The Crew are taking no chances ahead of their crucial final in Mexico.
The Columbus Crew will be playing against Liga MX’s CF Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final on Saturday, the final decider of who will be the last CONCACAF team to qualify to next year’s inaugural 2025 Club World Cup.
Goals from Aidan Morris and Diego Rossi on either side of halftime led the Columbus Crew to a 3-1 victory over Monterrey on Wednesday in Guadalupe, Mexico, giving the Crew a 5-2 aggregate win in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals.
Columbus, the reigning MLS Cup champion, opened the semifinal series with a 2-1 home victory on April 24.
The Crew advance to oppose another Mexican team, Pachuca, in the final on June 2. Pachuca beat Liga MX rival Club America 2-1 on Tuesday to cap a 3-2 semifinal victory.
Jacen Russell-Rowe contributed the winning goal and an assist as the host Columbus Crew earned a 2-1 victory over Monterrey on Wednesday in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal series.
The two-leg series will conclude on May 1 in Mexico.
Russell-Rowe headed home the winner in the 72nd minute after setting up Cucho Hernandez's goal in the 25th minute. Monterrey had pulled level on a goal from Maximiliano Meza in the 58th minute.
Inter Miami’s Concacaf Champions Cup dreams were shattered in brutal fashion on Wednesday as Monterrey dismantled the Herons 3-1 at Estadio BBVA to win 5-2 on aggregate.
Wednesday’s second leg in Mexico was the most hostile environment Lionel Messi has played in since joining Inter Miami in the summer. Monterrey fans boo Messi every time he touches the ball and got the last laugh as their side cruised to victory.
Columbus goalie Patrick Schulte saved the first two attempts in a penalty shootout as the Crew advanced past Tigres UANL on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup at San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico.
Tigres grabbed an early lead on a goal from Gignac in the third minute. Schulte got caught in possession inside his own 6-yard box, and Gignac tapped the ball into the vacated goal.
Tigres take the lead over Columbus early pic.twitter.com/8vv57PwSgi
Inter Miami, playing without Lionel Messi, went a man down and then finished a goal down after the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Henry Martin scored in the 16th minute, Alejandro Zendejas added a goal eight minutes later and America never looked back in a 4-0 drubbing of the New England Revolution in Foxborough, Mass., on Tuesday night in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series.
⚽️ ¡Gooool del América!
⚽️ ¡Gooool del América!
⚽️ ¡Gooool del América!1-0
EN VIVO
VIX
https://t.co/bCB03J0alu pic.twitter.com/wMM5JUrM0C
Watching soccer in the United States has never been easier with a litany of streaming options and different companies showing games. One company that lags behind the rest is FOX and it was never more evident than Thursday night.
FC Cincinnati and Liga MX side Monterrey faced off in a tight Champions Cup Round of 16 contest on Thursday. The game was the second leg with the Mexican side entering up 1-0.
Lionel Messi completed yet another mesmerizing performance for Inter Miami in their Concacaf Champions Cup tie against Nashville.
The Argentine lead the Herons to the quarterfinal stage of the tournament after scoring and assisting in their 3-1 win at the Chase Stadium (formerly DRV PNK Stadium) this Thursday.
Nos vemos en los cuartos de final ‼️ pic.twitter.com/fqJamD2Iaj
Pachuca 6, Union 0
Salomon Rondon's hat trick powered the hosts to a rout of Philadelphia in Pachuca, Mexico, sending Pachuca to a 6-0 aggregate victory.
Following a scoreless draw last week in Chester, Pa., Rondon opened the scoring with a seventh-minute penalty kick. He doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time when he exchanged quick passes with Erick Sanchez and fired home a left-footed shot from 12 yards out.