Cucho Hernández scored three goals in the first 23 minutes — his second hat trick in the last three matches — and the Columbus Crew clinched a playoff spot with a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night. The hat trick by Hernández was the second fastest from the start in league history. Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar set the league record with a hat trick in the first 16 minutes of a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Fire in July of 2021. Hernández scored again on a PK for a 2-0 lead eight minutes later after Yaw Yeboah drew a yellow card on defender Arnaud Souquet. Hernández finished off the hat trick when he used a pass from Julian Gressel to push the lead to 3-0.
