Derrick Etienne Jr. also scored in the first 45 minutes for Columbus. The Crew withstood Seattle’s second-half pressure and finally celebrated after Zelarayan’s goal.
Zelarayan, the MLS newcomer of the year and largest signing in franchise history, was the best player on the field on a night the Crew were playing short-handed. Columbus was without midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Pedro Santos after both tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
Despite the absences, the Crew were the decidedly better side and Zelarayan was the instigator. Columbus claimed its first title since 2008 and denied Seattle a chance at being just the fourth back-to-back champions in league history. The Sounders, playing in their fourth final in five years, were trying to be the first repeat champions since the LA Galaxy in 2011-12.
It was the first appearance in the final for Columbus since 2015 when the Crew were denied a title by the Portland Timbers and current Columbus coach Caleb Porter. The franchise was nearly relocated just a few years ago, but efforts to keep the team in Columbus proved successful and now there is a championship to celebrate.
The loss of Nagbe and Santos seemed to be the biggest story entering the final. It was the first time this season Columbus played without either player in its lineup.
But their teammates — namely Zelarayan — made their absences moot.
Zelarayan scored in the 25th minute off a perfect feed from Harrison Afful, getting behind Seattle fullback Alex Roldan and snaking his left-footed volley past goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Six minutes later, Zelarayan made the smart play finding Etienne and his curling shot gave Columbus a 2-0 lead. Etienne started in place of Santos.
And Zelarayan showed patience before rocketing a left-footed shot past Frei for the final goal. Zelarayan was the third player in an MLS Cup final with two goals and the first since Alecko Eskandarian in 2004.
Seattle needed a frantic comeback in the final 15 minutes of its Western Conference final against Minnesota United just to reach MLS Cup. Down 2-0 to Minnesota, the Sounders scored three times, including Gustav Svensson’s winner in stoppage time off a corner kick.
The deficit was the same for most of the second half against Columbus, but the magic of Seattle’s comeback just five days earlier was absent. The Sounders had numerous chances in the second half, but attempts failed to find the net. Nicolas Lodeiro’s shot through traffic in the 71st minute trickled wide. Three minutes later, Svensson’s header off a corner kick failed to find the target.
Jordan Morris had the final good look for Seattle in the 80th minute, but his header was saved by Eloy Room.
Columbus Crew rout Seattle Sounders 3-0 in MLS Cup final /p>