MIAMI – Columbus Crew host CF Monterrey in the first leg of their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal series on Wednesday at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, United States.
The reigning MLS Cup winners are still riding the wave of their championship success by reaching the semifinal stage for the first time in club history. Columbus advanced past Tigres UANL in the quarterfinals, 4-3 on penalty kicks, after tying 2-2 on aggregate. The Crew entered the tournament in the Round of 16 and advanced with a 2-1 aggregate win over Houston Dynamo.
Diego Rossi was pivotal in the series against Tigres UANL, with a goal in each leg, in the partial absence of striker Juan Camilo Hernandez, who returned in the second leg and helped build up the tying goal. Hernandez leads the club with four league goals. Rising star Aidan Morris will return after missing the second leg due to suspension. Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte is also a critical young talent who has been reliable with 15 saves and was a defining player in penalty kicks.
Playing at home, @ColumbusCrew 🇺🇸 have a streak of 10 games without losing there (W-4 D-6) 💪
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) April 20, 2024
Their last home defeat was in 2009 (0-2) 🆚 Cruz Azul pic.twitter.com/8gPDxe0JBA
Monterrey is coming off a 5-2 win on aggregate over Inter Miami CF in the quarterfinals. Before that, the Mexican club defeated another MLS club FC Cincinnati, 3-1 on aggregate, in the Round of 16. Rayados began its campaign with a 7-1 aggregate win over Comunicaciones in Round One.
Brandon Vazquez leads Monterrey with four CCC goals and has five Liga MX goals this season. German Berterame, with seven goals across all competitions, and Sergio Canales, with five league goals, will also be players to watch. Maximiliano Meza leads the team with five CCC assists and scored two goals against Columbus in the previous meeting between the clubs in the 2021 quarterfinals.
The two clubs will face each other after squaring off in the 2021 edition. CF Monterrey won 5-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals on their way to being crowned champions.
In 12 semifinals contested between MLS and Mexican clubs, Mexican sides advanced ten times, while MLS clubs only went through twice. Columbus Crew has faced Mexican rivals 10 times since 2008/09 and only defeated Santos Laguna, 1-0, in the 2009/10 group stage. CF Monterrey will play its 8th semifinal series in the competition's history. Out of the previous seven, it qualified in five.
Match Officials Columbus Crew (USA) vs CF Monterrey (MEX)
REF: OSHANE NATION (Jamaica)
AR1: CALEB WALES (Trinidad and Tobago)
AR2: OJAY DUHANEY (Jamaica)
4TH: JULIO LUNA (Guatemala)
VAR: DANEON PARCHMENT (Jamaica)
VAR1: BENJAMIN WHITTY (Cayman Islands)
