Cucho Delivers Again in Massive Win by Columbus Crew

Cucho Hernández scored his second hat trick in three matches, leading the Columbus Crew to an easy victory over the Chicago Fire 3-0 last night in Columbus. The sold-out crowd of 20,000 at Lower.com Field celebrated a drama-free night of soccer. The Crew faithful appreciated it after the team dismally blew a two-goal lead against Orlando City last weekend which would have propelled them into second place.

Chicago played slow and without enthusiasm from the opening whistle leading to yellow-card fouls in the box at the 8th and 16th minutes. Cucho converted both penalties to give Columbus a quick 2-0 lead.

The Crew’s star forward added a third goal seven minutes later, heading in a corner from winger Julian Gressel into the back of the net. It was a rare set-piece goal for the Crew, who lead MLS with 60 goals scored but are near-last on set-piece goals.

Chicago was issued seven yellow cards for the game, two to midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri which resulted in a red card ejection in the 67th minute. Chicago only had one shot on goal for the match, easily handled by goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.  The shutout was Schulte’s seventh clean sheet of the season.

The Crew secured a spot in the post-season with the win, but there’s a lot of work to be done in the final five games of the regular season. Columbus is tied with Philadelphia and New England on points, but each team has a game in hand. Columbus is technically in 3rd place, but it feels more like fifth. Atlanta is in 6th place, two points behind the Crew. Columbus has matches against Philadelphia, New England, and Atlanta in the final month. Next up for Columbus is a road trip to Dallas for a match this Saturday night.