COLUMBUS, Ohio — The salvation that occurred two Decembers ago, from the labors of the fans who wouldn’t let their team be ripped away from the city, culminated in a championship Saturday night at the first stadium specifically built for massive moments in Major League Soccer.
It’s not supposed to be comprehended, let alone believable. But it is reality.
The MLS Cup won’t be leaving Columbus this time.
With two of its top players in Darlington Nagbe and Pedro Santos ruled out for the final after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week, the Crew stunned the reigning champion Seattle Sounders, 3-0, to claim the club’s second-ever MLS Cup title at Mapfre Stadium against a team many considered to be on the brink of a dynasty.
Midfielder Lucas Zelarayan saved one of his top performances of the year for the game that mattered most. The $8 million signing from Liga MX scored the opener and had the primary assist on a goal by Derrick Etienne Jr. that put the Crew ahead 2-0 before the 31-minute mark.
The MLS newcomer of the year wasn’t done for the night, blasting a final goal in the 82nd minute with his left foot into the upper-left corner of the south goal.
As yellow smoke putrefied the cool night air and poured out across the 1,500-plus socially distanced fans who could no longer conceal their emotions, Zelarayan sprinted toward his teammates to the right of the goal who held up the clear MVP of a match that was nothing short of pure dominance.
Five years ago, Crew coach Caleb Porter won his first MLS championship as coach of the Portland Timbers at Mapfre Stadium. At the same stadium that he also won a college championship as an assistant coach at Indiana in 2003, Porter closed one chapter and opened another by giving a club that was nearly taken out of town an MLS Cup the year before moving into a new, state-of-the-art stadium.
Getting to Saturday’s final was far from a sure thing just a few weeks ago. The Crew avoided disaster in the conference semifinals when only two starters were among seven players who tested positive for COVID-19. This week, the club wasn’t as lucky.
Two positive tests knocked out one of the top midfielders in MLS in Nagbe and one of the club’s most prolific scorers in Santos. In their place, Porter selected Etienne — who recovered from COVID-19 and missed the past two games — and 19-year-old Aidan Morris who became the youngest starter in MLS Cup history.
In just his third career professional start, Morris never seemed unmatched for what was being asked of him. He looked poised in the midfield, aggressive in winning tackles and began the sequence for the opening goal by getting out of pressure before finding right back Harrison Afful up the field.
Afful took a couple of touches before delivering a cross clear across the field to the back post where Zelarayan hit the ball first time with his left foot and snuck the ball under the left glove of Stefan Frei into the back of the net.
What the Crew saw in Zelarayan when scouting for their next primary attacker in the midfield was present in six minutes that will be remembered for eternity. The Argentine showed world-class control and finish on an opening goal in the 25th minute that almost felt necessary with the absences of Nagbe and Santos.
In the 31st minute, Zelarayan’s unpredictability with the ball opened up space for the second goal. A header from Seattle’s Cristian Roldan fell to Zelarayan at the top of the box where he faked a shot and shifted the ball to his left foot. His pass was perfectly weighted for Etienne to hit the ball on his first touch past Frei inside the right post.
Without Nagbe and Santos, it was clear the Crew’s top players in Zelarayan, Gyasi Zardes, Artur and Jonathan Mensah would have to play at a high level. With Seattle in possession for almost two-thirds of the game, Artur made crucial tackles to slow down attacking threats. Mensah dominated the air, yielding no space to potent striker Raul Ruidiaz.
The Sounders got off 12 shots but only one required goalkeeper Eloy Room to make a save.
The final whistle not only signaled mercy for Seattle, but an official transformation from the team that was saved to the last team standing.
