Football Season Review

A poor first half of the campaign proved to be costly for Columbus Crew as a disappointing first year under Caleb Porter saw them finish 10th in the Eastern Conference, well short of a place in the playoffs. The season began on a positive note for Columbus who won four times and lost just one of their opening six games but a dismal return of just four points from the 16 games played between April and July quickly extinguished hopes of making it to the playoff. A major injury that brought a premature end to Fernando Higuain's campaign and a goal drought for Gyasi Zardes meant Columbus struggled to find the back of the net contributing to the dismal run during which Columbus failed to score on nine occasions. While Columbus did improve in the second half of the season, finishing the campaign with just two defeats from their final 13 games, it was too little too late with the club out of playoffs contention by then. The injury to Higuain did come with a silver lining with Columbus discovering Pedro Santos as an able replacement and the midfielder ended the campaign leading the assists charts while also scoring 11 goals, just two behind top scorer Zardes. Porter though was not convinced with the defensive aspect of his side, chopping and changing in both the central defense and the central midfield position. Columbus will also need to decide whether to persist with Jordan Hamilton, who was limited to just four substitute appearances without scoring a goal, or bring in a fresh face to provide reliable backup for Zardes next season.

Player of the Season: Pedro M. Santos