COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cucho Hernández scored twice and had one assist, leading the Columbus Crew past Los Angeles FC in the Leagues Cup final at Lower.com Field on Sunday evening.
After both teams stayed silent on the scoring front for nearly the entire first half, Columbus took a 1-0 lead after a header by Cucho Hernández in the 45th minute.
In the 53rd minute, LAFC nearly had a goal but was called back because the player was offside. Just three minutes later, Olivier Giroud tied the game at 1-1.
The tie stood firm for nearly the rest of the game with the threat of penalty kicks looming until Hernández scored his second goal of the game in the second minute of extra time. The Crew cemented their victory two minutes later with a goal from Jacen Russell-Rowe to make it 3-1.
The win came in front of a sellout crowd of more than 20,000 fans.
This is the club's second major trophy won at Lower.com Field in the last nine months, as they also beat LAFC to win the MLS Cup in December 2023.
On the road to the Leagues Cup final, the Crew bypassed the group stage and had an automatic spot in the Round of 32 where they took on Sporting KC, beating them 4-0.
The black and gold moved on to the round of 16, defeating Inter Miami 3-2 before getting past New York City FC in the quarterfinal on penalty kicks.
To get into the final, the Crew had a strong 3-1 win over Philadelphia.
Games for the Leagues Cup began on July 26 with 47 MLS and Liga MX teams pausing their respective league seasons to compete. In the month since the first kick-off, there have been 77 matches played across the United States and Canada, all hosted at MLS stadiums.
The top three teams, Columbus, LA and Colorado, receive automatic bids into the Concacaf Champions Cup with a chance to represent the Confederation at the FIFA Club World Cup.
