As Ottawa Fury FC players, coaches and staff celebrated the end of the club's inaugural season Monday night, there was a lingering feeling of disappointment.

Expansion franchises in any sport are rarely expected to see significant success on the court/pitch/field/ice surface. It's typically a cobbled-together group of the best available players unfamiliar with each other up against a league full of established teams with plenty of chemistry.

For Fury's coach, the ultra-competitive Marc Dos Santos, a losing season was a foreign concept to a guy with a hugely successful track record coaching in North and South America. His first-year squad had the benefit of Dos Santos' lengthy list of contacts in the soccer world; he picked up some Major League Soccer talent, even a few players who had competed with or against each other, giving him a core group to work with early.

And yet, Fury finished with a 7-6-14 (win-tie-loss) record in year one. Expansion team or not, nobody in the locker room is happy about that. Not even close. And so, Monday's reception and award ceremony had something of an asterix attached to it.

"A lot of it was positive but at the end of the day, I'm not here to be positive, I'm here to be demanding," Dos Santos said at this week's season-ending press conference. "We feel a certain emptiness at the same time, in terms of what was achieved. The foundations are excellent but next year we have to be better."

But disappointment in the end result aside, there was still much to be happy about and much to look forward to. Fury managed to transfer and grow its existing fan base after having to play the spring season at Carleton University. The club set an NASL attendance record on opening night at TD Place and managed to stay in the playoff conversation until late in the Fall season. The club was active in the community and the local soccer scene, worked that earned Scottish midfielder Nicki Paterson the club's community award. Paterson scored Ottawa's lone goal in a 1-1 draw in Fort Lauderdale to close out the season, after a tough season spent dealing with a knee injury.

Here's a look at how Fury fared on the pitch season and what changes may be coming next season.

Goalkeepers

Dos Santos downplayed the difficulty of having four keepers after signing Romuald Peiser mid-season to replace Devala Gorrick as the first-choice keeper. Peiser was strong and has a commanding presence in the box and is expected to be an anchor on the squad again next season. Dos Santos has said he will only have three keepers next season and isn't actively looking for a new name, so one of Gorrick, Marcel DeBellis or Chad Bush won't be back. Despite not having played this year, DeBellis is highly regarded among the coaches and Bush is a young, local talent. The belief is Gorrick, who had several strong performances in the spring season, wants to be back, so Dos Santos will have a tough decision to make.

Defenders

Dos Santos wants to improve his back line going into next season so expect some change over there. Mason Trafford, who started every game but the season finale for Fury this year, signed a contract extension mid-season and will be back next year. He admitted it was disappointing not to complete the season-long iron man streak, but is looking forward to next season and should be a significantly improved team.

"To be honest, I was disappointed, but Marc's the coach," said Trafford, saying he understood the coach wanting to give a last look to four guys still unsigned for next year. "It's a personal milestone and would have been a nice thing to have, but from Marc's point of view, it doesn't really mean much."

The rest of the defender corp is up the air, with Drew Beckie and Ryan Richter two of the most likely candidates to return. Beckie is Canadian and great team guy, respected in the locker room and active in the community, while Richter has been one of Ottawa's best defenders since being loaned here by TFC.

Midfield

One of Ottawa's strongest areas this year, the midfield will once again be led by captain Richie Ryan and Nicki Paterson, who wore the armband in Ryan's absence for the season finale. Paterson will be expecting big things of himself after a tough year that saw him miss the entire spring season and struggle to get his form back early in the fall campaign. He scored his second of the year in the last game to wrap things on a high note.

"I know what I can bring to the team so it was good to end it that way," Paterson said, adding it was tough not being with his new teammates as much as he would have liked while injured. "It was almost worse watching them win a game and celebrating and you're not really part of it. We've set a real foundation here and I think that's the main thing a first-year team does. We're really hungry for success."

Expect Dos Santos to keep young midfielder Mauro Eustaquio in the fold.

Forward

Striker Tommy Heinemann will be back next season, while it seems unlikely young talent like Oliver and Carl Haworth are going anywhere. Vini Dantas was strong when called upon this year, especially in the spring season with Heinemann hurt, and Pierre-Rudolph Mayard had a strong finish to the year, making the forwards another area where some tough decisions will be made. Dos Santos wants to add more skill and strength up front and likely already has a list of potential names ready to go. Dantas, meanwhile, said he won't forget scoring the first goal in Fury FC history.

"You hear of clubs who are celebrating their 50th, their 100th year of existence and (I think) how cool it would be if a 100 years from now they remember the very first goal that I scored," Dantas said.

Looking forward

Fury should make a serious run for a top-four spot on the NASL table next year and Dos Santos will be keeping himself busy in the coming months to make sure that happens. The coach is adamant his side will be tougher to play against at home than the group that won just once at TD Place this season.

"We finished three points away from the first place team playing away. We finished last home and that for me, that cannot happen," Dos Santos said.

NASL Playoffs

The league playoffs -- the Championship -- are made up of two semi-finals. "

Semi-final No. 1 (Saturday):

1. Minnesota vs. 4. Fort Lauderdale

2. San Antonio vs. 3. New York Cosmos (defending champions)

Fury leaders:

Goals: Oliver (7), Tommy Heinemann (6)

Assists: Tony Donatelli/Vini Dantas (4)

Minutes: Mason Trafford (2,348)

Twitter: @chrishofley