Historical Moments:
1996: The "Hardest Working Team in America," which featured stars such as midfielder Brian
McBride, goalkeeper Brad Friedel, center Brian Massonueve and South African
transfer Doctor Khumalo, began play at home on April 13 against DC United. The
game resulted in a 4-0 rout win for the Crew in front to 25,266 at Ohio Stadium.
22 games into the season, head coach Timo Leikoski resigned and was replaced
by Tom Fitzgerald. Under Fitzgerald's guidance, the Crew would qualify for the
playoffs with a record of 15-17, but they would get beaten by the Tampa Bay Mutiny
in three games.
1997: The Crew started the season on a high note and were in first place by the middle
of the season. But a midseason slide dropped them to fourth place. Eventually,
the Crew would make the playoffs with a similar record of 15-17. In the playoffs,
the Crew would sweep the Tampa Bay Mutiny in two games, exacting revenge for
the previous year's defeat. In the next round, they were swept by eventual champion
DC United in two games.
1998: The Crew had big plans going into the season. The team would have to adjust to losing
goalkeeper Brad Friedel who was transferred to Liverpool in England. On May
12, the Crew would land a new stadium deal with the State of Ohio to build a
new stadium on the grounds of the Ohio Exposition Center for the 1999 season. The
Crew would make the playoffs behind new star Stern John's 26 goals with another
15-17 record. In the playoffs, the Hardest Working Team defeated the MetroStars
in three games, the last one being in a shootout. The next round would have
the Crew going up against DC United again and like the previous year, United
prevailed, this time in three games.
1999: On May 15, American soccer was put on the map with its first ever soccer specific
stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium. The Crew would take advantage of the historical
day by blanking the New England Revolution 2-0 on two Jeff Cunningham goals.
The magical day seemed to spark the Crew as they made the playoffs again with their
first winning season of 19-13. The club kept the momentum going in the playoffs
as they swept the Tampa Bay Mutiny. But they would go down to DC United in
the Conference Finals for a third time. At the end of the season, their star,
Stern John was transferred to English Premier's Nottingham Forest.
2000: Even with the loss of Stern John, the Crew hoped to continue the momentum of being
the only team in MLS with its own stadium. But there would be a drop-off for
the Black and Gold, missing the playoffs for the first time in club history, finishing
in last place in the Central Division with a record of 11-16-5.
2001: Hoping to become only the second team in MLS history to host an MLS Cup and play
in it, the Crew struggled to start out and in the summer, fired coach Tom Fitzgerald
and replaced him with Greg Andrulis. Under Andrulis, The Crew regained consistent
play and made the playoffs with a record of 13-7-6. In the playoffs, the
4th seeded Black and Gold would be swept by eventual MLS Cup Champion San Jose
Earthquakes.
2002: In their first full season under coach Greg Andrulis, the Crew played an up-and-down
season and made the playoffs despite a dismal record of 11-12-5. In the playoffs
as the 6th seed, the Crew would get revenge and dethrone the San Jose Earthquakes
by sweeping them. The Crew were in the conference final for the fourth
time, this time against the New England Revolution. The red-hot Revolution would
shut the door on the Crew, beating them in three games. On a side note, the
Crew earned their first piece of hardware by winning the US Open Cup.
2003: Hoping to take it one step further than four other occasions, the Crew suffer through
a dismal season and miss the playoffs for only the second time in club history
with a record of 10-12-8, in last place in the Eastern Conference.
2004: America's Hardest Working Team was anything but at the start of the season, losing
all 3 of their matches in April. Their losing streak would become a winless streak
in May, tying 2 and finally winning their first game on May 15, the 5-year
anniversary of the opening of Columbus Crew Stadium. Fittingly, they beat the
New England Revolution, their first opponent in the stadium. On June 26, the Crew
would drop a 2-1 decision to the Colorado Rapids at home. They would not lose
again in the regular season. The Crew would put together an amazing run, finishing
the season with a record 18-game unbeaten streak, while setting a league
record for ties in a season at 12-5-13. Nevertheless, it secured their first Supporter's
Shield. However, as everyone knows, such regular season accomplishments
mean absolutely nothing once the playoffs arrive. The Crew's unbeaten streak
came to a crushing end at New England with a 1-0 in Game 1 of an aggregate goal
series. In Game 2, the Crew had 2 golden penalty kick opportunities to derail
the Revs, but 'keeper Matt Reis saved both of them. The Crew would get one goal
back, but it would not be enough, as they became the first Eastern Conference
top seed to bow out of the first round.
2005: Dedicating the season to their former coach, Tom Fitzgerald, who was killed in a
motorcycle accident in the off-season, the Crew would suffer through a year after
a record unbeaten streak. After winning two of their first three games, the
Black-and-Gold would be largely inconsistent after that. A six-game winless streak
would cost Greg Andrulis his job and he was replaced by Robert Warzycha Warzycha
would do better, but it wasn't enough to keep the Crew out of last place
with a poor record of 11-16-5.
2006: The Crew would acquire Eddie Gaven from New York to help for improvement. While he
certainly did provide a glimmer of hope for the Crew, and the fact that the team
would hang tough with the rest of the pack for much of the year, the team would
slump to the bottom of the East with a 8-15-9 record, thanks in large parts
to only one win in both June and July.
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