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MLS Columbus Crew SC

Columbus Crew Capture Leagues Cup 2024 Title with Dramatic 3-1 Victory

August 25, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


NEW YORK CITY AND MEXICO CITY - In front of a sellout crowd of 20,190 fans at Lower.com Field, the Columbus Crew, behind an electric pair of goals in second-half stoppage time, defeated the Los Angeles Football Club, 3-1, in a rematch of MLS Cup 2023 presented by Audi. Crew star striker Cucho Hernández, who was named the Best Player of Leagues Cup 2024, played the role of hero for the home squad, as he scored each of the club's first two goals of the match and added an assist on the punctuating third goal of the evening.

For the Crew, the Leagues Cup 2024 title marks their second major trophy that they have won at Lower.com Field within the last 260 days, as they also defeated LAFC, 2-1, to win MLS Cup in December 2023.

Columbus outlasted 46 clubs from LIGA MX and MLS to win the Leagues Cup trophy and clinched an automatic berth into the Round of 16 of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. LAFC, as the tournament's runner-up, and the Colorado Rapids, as the winner of Sunday's Third-Place Match against the Philadelphia Union, both earned qualification into the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One.

In the waning minutes of the first half, the home side struck first as a sensational chip from Mohamed Farsi found a streaking Hernández, who elevated over an LAFC defender and powered a header into the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage. The goal was Hernández's third of Leagues Cup 2024 and marked the third consecutive match against LAFC that the Colombian has scored.

LAFC provided the answer in the 57th minute, as a Mateusz Bogusz corner found the head of Olivier Giroud, the all-time leading scorer for the French National Team and World Cup champion, for his first goal in Black and Gold since arriving earlier to MLS this summer.

Hernández once again emerged as the hero for the Crew, as a driving, right-footed shot sailed past his teammate Jacen Russell-Rowe and snuck beyond the reach LAFC 'keeper Hugo Lloris for the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute, sending the faithful at Lower.com Field into a frenzy. For good measure, Hernández found Russell-Rowe just two minutes later for the club's third and final goal en route to the Leagues Cup 2024 title.

The following are the individual award winners for Leagues Cup 2024:

Best Player: Cucho Hernández, Columbus Crew

Top Scorer: Tai Baribo, Philadelphia Union (seven goals)

Best Goalkeeper: Zack Steffen, Colorado Rapids

More than 1.31 million fans attended Leagues Cup 2024 matches, with a record-setting average of 17,131 fans per match.

Earlier in the day, Zack Steffen became the first goalkeeper in Leagues Cup history to win three different penalty-kick shootouts in a single edition of the tournament as the Colorado Rapids knocked off the Philadelphia Union, 2-2 (3-1), in the Third-Place Match. The Rapids, who clinched a berth in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup with the win, received goals from Calvin Harris and Oliver Larraz, while both of Philadelphia's goals were scored by Leagues Cup 2024 Top Scorer Tai Baribo (seven goals total).

Leagues Cup, an official Concacaf tournament, features all 47 first division clubs in Canada, Mexico and the United States in a World Cup-style club competition, where the champion and the second and third-place finishers will qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup. In total, 77 matches were played in the months of July and August throughout the United States and Canada and were available on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions around the world. Inter Miami CF won the inaugural edition of this tournament in 2023.

In addition to remarkable action on the field, Leagues Cup is proud to announce that it has surpassed its goal of donating 4.5 million meals between the 2023 and 2024 editions, reaching 4.6 million reaffirming its commitment to making a positive impact in all 47 local communities represented by participating clubs. Through the United Against Hunger initiative, MLS and LIGA MX have united to alleviate food insecurity across the Canada, Mexico, and the United States. For every Leagues Cup match ticket sold, two meals have been donated to those in need, demonstrating the power of sport in fostering positive impact and providing crucial support to vulnerable populations.

For more information on United Against Hunger, please visit: www.leaguescup.com/unitedagainsthunger.

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