Cucho Hernández scored a hat trick to lead the Columbus Crew's 4-0 win over Sporting Kansas City and take MLS Player of the Matchday honors for Matchday 22.
With Saturday's three-goal outburst at Lower.com Field, the Colombian star became just the fifth active MLS player with at least three regular-season hat tricks – joining CF Montréal's Josef Martínez (six), Nashville SC's Hany Mukhtar (four), Real Salt Lake's Chicho Arango (three) and D.C. United's Christian Benteke (three).
Additionally, all three of Hernández's hat tricks have come in his last 20 games dating back to last season. He's scored 19 goals total during this span, equaling a club milestone only previously achieved by Stern John (1998-99).
Cucho is now a two-time Player of the Matchday winner, following his recognition during Matchday 30 of the 2023 season. He's the first Crew player to receive the award in back-to-back seasons since Guillermo Barros Schelotto in 2008 and '09.
Columbus, the 2023 MLS Cup champions, seek their sixth win in seven games on Saturday night when visiting the New England Revolution (7:30 pm ET | Apple TV - Free).
The MLS Player of the Matchday is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
