Crew fall behind Revs early, then score five straight

Updated: Jun 30, 2024, 06:38 am

Diego Rossi scored and had two assists and Cucho Hernandez scored and contributed an assist for the Columbus Crew in a 5-1 win, snapping the host Revolution's four-match winning streak on Saturday.

Christian Ramirez added two assists for the Crew, who fell behind when Emmanuel Boateng put New England ahead 1-0 in the ninth minute. The Crew then responded to take a 3-1 halftime lead.

Hernandez tied it seven minutes later; Max Arfsten made it 2-1 in the 42nd and Rossi completed a tic-tac-toe play in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.

Columbus's Rudy Camacho extended the lead in the 72nd minute with a header from a Rossi corner and Steven Moreira in the 80th converted a pass from Rossi on the break.

The Crew (9-3-6, 33 points) have won six of seven and a fifth road win surpassed their 2023 total.

The Revolution (6-11-1, 19 points) knew the Crew like to play out of the back, so they pressured them into a giveaway by Moreira that Boateng intercepted and deposited with a chip over goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.

Hernandez, who scored a hat trick in the previous match vs. Sporting Kansas City, continued his hot streak by taking a long ball by Ramirez on the left side to rip a shot from 15 yards.

He has six goals in his past four matches and 20 in the past 21 regular-season matches back to 2023.

Arfsten sent a wicked 18-yard knuckler under the bar for the lead, and the Crew had a crisp counter that saw Ramirez send a cross-field pass to Hernandez left of the goal. He put the ball in the center of the box for Rossi's tally to make it 4-1.

The Crew have nine goals in the past two matches.

Due to injury, New England was missing leading contributor Carles Gil, who has five goals and five assists.

Columbus played for the first time since 2023 MLS All-Star midfielder Aidan Morris transferred to English second-tier club Middlesbrough.

This was the first time New England coach Caleb Porter faced his former team. He was with the Crew from 2019-22, winning the MLS Cup in 2020.

His replacement, Wilfried Nancy, won the MLS Cup last season.

--Field Level Media