The 2018 Columbus Crew SC season was the club's 23rd season of existence and their 23rd 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 3 against Toronto FC. It was the fifth season under head coach Gregg Berhalter.
Background
Overshadowing the season for Columbus was a threat by owner Anthony Precourt to move the team to Austin, Texas; Precourt had announced the proposed move in October 2017, five days before the team's final regular season game. The #SavetheCrew movement had been created in the aftermath of this proposed move.
Two days after the 2018 regular season began, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the City of Columbus filed a lawsuit against Precourt, citing a 1996 state law that prevents sports teams that benefited from public facilities or financial assistance from relocating to another city without a six-month notice and attempting to sell the team to a local ownership group. The lawsuit worked its way through the courts throughout the 2018 season.
On October 12, 2018, with two games remaining in the regular season, the owner of the Cleveland Browns (Jimmy Haslam) released a statement stating he, along with other local groups, was in the process of buying the Crew. MLS later released a statement stating their willingness to keep the Crew in Columbus, and that Precourt would get the rights to start a team in Austin if the deal went through.
Review Columbus finished in third place in the inaugural Pacific Rim Cup during preseason. Facing a pair of Japanese opponents, Crew SC were defeated by Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo in the semifinals, but bounced back with a victory over Iwaki FC in the consolation game. Columbus then took part in the Carolina Challenge Cup, winning that title for the second consecutive season. Crew SC won all three matches in the tournament, claiming the CCC championship for the third time in club history.
Columbus additionally won each of their midseason rivalry matches, defeating Toronto FC across two games for the Trillium Cup and dispatching FC Dallas on tiebreakers to defend the Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup. Against Toronto, Columbus was trailing in the aggregate series by a 3–2 line inside of the final 30 minutes of the season series; the Crew put in three late goals to tie the match and win the cup. The match against Dallas ended in a scoreless draw, with Columbus retaining the cup based on the head-to-head goals tiebreaker. Crew SC won the Pioneer Cup for the seventh time that it had been contested.
Columbus qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive season, again finishing in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Just as in 2017, Crew SC was victorious in a penalty shootout on the road in the knockout round, this time advancing past D.C. United with goalkeeper Zack Steffen making two saves. However, Columbus was eliminated in the conference semifinals by New York Red Bulls after suffering a 3–0 defeat in the second leg. In the U.S. Open Cup, Crew SC were eliminated in the fourth round by Chicago Fire, with the tie coming down to a penalty shootout. Crew SC goalkeeper Logan Ketterer had his shot saved in the eleventh round of kicks.
Roster
Technical Staff
Non-competitive
Preseason On October 5, 2017, Crew SC were announced as a participant in the 2018 Carolina Challenge Cup, the fifth time that the club was to participate in the tournament. Columbus entered the event as defending champions. On November 13, 2017, the club announced that they would also take part in the inaugural Pacific Rim Cup during preseason. Crew SC were joined by Vancouver Whitecaps FC from MLS, as well as Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo and Iwaki FC from Japan. Columbus was drawn against Consadole Sapporo, with the winner advancing to the championship match and the loser going to the third place match. During preseason Crew SC called up Sean Zawadzki, Aboubacar Keita and Colin Biros from the academy to participate with the first team.
Midseason
Competitive Overview
MLS
Standings
Eastern Conference
Overall table
Aggregate table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results On December 19, 2017, the league announced the home openers for every club. Just like in 2016, Columbus opened the season on the road against the defending MLS Cup champions, playing at Toronto FC in the first match of the MLS season. Columbus then opened the season at home on March 10, facing Montreal Impact.
The schedule for the remainder of the 2018 season was released on January 4, 2018. Crew SC played three times against Chicago Fire and Philadelphia Union, twice against every other Eastern Conference club, and once against every Western Conference club.
MLS Cup Playoffs
Knockout Round
Conference Semifinals
U.S. Open Cup
Statistics
Appearances and goals Federico Higuaín entered the season sitting fifth in club history for most goals, needing three to pass Edson Buddle for fourth all-time. He tallied a penalty kick against Chicago on May 12, cracking the tie with Buddle. Higuaín had also begun the year having appeared 163 times for Crew SC, needing seven appearances to crack the top ten in club history. He started each of the first ten games, leaping Frankie Hejduk for ninth place. By the end of the season, Higuaín moved up the charts in all three categories: eighth all-time in appearances, with 196; third all-time in goals, with 58; and second all-time in assists, with 64.
Upon his return to the club midway through the season, Justin Meram had the chance to add to his previous totals with the club; he sat fifth in appearances, sixth in goals, and tied for seventh in assists. He needed to play 28 times, score ten goals, or tally six assists in order to move up the charts. At the end of the year, Meram still sat fifth in appearances (with 225) and sixth in goals (with 43), but had taken sole possession of seventh in assists (with 36).
Wil Trapp began the season having appeared 144 times in all competitions for Crew SC, needing to play in 27 games to crack the all-time top ten. Although he missed several games while on international duty, Trapp appeared for the 27th time on the season in a draw with Philadelphia on September 29. He initially jumped into the table in a tie for tenth place with Hejduk. By the end of the season, Trapp had appeared in 177 games for the club, enough for sole possession of tenth.
|colspan=12 align=center|Players who left Columbus during the season:
Disciplinary record No. Pos. Name MLS MLS Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Total 2 MF Ricardo Clark10000010 3 DF Josh Williams30000030 4 DF Jonathan Mensah70000070 6 MF Wil Trapp30000030 7 MF Pedro Santos41000041 8 MF Artur50000050 9 MF Justin Meram00000000 10 MF Federico Higuaín51100061 11 FW Gyasi Zardes30000030 12 GK Ben Lundgaard00000000 13 MF Mike Grella10000010 14 FW Adam Jahn00000000 16 MF Hector Jiménez00000000 17 DF Lalas Abubakar30000030 18 MF Cristian Martínez10000010 19 DF Milton Valenzuela60100070 20 MF Eduardo Sosa11101031 21 DF Alex Crognale00001010 22 DF Gastón Sauro10000010 23 GK Zack Steffen20000020 24 GK Jon Kempin00000000 25 DF Harrison Afful10000010 26 MF Luis Argudo00000000 27 FW Edward Opoku00000000 28 MF Niko Hansen10000010 30 GK Logan Ketterer00000000 31 DF Connor Maloney10000010 32 FW Patrick Mullins00000000Players who left the club during the season: 5 MF Mohammed Abu00001010
Clean sheets Zack Steffen entered the season with the seventh-most clean sheets in club history. He needed to keep two on the season in order to pass Brad Friedel for sixth all-time, which he did just three games into the campaign. Three saves in a scoreless draw with Philadelphia on March 17 moved Steffen up on the all-time chart. He promptly passed Mark Dougherty for fifth place, thanks to a 1–0 victory over the Union on May 9. Steffen finished the season with 22 career shutouts for Crew SC, good for fifth place in club history.
No. Name MLS MLS Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Total Games Played 12 Ben Lundgaard00000 23 Zack Steffen10101132 24 Jon Kempin00005 30 Logan Ketterer00001
Transfers
In Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource MF Eduardo Sosa Zamora FC Signed via discovery January 9, 2018 FW Edward Opoku Virginia Cavaliers Selected in the second round of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. Signed as a Generation Adidas player. January 19, 2018 FW Gyasi Zardes LA Galaxy Traded for Ola Kamara and $400,000 targeted allocation money. If Kamara scores 12 or more goals for the Galaxy then Columbus will received $100,000 in targeted allocation money January 20, 2018 MF Ricardo Clark Houston Dynamo Free agent signing February 2, 2018 MF Luis Argudo Wake Forest Demon Deacons Selected in the third round of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft March 1, 2018 GK Ben Lundgaard Virginia Tech Hokies Selected in the first round of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft March 1, 2018 FW Patrick Mullins D.C. United Traded for $150,000 in targeted allocation money July 11, 2018 MF Justin Meram Orlando City SC Traded for $750,000 in targeted allocation money, a 2019 international roster slot. August 3, 2018 DF Milton Valenzuela Newell's Old Boys Completed permanent transfer. Signed as a Young Designated Player. December 21, 2018 GK Joe Bendik Orlando City SC Traded for $50,000 in targeted allocation money December 27, 2018
Loan in Pos.PlayerParent clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource DF Milton Valenzuela Newell's Old Boys Duration of the 2018 MLS season, with an option to purchase at the end of the season. Signed as a Young Designated Player. January 26, 2018 November 26, 2018
Out Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource FW Ola Kamara LA Galaxy Traded with $400,000 targeted allocation money for Gyasi Zardes. If Kamara scores 12 or more goals for the Galaxy then Columbus will received $100,000 in targeted allocation money January 20, 2018 MF Justin Meram Orlando City SC Traded for $300,000 in 2018 targeted allocation money, $300,000 in 2018 general allocation money, $450,000 in 2019 targeted allocation money and a 2019 international roster slot. January 29, 2018 MF Mohammed Abu Vålerenga Fotball Transfer, terms undisclosed October 4, 2018 MF Mike Grella Retired Option declined November 26, 2018 FW Adam Jahn Phoenix Rising Option declined November 26, 2018 GK Logan Ketterer El Paso Locomotive FC Option declined November 26, 2018 MF Cristian Martínez Chicago Fire Option declined. Selected by Chicago in the 2018 MLS Waiver Draft. November 26, 2018 MF Ricardo Clark Columbus Crew SC Option declined November 26, 2018
Loan out Pos.PlayerLoanee clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource GK Ben Lundgaard Indy Eleven Duration of the 2018 USL season. March 7, 2018 October 21, 2018DF Alex Crognale Orange County SCOn a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. March 15, 2018 May 5, 2018 May 22, 2018 June 2, 2018 June 18, 2018 November 4, 2018 FW Edward Opoku Saint Louis FC On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. April 27, 2018 May 18, 2018 DF Connor Maloney Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. May 25, 2018 June 30, 2018 FW Adam Jahn OKC Energy FC On a match-by-match basis. Columbus retains right to recall at any time. July 24, 2018 October 14, 2018 MF Mohammed Abu Vålerenga Fotball Duration of the 2018 Eliteserien. August 10, 2018 October 4, 2018
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 Columbus Crew SC are listed below: Round Pick Player Position College 121 Ben LundgaardGKVirginia Tech232 Edward OpokuFWVirginia344 Jake RozhanskyMFMaryland467 Luis ArgudoMFWake Forest
Awards