Cucho Hernandez scored from the penalty spot for his fifth playoff goal, Yaw Yeboah added a second goal four minutes later and the Columbus Crew held on to win their third MLS Cup with a 2-1 victory over visiting LAFC in Sunday’s final.
Patrick Schulte made four stops to help Columbus prevent LAFC from becoming the first repeat MLS Cup Champions since the LA Galaxy in 2011 and 2012.
Instead, Wilfried Nancy becomes the latest first-year manager to win the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy after LAFC’s Steve Cherundolo accomplished the feat last year.
Nancy’s 2023 trophy comes after Columbus also won the honor in 2008 and 2020, and lost to Portland in the 2015 final.
Denis Bouanga scored his fifth playoff goal for LAFC in the second half to set up some late drama. But the visitors were second-best for most of the competition and particularly the first half when the ball spent the majority of the time in the Crew’s attacking half.
The result was a defeat in a third major final for LAFC this season. The Black and Gold lost the Concacaf Champions League title on two legs to Liga MX’s Club Leon and the Campeones Cup to Tigres UANL, another Mexican squad.
Columbus might have worried they would regret missing a handful of early first-half chances before Cucho finally scored from the spot.
The infraction was a handball on Diego Palacios, called immediately by referee Armando Villareal and upheld after a video review.
Cucho — who took over penalty kick duties in the middle of the season after Lucas Zelarayan’s departure to the Saudi Arabian league — drove his finish hard and low to the left as goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau guessed incorrectly.
Yeboah doubled the lead on a gorgeous incisive attack four minutes later. Malte Amundsen set it up, controlling a pass from Darlington Nagbe in the center circle with his first touch and then driving a firm, half-field through ball into the path of Yeboah cutting into the penalty area from the left.
Yeboah then finished cleanly under the charging Crepeau for the 26-year-old’s first career playoff goal.
Bouanga closed it to 2-1 in the 74th minute on a play created when defender Jesus Murillo’s pressure forced a Crew turnover in their own end.
Murillo continued the run himself, then played a pass to his left that found Bouanga at the back post. Schulte saved Bouanga’s first strike, but Bouanga slid in the rebound from close range for his 38th goal in all competitions this season.
–Field Level Media