Columbus Crew players celebrate a goal against the Seattle Sounders during the first half of the MLS Championship soccer match Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lucas Zelarayán scored midway through the first half and added the clincher in the 82nd minute and the Columbus Crew won their second MLS Cup title, beating the defending champion Seattle Sounders 3-0 on Saturday night. Columbus claimed its first title since 2008 and denied Seattle a chance at being just the fourth back-to-back champions in league history. 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. Down 2-0 to Minnesota, the Sounders scored three times, including Gustav Svensson’s winner in stoppage time off a corner kick.

Seattle Sounders players celebrate with the championship trophy after the team beat Minnesota United in an MLS playoff Western Conference final soccer match, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)SEATTLE – As the confetti flew and the fireworks popped before an empty stadium, the Seattle Sounders were handed the Western Conference championship trophy for the fourth time in five years. Only a few minutes earlier, the Sounders appeared on the verge of relinquishing their claim of being defending MLS Cup champions. Seattle is just the second team in MLS history to reach the final four times in five seasons, joining DC United in the first seasons of the league. It was just the second time in team history two different substitutes scored for the Sounders.