2008 Columbus Crew season

The 2008 Columbus Crew season was the club's thirteenth season of existence and their thirteenth consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. Columbus also competed in the U.S. Open Cup and the MLS Cup Playoffs. The season covered the period from November 14, 2007 to the start of the 2009 Major League Soccer season.

Columbus Crew

2008 season
Owner	Clark Hunt
Head coach	Sigi Schmid
Major League Soccer	Conference: 1st Overall: 1st
MLS Cup Playoffs	Champions
U.S. Open Cup	Qualification finals (knocked out by Chicago Fire)
Trillium Cup	Champions (3–1)
Top goalscorer	League: Alejandro Moreno (9) All: Alejandro Moreno (10)
Highest home attendance	22,685 (October 4 vs. Los Angeles)
Lowest home attendance	4,816 (May 24 vs. Real Salt Lake, USOC)
Average home league attendance	14,622
Home colors Away colors
← 2007 2009 →

Background

The Crew's rebuilding under Sigi Schmid paid immense dividends in 2008, as the team won the Supporters Shield and their first MLS Cup championship. Argentine midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto won the league MVP award, capping an incredible season with his three-assist performance in the championship game.

Roster

As of match played November 23, 2008

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (age)	Signed in	Previous club	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	William Hesmer		GK	(1981-11-23)November 23, 1981 (aged 27)	2007	Kansas City Wizards	54	0
18	Kenny Schoeni		GK	(1984-01-04)January 4, 1984 (aged 24)	2008	MLS pool goalkeeper	0	0
30	Andy Gruenebaum		GK	(1982-12-30)December 30, 1982 (aged 25)	2006	Kentucky Wildcats	16	0
Defenders
2	Frankie Hejduk		DF	(1974-08-05)August 5, 1974 (aged 34)	2003	Bayer 04 Leverkusen	119	7
4	Gino Padula		DF	(1976-07-11)July 11, 1976 (aged 32)	2008	Montpellier	18	0
5	Danny O'Rourke		DF	(1983-05-31)May 31, 1983 (aged 25)	2007	New York Red Bulls	61	0
6	Andy Iro		DF	(1984-11-26)November 26, 1984 (aged 23)	2008	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos	23	1
8	Duncan Oughton		DF	(1977-06-14)June 14, 1977 (aged 31)	2001	Cal State Fullerton Titans	132	3
13	Andrew Peterson		DF	(1984-12-02)December 2, 1984 (aged 23)	2007	Cleveland City Stars	3	0
14	Chad Marshall		DF	(1984-08-22)August 22, 1984 (aged 24)	2004	Stanford Cardinal	132	10
23	Ezra Hendrickson		DF	(1972-01-16)January 16, 1972 (aged 36)	2006	Chivas USA	61	2
24	Jed Zayner		DF	(1984-12-13)December 13, 1984 (aged 23)	2006	Indiana Hoosiers	10	0
27	Ryan Junge		DF	(1984-09-07)September 7, 1984 (aged 24)	2007	Cleveland City Stars	8	0
Midfielders
3	Brad Evans		MF	(1985-04-20)April 20, 1985 (aged 23)	2007	UC Irvine Anteaters	36	6
12	Eddie Gaven		MF	(1986-10-25)October 25, 1986 (aged 22)	2006	MetroStars	88	13
15	Stefani Miglioranzi		MF	(1977-09-20)September 20, 1977 (aged 31)	2007	Los Angeles Galaxy	38	3
16	Brian Carroll		MF	(1981-07-20)July 20, 1981 (aged 27)	2008	D.C. United	36	1
17	Emmanuel Ekpo		MF	(1987-12-20)December 20, 1987 (aged 20)	2008	Enyimba International	22	3
19	Robbie Rogers		MF	(1987-04-12)April 12, 1987 (aged 21)	2007	SC Heerenveen	44	11
20	Brian Plotkin		MF	(1984-08-03)August 3, 1984 (aged 24)	2008	Chicago Fire	0	0
22	Adam Moffat		MF	(1986-04-15)April 15, 1986 (aged 22)	2007	Cleveland City Stars	9	2
26	Cory Elenio		MF	(1986-08-14)August 14, 1986 (aged 22)	2008	Evansville Purple Aces	1	0
31	Kevin Burns		MF	(1985-03-26)March 26, 1985 (aged 23)	2008	Rochester Raging Rhinos	0	0
37	Stanley Nyazamba		MF	(1983-01-06)January 6, 1983 (aged 25)	2008	Richmond Kickers	0	0
Forwards
7	Guillermo Barros Schelotto		FW	(1973-05-04)May 4, 1973 (aged 35)	2007	Boca Juniors	53	12
9	Jason Garey		FW	(1984-07-19)July 19, 1984 (aged 24)	2006	Maryland Terrapins	48	10
10	Alejandro Moreno		FW	(1979-07-08)July 8, 1979 (aged 29)	2007	Houston Dynamo	58	17
11	Pat Noonan		FW	(1980-08-02)August 2, 1980 (aged 28)	2008	Aalesund	11	1
25	George Josten		FW	(1986-05-12)May 12, 1986 (aged 22)	2008	Gonzaga Bulldogs	1	0
29	Ricardo Pierre-Louis		FW	(1984-11-02)November 2, 1984 (aged 24)	2008	Lee Flames	0	0
32	Steven Lenhart		FW	(1986-08-28)August 28, 1986 (aged 22)	2008	Azusa Pacific Cougars	14	6

Competitive

MLS

Main article: 2008 Major League Soccer season

Standings

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46
3	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43
4	Kansas City Wizards	30	11	10	9	37	39	−2	42
5	New York Red Bulls	30	10	11	9	42	48	−6	39

Source: MLS

Overall table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Columbus Crew (C, S)	30	17	7	6	50	36	+14	57	CONCACAF Champions League
2	Houston Dynamo	30	13	5	12	45	32	+13	51
3	Chicago Fire	30	13	10	7	44	33	+11	46	North American SuperLiga
4	Chivas USA	30	12	11	7	40	41	−1	43
5	New England Revolution	30	12	11	7	40	43	−3	43

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (S) Supporters' Shield

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
30	57	17	7	6	50	36	+14	11	2	2	30	15	+15	6	5	4	20	21	−1

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	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H
Result	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	T	L	L	L	W	T	W	T	L	T	W	L	W	W	W	W	T	W	W	W	T	L	W

Source: Columbus results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; L = Loss; T = Tie

Match results

Columbus Crew v Toronto FC

March 29 1	Columbus Crew	2–0	Toronto FC	Columbus, OH
	Hejduk  10' Moffat 26' Moreno 76'	Report	Edu  55'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 13,843 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

New York Red Bulls v Columbus Crew

April 5 2	New York Red Bulls	2–0	Columbus Crew	East Rutherford, NJ
7:30 PM EST	van den Bergh 1' Goldthwaite 8' Parke  65'  81'	Report		Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 17,119 Referee: Alex Prus

Columbus Crew v Chivas USA

April 12 3	Columbus Crew	4–3	Chivas USA	Columbus, OH
	Barros Schelotto 26' (pen.), Moreno 35' Rogers 71', 82' Gaven Moffat Padula	Report	Kljestan 33',  84' Marsch 72', Nagamura 78' Mendoza  0'  83' Bornstein	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 6,733 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

D.C. United v Columbus Crew

April 17 4	D.C. United	1–2	Columbus Crew	Washington, D.C.
	Namoff 42'	Report	Moreno 32' Peralta 43' (o.g.) Carroll Hesmer O'Rourke	Stadium: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Attendance: 13,329 Referee: Jair Marrufo

Columbus Crew v Houston Dynamo

April 26 5	Columbus Crew	1–0	Houston Dynamo	Columbus, OH
	Moreno 22' Hejduk Hesmer Moffat	Report	Boswell  28'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 15,271 Referee: Terry Vaughn

Columbus Crew v Kansas City Wizards

May 3 6	Columbus Crew	2–1	Kansas City Wizards	Columbus, OH
	Moffat 4' Rogers 34' Evans Hejduk	Report	Espinoza  36' López 79' (pen.),	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 10,447 Referee: Mark Geiger

San Jose Earthquakes v Columbus Crew

May 10 7	San Jose Earthquakes	2–3	Columbus Crew	Santa Clara, CA
	Corrales 42' Johnson 88' Riley	Report	Rogers 73', 80' Evans 82'	Stadium: Buck Shaw Stadium Attendance: 9,318 Referee: Jair Marrufo

Toronto FC v Columbus Crew

May 17 8	Toronto FC	0–0	Columbus Crew	Toronto, ON
		Report	Barros Schelotto	Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 20,358 Referee: Kevin Stott

Columbus Crew v New England Revolution

May 24 9	Columbus Crew	0–1	New England Revolution	Columbus, OH
	Hejduk Hendrickson Marshall	Report	Dube 89' Nyassi	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 15,621 Referee: Richard Heron

Chivas USA v Columbus Crew

May 31 10	Chivas USA	2–0	Columbus Crew	Carson, CA
	Flores 19' Marsch 21' Braun Burling Harris	Report	O'Rourke  22' Moffat	Stadium: Home Depot Center Attendance: 12,388 Referee: Fernando Galvan

Columbus Crew v San Jose Earthquakes

June 7 11	Columbus Crew	0–2	San Jose Earthquakes	Columbus, OH
	Moreno  67' Rogers  76' Evans  80'	Report	Johnson 10' Corrales 60' Cochrane  65' Gray  69' Denton  82' Riley  0'  85'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 11,704 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Kansas City Wizards v Columbus Crew

June 14 12	Kansas City Wizards	0–3	Columbus Crew	Kansas City, MO
	Conrad  67' López  67'	Report	Marshall 3' Moreno 20', 67' O'Rourke  44' Iro  65'	Stadium: CommunityAmerica Ballpark Attendance: 10,385 Referee: Terry Vaughn

Los Angeles Galaxy v Columbus Crew

June 21 13	Los Angeles Galaxy	3–3	Columbus Crew	Carson, CA
	Donovan 4', 83' (pen.) Buddle 47' Franklin Xavier	Report	Evans 67' Barros Schelotto 71' (pen.) Lenhart 88'	Stadium: Home Depot Center Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Mark Geiger

Columbus Crew v Colorado Rapids

June 28 14	Columbus Crew	2–1	Colorado Rapids	Columbus, OH
	Ekpo  19', 70' Barros Schelotto 53' (pen.) Iro  87'	Report	LaBrocca 60'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 12,254 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

Columbus Crew v Chicago Fire

July 5 15	Columbus Crew	2–2	Chicago Fire	Columbus, OH
	Ekpo 36' Hejduk  71' Miglioranzi  85' Lenhart 87' O'Rourke  89'	Report	Rolfe 8' Carr 25' Segares  53' Soumaré  89' Prideaux  90'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 17,172 Referee: Kevin Stott

Real Salt Lake v Columbus Crew

July 12 16	Real Salt Lake	2–0	Columbus Crew	Salt Lake City, UT
	Morales 4' Beckerman  78' Findley 78' Beltran  81' Borchers  90'	Report	Oughton  65'	Stadium: Rice–Eccles Stadium Attendance: 12,378 Referee: Jair Marrufo

Columbus Crew v Kansas City Wizards

July 17 17	Columbus Crew	3–3	Kansas City Wizards	Columbus, OH
	Barros Schelotto 26',  72' Moreno 33' Marshall 38' Rogers  39'	Report	Hejduk 22' (o.g) Espinoza 24' Morsink  59' Wolff 75' Harrington  81'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 16,117 Referee: Abiodun Okulaja

Colorado Rapids v Columbus Crew

July 27 18	Colorado Rapids	0–2	Columbus Crew	Commerce City, CO
	LaBrocca  45'	Report	O'Rourke  13' Lenhart 21',  42' Hejduk  60' Garey 75' Iro  80'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 10,647 Referee: Shane Moody

Houston Dynamo v Columbus Crew

August 2 19	Houston Dynamo	2–0	Columbus Crew	Houston, TX
	Davis 13' Jaqua  29' Ching 43'	Report	Gaven  32' Hendrickson  37'	Stadium: Robertson Stadium Attendance: 15,371 Referee: Steven Depiero

Columbus Crew v FC Dallas

August 16 20	Columbus Crew	2–1	FC Dallas	Columbus, OH
	Carroll  56', 62' Evans 65'	Report	Moor  29' Cunningham 35' Wagner  50'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 17,647 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Columbus Crew v Real Salt Lake

August 23 21	Columbus Crew	3–0	Real Salt Lake	Columbus, OH
	Marshall 15' Barros Schelotto 25' (pen.) Hejduk  26' Evans 55' O'Rourke  65'	Report	Olave  7'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 12,448 Referee: Terry Vaughn

FC Dallas v Columbus Crew

August 30 22	FC Dallas	1–2	Columbus Crew	Frisco, Texas
	Cunningham 35'	Report	Iron  27' Evans  30' Moreno 37' Gaven 40'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 10,590 Referee: Ramon Hernandez

Columbus Crew v New England Revolution

September 6 23	Columbus Crew	4–0	New England Revolution	Columbus, OH
	Barros Schelotto 39' Iro 45' Garey 67', 90',  83'	Report	Albright  23' Joseph  50' Igwe  59'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 16,918 Referee: Mark Geiger

Toronto FC v Columbus Crew

September 13 24	Toronto FC	1–1	Columbus Crew	Toronto, ON
	Robinson 6'	Report	Noonan 40'	Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 19,657 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Columbus Crew v New York Red Bulls

September 18 25	Columbus Crew	3–1	New York Red Bulls	Columbus, OH
	Hejduk 41' Rogers 46' Gaven 85'		Ángel 21' Boyens  34' Cichero  52' Richards  68' Goldthwaite  89'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 10,881

New England Revolution v Columbus Crew

September 27 26	New England Revolution	0–1	Columbus Crew	Foxborough, MA
	Joseph  90'	Report	Marshall 35' Hejduk  0'  65' Hesmer  90'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 15,035 Referee: Terry Vaughn

Columbus Crew v Los Angeles Galaxy

October 4 27	Columbus Crew	1–0	Los Angeles Galaxy	Columbus, OH
	Carroll  9' Moreno 43'	Report	Vagenas  29' Beckham  32' Jordan  83'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 22,685 Referee: Jorge González

Chicago Fire v Columbus Crew

October 12 28	Chicago Fire	2–2	Columbus Crew	Bridgeview, IL
	McBride 13', 79' Busch  45'	Report	Gaven 59' Barros Schelotto 61' Carroll  86'	Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 14,994 Referee: Shane Moody

New York Red Bulls v Columbus Crew

October 18 29	New York Red Bulls	3–1	Columbus Crew	East Rutherford, NJ
	Kandji  30' Ángel 48', 76' van den Bergh  82' Cepero 83' Boyens  90'	Report	Hendrickson  53' Lenhart 62' Noonan  82'	Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 18,546 Referee: Michael Kennedy

Columbus Crew v D.C. United

October 26 30	Columbus Crew	1–0	D.C. United	Columbus, OH
	Carroll  66' Evans 77',  78'	Report	Emílio  25' Burch  53' McTavish  78'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 19,591 Referee: Mark Geiger

Postseason

Main article: 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs

Kansas City Wizards v Columbus Crew

November 1 Semifinals Leg 1	Kansas City Wizards	1–1	Columbus Crew	Kansas City, KS
8:00 PM EST	Jewsbury  40' Arnaud 53' Gomez  75'	Report	Padula  84' Lenhart 90+2' Carroll  90+3'	Stadium: CommunityAmerica Ballpark Attendance: 10,385 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

Columbus Crew v Kansas City Wizards

November 8 Semifinals Leg 2	Columbus Crew	2–0 (a.e.t.) (3–1 agg.)	Kansas City Wizards	Columbus, OH
7:30 PM EST	Evans 7'  63' Rogers 57'  66' Hejduk  87' Ekpo  90'	Report	Arnaud  39' Wahl  49'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 11,153 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Columbus Crew SC v Chicago Fire

November 13 Finals	Columbus Crew SC	2–1	Chicago Fire	Columbus, OH
7:30 PM EST	Marshall 49' Gaven 55' O'Rourke  57' Hesmer  90+2'	Report	Soumare  22' McBride 29' Segares  48' Prideaux  67'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 14,688 Referee: Terry Vaughn

New York Red Bulls v Columbus Crew

November 23 MLS Cup	New York Red Bulls	1–3	Columbus Crew	Carson, CA
3:30 PM EST	Leitch  4' Wolyniec 51'	Report	Moreno 31' Marshall 53' Padula  68' Hejduk 82'	Stadium: Home Depot Center Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

U.S. Open Cup

Columbus Crew v Real Salt Lake

May 27 Qualification semifinal	Columbus Crew	2–0	Real Salt Lake	Columbus, OH
7:30 PM EDT	Lenhart 26' Rogers 53' Ekpo	Report	Kovalenko  49'	Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium Attendance: 4,816

Chicago Fire v Columbus Crew

June 10 Qualification final	Chicago Fire	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Columbus Crew	Peoria, IL
	King 10' Herron 65', 116' (pen.) Prideaux  82'	Report	Ekpo 63' Garey 67' Zayner  79' Rogers  100'	Stadium: Shea Stadium Attendance: 3,829 Referee: Tony Russo

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS		MLS Playoffs		U.S. Open Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	William Hesmer	29	0	4	0	1	0	34	0
2	DF	Frankie Hejduk	24	1	4	1	0	0	28	2
3	MF	Brad Evans	26	5	4	1	2	0	32	6
4	DF	Gino Padula	14	0	4	0	0	0	18	0
5	DF	Danny O'Rourke	28	0	4	0	1	0	33	0
6	DF	Andy Iro	18	1	3	0	2	0	23	1
7	FW	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	27	7	4	0	0	0	31	7
8	DF	Duncan Oughton	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
9	FW	Jason Garey	10	3	0	0	1	1	11	4
10	FW	Alejandro Moreno	27	9	4	1	2	0	33	10
11	FW	Pat Noonan	11	1	0	0	0	0	11	1
12	MF	Eddie Gaven	24	3	4	1	2	0	30	4
13	DF	Andrew Peterson	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
14	DF	Chad Marshall	29	4	4	2	1	0	34	6
15	MF	Stefani Miglioranzi	14	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
16	MF	Brian Carroll	30	1	4	0	2	0	36	1
17	MF	Emmanuel Ekpo	17	2	3	0	2	1	22	3
18	GK	Kenny Schoeni	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	MF	Robbie Rogers	27	6	4	1	2	1	33	8
20	MF	Brian Plotkin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF	Adam Moffat	7	2	0	0	1	0	8	2
23	DF	Ezra Hendrickson	13	0	1	0	0	0	14	0
24	DF	Jed Zayner	6	0	0	0	2	0	8	0
25	FW	George Josten	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
26	MF	Cory Elenio	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
27	DF	Ryan Junge	5	0	0	0	2	0	7	0
29	FW	Ricardo Pierre-Louis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	GK	Andy Gruenebaum	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
31	MF	Kevin Burns	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	FW	Steven Lenhart	10	4	2	1	2	1	14	6
37	MF	Stanley Nyazamba	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left the club during the season:
4	DF	Leonard Griffin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW	Guilherme Só	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	FW	Nicolás Hernández	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
21	DF	Ryan Miller	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Source: Columbus stats

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS		MLS Playoffs		U.S. Open Cup		Total
2	DF	Frankie Hejduk	9	1	1	0	0	0	10	1
3	MF	Brad Evans	3	1	1	0	0	0	4	1
4	DF	Gino Padula	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	0
5	DF	Danny O'Rourke	5	1	1	0	0	0	6	1
6	DF	Andy Iro	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
7	FW	Guillermo Barros Schelotto	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
8	DF	Duncan Oughton	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
9	FW	Jason Garey	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
10	FW	Alejandro Moreno	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
11	FW	Pat Noonan	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
12	MF	Eddie Gaven	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
14	DF	Chad Marshall	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
15	MF	Stefani Miglioranzi	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
16	MF	Brian Carroll	5	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
17	MF	Emmanuel Ekpo	1	0	1	0	1	0	3	0
19	MF	Robbie Rogers	2	0	1	0	1	0	4	0
22	MF	Adam Moffat	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
23	DF	Ezra Hendrickson	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
24	DF	Jed Zayner	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0

Source: Columbus stats

Clean sheets

No.	Name	MLS	MLS Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup	Total	Games Played
		1	William Hesmer	10	1	0	11	34
18	Kenny Schoeni	0	0	0	0	0
30	Andy Gruenebaum	0	0	1	1	2

Source: Columbus stats

See also

• Columbus Crew
• 2008 in American soccer
• 2008 Major League Soccer season

References