Columbus Crew SC

Columbus Crew SC

Columbus Crew Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference. Since 1999, the Crew has played home games at Mapfre Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium ever built for an MLS team. Crew SC has won six major trophies: the MLS Cup in 2008 and 2020, the Supporters’ Shield in 2004, 2008, and 2009, and the 2002 U.S. Open Cup.

About Columbus Crew SC in brief

Summary Columbus Crew SCColumbus Crew Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference. The team is currently being operated by an ownership group led by the Haslam family and former team physician Pete Edwards. Since 1999, the Crew has played home games at Mapfre Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium ever built for an MLS team, with a seating capacity of 19,968 as of the 2015 season. Crew SC has won six major trophies: the MLS Cup in 2008 and 2020, the Supporters’ Shield in 2004, 2008, and 2009, and the 2002 U.S. Open Cup. The franchise was founded in 1994 as the Columbus Eclipse, but it was eventually renamed the Crew in 1996. The first players for the Crew were South African national team veteran Doctor Khumalo, by assignment, and Brian McBride, who was selected as the first overall pick in MLS’s first draft. The club has won the CONCACAF Champions League four times, reaching the quarter-finals on the first three occasions. In 2014, the team set club attendance records for both most cumulative attendance and most sellouts. The Black & Gold finished 15–17 in both 1997 and 1998, which put them in third and fourth place, respectively, in the Eastern Conference, but each season ended with losses in the Conference Finals to D. C. United. In 2001, Columbus got off to a slow start, which led to the replacement of coach Tom Fitzgerald, who had coached the Crew’s first 183 matches over parts of six seasons.

In 2002, Columbus would win the U. S. Open Cups for the first time in team history, beating the Richmond Kickers Kickers in the finals. The match was postponed due to a hurricane and controversially relocated from Virginia Beach to Soldier Field in Chicago then the home of Chicago Fire, who won the match 2 to 1 after extra time. The 1999 season was the last for Stern John who scored 52 goals in 65 games for the club. In 2000, Dante was acquired from the Dallas Cowboys to replace John Burn John, but his 13 goals in 2000 was not enough to propel the Crew to the playoffs. In 2003, the club won the MLS Kickers Cup and advanced to the semifinals of the MLS Champions League. In 2008, the Black & gold won the Supporters’ Shield for the second time in their history, defeating the New York Red Bulls 2-1 in the final. In 2009, the Columbus Crew won the Champions League for the third time, beating  the New York City FC 1-0 in the semi-finals of the Champions League. In 2010, Columbus reached the final of the US Open Cup, but lost 2-0 to the New England Revolution in a penalty shootout. In 2011, Columbus was eliminated from the playoffs in the quarterfinals by the Philadelphia midfielders Philadelphia Union. In 2012, Columbus finished in second place at 19–13, but would lose in the conference finals to D.C. United for a third straight season. In 2013, Columbus’s 1999 season began with the opening of Columbus Crew Stadium.