The 2017 Columbus Crew SC season was the club's 22nd season of existence and their 22nd consecutive season in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, the top flight of soccer in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The first match of the season was on March 4 against Chicago Fire. It was the fourth season under head coach

Gregg Berhalter Gregg Matthew Berhalter (, ; born August 1, 1973) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is the current head coach and director of football for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire, a role he assumed following the end of the 2024 s ...

Background

Review

Crew SC won the Carolina Challenge Cup by going 2–1–0, defeating

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

in the final game to clinch the title. On August 26, the club won the Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup with a 2–1 victory over

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

, their second straight year claiming the series and third time in five seasons. Columbus finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, qualifying for the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for the 14th time in club history. Crew SC eliminated

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

and

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

, but fell 1–0 on aggregate to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

in the conference finals.

Roster

Out on loan

(on loan to

IK Frej IK Frej is a Swedish sports club located in Täby kyrkby. It currently plays in Division 3, the fifth tier in Swedish football. Background IK Frej was founded 5 February 1968 by Åke Berghagen and his friends. Today, IK Frej has more than 120 ...

)

Technical Staff

Non-competitive

The Crew started preseason in Columbus and traveled to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

before returning to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The Crew brought in the following academy players during training camp: Louis Bulger and Deihnia Sarnor.

Preseason

Midseason

Competitive

Overview

MLS

Standings

= Eastern Conference

=Overall table

Results summary

Results by round

Match results

MLS Cup Playoffs

Knockout Round

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

U.S. Open Cup

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

Clean sheets

Transfers

In

Loan in

Out

Loan out

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:

Awards

MLS Player of the Week

Postseason

;Club Retailer of the Year

Crew SC Team Awards

* Most Valuable Player –

Federico Higuaín Federico Fernando Higuaín (; born 25 October 1984) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward and attacking midfielder. He is currently the head coach for MLS Next Pro club Columbus Crew 2. He played 157 games and ...

https://web.archive.org/web/20171210192845/https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/2017teamawards * Golden Boot Winner – Ola Kamara * Defender of the Year –

Zack Steffen Zackary Thomas Steffen (born April 2, 1995) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids and the United States men's nat ...

* Humanitarian of the Year –

Jonathan Mensah Jonathan Mensah (born 13 July 1990), commonly known simply as Jonathan, is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a defender. He previously played for Ashanti Gold, Free State Stars, Granada, Evian, Anzhi Makhachkala, Columbus Cre ...

* Kirk Urso Heart Award – Josh Williams * Crew SC Academy Player of the Year – Jensen Lukacsko

Kits

References

{{2017 in American soccer Columbus Crew seasons

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. ...