Columbus wins MLS Cup
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Lucas Zelarayán scored midway through the first half and added the clincher in the 82nd minute and the Columbus Crew won their second MLS Cup title, beating the defending champion Seattle Sounders 3-0 on Saturday night.
Derrick Etienne Jr. also scored in the first 45 minutes for Columbus. The Crew withstood Seattle’s second-half pressure and finally celebrated after Zelarayán’s goal.
Zelarayán, the MLS newcomer of the year and largest signing in franchise history, was the best player on the field on a night the Crew were playing shorthanded. Columbus was without midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Pedro Santos after both tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
Despite the absences, the Crew were the decidedly better side and Zelarayán was the instigator. Columbus claimed its first title since 2008 and denied Seattle a chance at being just the fourth back-toback champions in league history. The Sounders, playing in their fourth final in five years, were trying to be the first repeat champions since the LA Galaxy in 2011-12.
It was the first appearance in the final for Columbus since 2015 when the Crew were denied a title by the Portland Timbers and current Columbus coach Caleb Porter. The franchise was nearly relocated just a few years ago, but efforts to keep the team in Columbus proved successful and now there is a championship to celebrate.
The loss of Nagbe and Santos seemed to be the biggest story entering the final. It was the first time this season Columbus played without either player in its lineup.
But their teammates — namely Zelarayán — made their absences moot.
Zelarayán scored in the 25th minute off a perfect feed from Harrison Afful, getting behind Seattle fullback Alex Roldan and snaking his left-footed volley past goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Six minutes later, Zelarayán made the smart play finding Etienne and his curling shot gave Columbus a 2-0 lead. Etienne started in place of Santos.
And Zelarayán showed patience before rocketing a left-footed shot past Frei for the final goal. Zelarayán was the third player in an MLS Cup final with two goals and the first since Alecko Eskandarian in 2004.