This season has been a sharp uphill from last season for Columbus Crew SC, partly due to the new additions to the squad. In the offseason, head coach Gregg Berhalter added four central defenders to the roster form a year ago. As a result, Norwegian center back Nico Næss went from one of the first names on the team sheet to fighting for a spot. A battle, in the end, not won.
It was announced on Wednesday morning that Næss was sold to SC Heerenveen in the Netherlands as he was in search of first team soccer after a year in Columbus.