. Guillermo Barros Schelotto took the penalty kick and scored the game-winning goal. The 2–1 final score secured the Columbus Crew's spot in the final.
Statistics Appearances and goals Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.
|colspan=12 align=center|Players who left Columbus during the season:
Disciplinary record No. Pos. Name MLS MLS Playoffs U.S. Open Cup 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League Total 1 GK William Hesmer300000000030 2 DF Frankie Hejduk410000001000 3 DF Josh Williams000000000000 4 DF Gino Padula200000001030 5 DF Danny O'Rourke220010001042 6 DF Andy Iro200000001030 7 FW Guillermo Barros Schelotto201010100050 8 DF Duncan Oughton000000000000 9 FW Jason Garey000000001010 10 FW Andrés Mendoza000000000000 11 MF Dilly Duka100000000010 12 MF Eddie Gaven000000001010 13 MF Léandre Griffit000000000000 14 DF Chad Marshall000000000000 15 MF Kevin Burns100000001020 16 MF Brian Carroll302010100070 17 MF Emmanuel Ekpo101000000020 18 MF Robbie Rogers101000000020 20 FW Emilio Rentería200000002040 22 MF Adam Moffat800000001090 23 DF Eric Brunner200000000020 25 GK Chase Harrison000000000000 29 DF Shaun Francis301010001060 30 GK Andy Gruenebaum000000001010 32 FW Steven Lenhart110020111052Players who left Columbus during the season: 19 FW Sergio Herrera000000000000 24 DF Jed Zayner200010000030 25 GK Kenny Schoeni000000000000 28 MF Othaniel Yanez000000000000
Clean sheets No. Name MLS MLS Playoffs U.S. Open Cup 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League Total Games Played 1 William Hesmer1100001132 12 Eddie Gaven0000001 25 Chase Harrison0000000 30 Andy Gruenebaum00103412Players who left Columbus during the season: 25 Kenny Schoeni0000000
Transfers
In Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource MF Sergio Herrera Deportivo Cali Signed via discovery February 15, 2010 MF Dilly Duka Rutgers Scarlet Knights Drafted in round 1 of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft March 23, 2010 DF Shaun Francis Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders Drafted in round 4 of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft March 23, 2010 MF Othaniel Yanez Louisville Cardinals Drafted in round 4 of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft March 23, 2010 MF Léandre Griffit UR La Louvière Centre Signed via discoveryMay 13, 2010 FW Andrés Mendoza Diyarbakırspor Signed via discoveryMay 13, 2010 DF Josh Williams Cleveland Internationals Signed via discoverySeptember 15, 2010 DF Sebastián Miranda Unión Española Signed via discoveryMay 13, 2010
Loans in Pos.PlayerParent clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource GK Chase Harrison MLS Pool Short term agreement October 26, 2010 End of Season
Out Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource MF Alex Grendi Long Island Rough Riders March 23, 2010 MF Cory Elenio Carolina RailHawks March 23, 2010 GK Kenny Schoeni Retired May 17, 2010 MF Sergio Herrera Deportivo Táchira F.C. June 28, 2010 MF Othaniel Yanez Louisville Lightning August 2, 2010 DF Jed Zayner D.C. United Traded with a fourth round draft pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft for a second round draft pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft August 6, 2010 FW Guillermo Barros Schelotto Gimnasia La Plata Option declined November 16, 2010 DF Gino Padula Retired Option declined November 16, 2010 DF Frankie Hejduk Sporting Kansas City Option declined; chosen in the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft November 16, 2010 DF Duncan Oughton Retired Option declined November 16, 2010 MF Brian Carroll Philadelphia Union Traded for a second round draft pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money November 22, 2010 DF Eric Brunner Portland Timbers Drafted in the second round of the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft November 24, 2010 MF Adam Moffat Portland Timbers Drafted in the third round of the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft November 24, 2010 FW Jason Garey Houston Dynamo Traded for a fourth round draft pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft December 3, 2010
MLS Draft picks
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: Round Pick Player Position College 18 Dilly DukaMFRutgers112 Bright DikeFWNotre Dame460 Kwaku NyamekyeDFHarvard461 Othaniel YanezMFLouisville463 Shaun FrancisDFLindsey Wilson College
Stage Round Pick Player Position Team 1110 Aaron HohlbeinDFSporting Kansas City2110 Jeff CunninghamFWFC Dallas
Awards
MLS Player of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink 9 Emilio Renteria New York Red Bulls
MLS Save of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink 8 Gino Padula Chivas USA 30 Eddie Gaven Philadelphia Union
2010 MLS All-Star Game Starters DF Chad Marshall FW Guillermo Barros Schelotto
Crew Team Awards Most Valuable Player – Eddie Gaven Defensive Player of the Year – Chad Marshall Scoring Champion – Guillermo Barros Schelotto Man of the Year – Steven Lenhart Coach's Award – Andy Iro Newcomer of the Year – Shaun Francis Goal of the Year – William Hesmer Humanitarian of the Year – Jason Garey Hardest Working Man of the Year – Steven Lenhart Comeback Player of the Year – Andy Gruenebaum Fan's Choice – Eddie Gaven Jim Nelson Fan of the Year – Herb Bresler Academy U15/U16 Player of the Year – Wil Trapp Academy U17/U18 Player of the Year – Aaron Horton Academy U19/U20 Player of the Year – Brandon Silva
References