Major League Soccer’s 21st season is now less than a week away. For Columbus Crew SC, that means a west coast road trip beckons. There, they’ll have to watch the Portland Timbers team that beat them in their own house last December raise the championship banner which symbolizes that victory.

No matter how much time the players have had to get over such a setback, the lead-up to Sunday’s MLS Cup 2015 rematch will sting. To be able to get so close to the pinnacle of American soccer only to fall short in front of your home fans carries with it an immense sense of frustration. And then having to indirectly be a part of the title ceremony in Portland on opening day the following season won’t feel good.

But all of that is out of Crew SC’s control. The schedule is what it is, and the players can only go out there and play the hand they’ve been dealt. The club is the defending Eastern Conference champions. With that carries a sense of expectation that some semblance of the status quo can be maintained. This is especially true considering that virtually everyone from last year’s team returns.

With that in mind, what are we to expect from the 2016 iteration of Crew SC? Does this team have another conference championship run in it, perhaps more than that? Can they exorcise the demons from last year’s MLS Cup, make it back there and this time hoist it for the second time in team history?

Slowly but surely, those questions will be answered over the course of another grinding season.

Firstly, though, it makes sense to do a quick statistical review of last year’s campaign.

Columbus Crew SC 2015 Season by the Numbers

(positions are in relation to MLS as a whole unless otherwise noted)

2015 Regular Season Record: 15-11-8, 53 points (second in Eastern Conference, t-third in MLS)

Home Record: 9-4-4, 31 points (t-tenth)

Road Record: 6-7-4, 22 points (t-third)

58 goals scored (t-second)

53 goals conceded (15th)

8.14 shots per goal (fifth)

8.14 shots conceded per goal (14th)

52.7 percent possession per game (second)

81.4 percent pass accuracy per game (second)

91.59 recoveries, interceptions and tackles per game (16th)

These stats point to a team with a high level of offensive proficiency. Despite struggling on the road early, Crew SC was able to get favorable results away from MAPFRE Stadium late in the year. It was a major factor in the club’s strong finish to the season. That said, the back line had its share of struggles at times and it showed in the number of goals given up. But even that unit peaked at the right time and played its part in Columbus making it all the way to MLS Cup.

Heading into a new season, it’s clear that the attack needs to pick up right where it left off. There needs to be improvement in the defense’s ability to neutralize opposing attacks, particularly as it relates to vulnerability to the counter. And the club’s possession-oriented identity must continue to be the catalyst for build-up play and chance creation.

Below will be a position by position evaluation of Crew SC as the 2016 season looms.

Columbus Crew SC 2016 Season Outlook

Goalkeeper

Since Steve Clark joined the Black and Gold from Norwegian club Honefoss ahead of the 2014 season, he has yet to miss a single minute of play for the team. When you include regular season and playoffs, that’s 6,750 consecutive minutes played. Only the New York Red Bulls Luis Robles spent more time in goal over the previous two seasons.

There’s no reason to believe that Clark won’t reprise this role in 2016. His status as the club’s number one goalkeeper appears to be fairly set in stone. Behind him on the current roster are 2013 Waiver Draft selection Brad Stuver and undrafted rookie Matt Pacifici out of Davidson College who’s currently on trial. Stuver’s only action with the club in 2015 was in a May friendly against La Liga club Valencia and their two US Open Cup matches. It remains unclear whether Pacifici is in the team’s plans beyond the recently concluded preseason.

Clark has done yeoman’s work in net for Crew SC. In 2014, he had the second highest save percentage (72.5) in the league for keepers who made at least 20 appearances. That number was a bit down in 2015 but when you combine regular season and playoffs he faced a league high 202 shots, saving 71.3 percent of them.

His ability between the posts is unquestioned. The issue tends to be when the ball is at his feet on back passes. Head coach Gregg Berhalter’s system requires the goalie to become a bit of a sweeper keeper at times. And Clark was shaky in this regard. Nowhere was this more evident than the opening goal of MLS Cup less than a minute in.

With his third season looming in Columbus, Clark certainly has a bit to prove while also maintaining his status as one of the longer tenured goalkeepers in the league.

Defenders

When you look at the above statistics from 2015, the goals conceded number stands out and not in a good way. Of the 12 teams that made the playoffs last year, only Toronto FC let in more with 58.

Two summer transfer window arrivals improved the club’s fortunes. Ghanaian right fullback Harrison Afful and Argentinian central defender Gaston Sauro stabilized a back line that was the team’s weak link for portions of the season. Their presence played a key role in solidifying the unit down the stretch.

Both return for 2016, though there was a rumor early in the off-season that Afful was headed elsewhere. On December 28, 2015, a report indicated that Turkish club Mersin Idmanyurdu was set to land Afful. The report turned out to be unfounded.

Among the club’s off-season additions, Crew SC added veteran MLS fullback Corey Ashe from Houston. He became the first free agent signing in the history of the club. They also acquired Egyptian center back Amro Tarek on loan from La Liga side Real Betis.

Fans of the Black and Gold should be excited at the prospect of a full season centerback partnership between Sauro and Michael Parkhurst. Combining regular season and playoffs, the two played together in just seven games last year. Having effective communication between each other and the goalkeeper takes time, as does chemistry with regard to spacing and man-marking. That all should be enhanced in 2016.

And let’s not forget that with Afful and Waylon Francis, the club possesses arguably the most dynamic tandem of fullbacks in MLS. Both are highly industrious with their defensive work as well as their ability to push forward into the attacking third. It’s a staple of the Berhalter system and having both of them around for a whole season is a titillating prospect.

Midfielders

As the 4-2-3-1 slowly becomes a default formation in MLS, the setup of the Crew SC midfield will become an example to follow. This is especially true with respect to the defensive midfield double pivot of Tony Tchani and Wil Trapp. The two are high work rate players able to win the ball as well as accurately distribute it upfield. And their play was recognized by USMNT head coach Jürgen Klinsmann as the two were called into January’s recent camp.

Both demonstrated how effective they were in 2015. Tchani accounted for 14.31 percent of Columbus’ recoveries, interceptions and tackles last season which led the team. It was also eighth best in the league among players who’ve appeared in at least 60 percent of their team’s minutes. And adding a career-high five goals didn’t hurt as well. Despite missing three months due to a concussion, Trapp demonstrated his quality as a number six. His defensive action usage rate was slightly over 12 percent (second best on team) and he connected on 88 percent of his passes.

The club added depth at d-mid via the SuperDraft by picking Rodrigo Saravia out of Florida Gulf Coast in the first round. Saravia recently received his first call-up to the Guatemala national team. He was the first signing among the rookies brought into the team. Playing time will be hard to come by, but he could find the field during in-season friendlies and US Open Cup play.

The tried and tested attacking midfield trio of Justin Meram, Federico Higuaín and Ethan Finlay returns. The past two seasons have really seen these three blossom into dynamic playmakers. That was particularly the case in 2015 when they combined for 26 goals and 27 assists. And both Meram and Finlay earned international call-ups to the Iraqi and US national teams respectively.

Emil Larsen’s arrival from Danish side Odense adds depth to the club’s crop of wing players. Cedrick Mabwati proved to be a crucial asset off the bench and it’s hoped Larsen can do the same.

Forwards

Quality striker play was far from lacking for Crew SC last season. With Kei Kamara as lone target man up top, it was likely the best in the league. Kamara finished second in the MLS MVP voting after scoring 22 goals in the regular season. He added four more in the playoffs, scoring in all three rounds of Columbus’ run to MLS Cup. His skill set is a perfect example of the modern number nine.

Expectations are high for an encore in 2016. But firstly, there was the added challenge of settling a contract dispute that arose ahead of the club’s first preseason camp in Lakewood Ranch, FL. Steven Goff of the Washington Post originally reported that Kamara was looking for an improved deal. On Wednesday, him and the club finally agreed to an extension that makes him a designated player through the 2018 season.

With Jack McInerney and Aaron Schoenfeld having departed, there was an added importance towards adding forwards to the squad in the off-season to provide a good threat off the bench. Long-time MLS veteran Conor Casey arrived via free agency. Then came forward Ola Kamara from Norwegian Club Molde (was on loan there from Austria Wien of the Austrian league).

With the nucleus from 2015’s Eastern Conference championship team fairly intact, expectations are high. Between the quality of the play on the field and a commitment to excellence from the front office and ownership, the Crew SC brand is as vibrant as it’s ever been. The key going forward is to build upon last season’s MLS Cup final appearance. The only way to do that, in the words of the Tom Berenger character from Major League (who incidentally played for another Ohio pro sports franchise), is to win the whole freaking thing.