Sept. 20, The Columbus Crew claimed their playoff spot after their 3-0 home victory against the Chicago Fire.
During the Crew’s win, forward Cucho Hernández scored the second-fastest hat trick in Major League Soccer (MLS) history. His first two goals were penalty kicks in the eighth and 16th minute of play. His third goal of the night was assisted by Crew midfielder Julian Gressel.
Gressel has been one of multiple new additions to the Columbus roster during this past season. A couple of notable transfers include forward Diego Rossi and defender Yevhen Cheberko. Rossi had played for MLS West team LAFC earlier in his career before his transfer to Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe S.K During Ross’s stint with LAFC, he was named Best MLS Player at the 2021 ESPY Awards per LAFC.com. Cheberko was acquired from the Croatian First Division side, NK Osijek.
According to ColumbusCrew.com, Crew President and General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko said, “Yevhen is a talented player with a high ceiling who will help solidify the core of our backline and provide more tactical flexibility.”
On the club’s way to the playoffs, they have so far earned 48 points in the MLS Standings. They have won 14 games and tied six times throughout the 29 games they have played. The Crew are third in the Eastern Conference standings with only five games left on their regular season slate.
The new format of the MLS Playoffs includes a wild card round and then a best-of-three series in round one. The wild card round occurs on Oct. 25 and 26. The first round follows on Oct. 28 and will conclude on Nov. 12. The season finale will take place on Dec. 9 when the Eastern and Western Conference champions battle for the MLS Cup.
