COLUMBUS (AP) — Cucho Hernández had a first-half goal and a second-half assist and the defending MLS Cup champion Crew cooled off the New York Red Bulls with a 3-0 victory on Saturday night.
Hernández netted his third goal of the season for the unbeaten Crew (3-0-1) when he took a pass from Yaw Yeboah and scored in the 13th minute.
The goal stood until Jacen Russell-Rowe used an assist from Hernández to score in the 56th minute, doubling the lead. Aidan Morris scored from close range off a pass from Sean Zawadzki 10 minutes later to complete the scoring.
Patrick Schulte saved two shots in earning the clean sheet for the Crew.
Carlos Coronel did not have a save for the Red Bulls (2-1-1).
Columbus travels to play Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday (7:30 p.m.).