The 2016 Columbus Crew SC season was the club's twenty-first season of existence and their twenty-first consecutive season in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, the top flight of American soccer. Columbus also competed in the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

and took part in the

Desert Diamond Cup The Desert Showcase (formerly the Desert Cup, the Desert Diamond Cup, the Mobile Mini Sun Cup, and the Visit Tucson Sun Cup), is a preseason soccer tournament hosted by Phoenix Rising FC of the USL Championship and FC Tucson of USL League One. The ...

during preseason. The season covered the period from December 7, 2015 to the start of the

2017 Major League Soccer season The 2017 Major League Soccer season was the 22nd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2017 and concluded on October 22, 2017. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on O ...

Roster

Non-competitive

Preseason

On December 23, 2015, Columbus announced its preseason schedule for the 2016 season. Crew SC were to open preseason by traveling to

Lakewood Ranch, Florida Lakewood Ranch is a planned community and census-designated place in southeastern Manatee County and northeastern Sarasota County, Florida, United States, consisting of approximately . It is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Met ...

for a two-week camp, followed by a week-long camp in

Powell, Ohio Powell is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, located 14 miles (21.5 km) north of the state capital of Columbus. The city is located in Delaware County; a frequent placeholder on the List of highest-income counties in the United States, and 35t ...

. Columbus would then travel to Arizona to compete in the 2016 Desert Diamond Cup, one of six Major League Soccer sides taking place in the tournament. Crew SC had scheduled matches against

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

, and

Swope Park Rangers Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as Swope S ...

, with an additional placement match to be determined after the conclusion of the scheduled matches.

Midseason

Competitive

MLS

Standings

= Eastern Conference

=Overall table

Results summary

Results by round

Match results

U.S. Open Cup

Statistics

Goals and assists

Disciplinary record

Transfers

In

SuperDraft

The following players were selected by Columbus in the MLS SuperDraft, but did not sign a contract with the club.

Loan in

Out

Loan out

Awards

MLS Team of the Week

MLS Player of the Week

MLS Player of the Month

;Postseason * MLS Team Fair Play award ;Crew SC Team Awards * Most Valuable Player –

Justin Meram Justin Meram ( ar, جستن حكمت عزيز ميرام; born December 4, 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer. Born in the United States, he represents the Iraq national team. Ca ...

* Golden Boot Winner –

Ola Kamara Ola Williams Kamara (born 15 October 1989) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Allsvenskan club Häcken. He has previously played for Stabæk, Hønefoss, Strømsgodset, Molde, Austria Wien, TSV 1860 Munich, Col ...

* Defender of the Year –

Harrison Afful Harrison Afful (born 24 July 1986) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a fullback for Charlotte FC and the Ghana national team. He appeared previously for Feyenoord Academy, Espérance de Tunis, Columbus Crew, and Charlotte ...

* Humanitarian of the Year –

Ethan Finlay Ethan Christopher Finlay (born August 6, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Austin FC. Career College and amateur Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Finlay's family moved across the U.S. ...

Kirk Urso Kirk Jon Urso (March 6, 1990 – August 5, 2012) was an American professional Association football, soccer player who played as a midfielder. A product of Glenbard East High School and the IMG Soccer Academy, Urso played four years of college s ...

Heart Award – Hector Jiménez * Academy Player of the Year – Devyn Etling

Kits

The away kit was based on the flag of Columbus.

References

Notes

{{2016 in American soccer Columbus Crew seasons

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...