Crew beat Monterrey to reach Concacaf Champions Cup final

Nashville fires Smith only coach in team history

Goals from Aidan Morris and Diego Rossi on either side of halftime led the Columbus to a 3-1 victory over Rayados on Wednesday in Monterrey, Mexico, giving the Crew a 5-2 aggregate win in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals.

Columbus, the reigning MLS Cup champion, opened the semifinal series with a 2-1 home victory on April 24.

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The Crew advance to oppose another Mexican team, Pachuca, in the final on June 2. Pachuca beat Liga MX rival América 2-1 on Tuesday to cap a 3-2 semifinal victory.

Monterrey leveled the series with an 11th-minute own goal from Crew defender Yevhen Cheberko.

With seconds left in the first half, Monterrey goalie Esteban Andrada rolled the ball out beyond the 18-yard box but left it short of his intended target. Morris ran onto the ball, drove to the top of the box and rolled a right-footed shot past Andrada, who was stranded at the penalty spot.

Columbus' Alexandru Matan entered the game as a second-half substitute and made an immediate impact. His perfect pass slipped in to Rossi for a 14-yard, left-footed shot that padded the Crew's aggregate advantage.

Jacen Russell-Rowe capped Columbus' victory with a counterattack goal in the 89th minute, breaking in alone and chipping the ball past Andrada, who came out to challenge him.

Andrada subsequently saved a penalty kick from Christian Ramírez in second-half stoppage time.

Columbus is headed to the final of the competition, formerly known as the Concacaf Champions League, for the first time. Pachuca is a five-time winner of the event.