"I was running with the ball and said 'Ah, I'm going to get my hat trick.' But the center back came to me, I had to give to Jacen... He's a great striker, he's a killer."
3
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goals, 3 Cucho goal contributions and the Leagues Cup title. More below
So some personal news: I’ve recently accepted my first full-time sports journalism position with The Columbus Dispatch. With the Dispatch, I’ll be covering the
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, Ohio State women’s basketball and some high school content
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have announced Patrick Schulte has made the 18-player United States men’s soccer Olympic team. The club honored Schulte ahead of today’s match vs Toronto FC
Asked Christian Ramirez if he believes the trio of himself, Cucho and Diego Rossi is the best trio in MLS right now. Ramirez: "We know what we are"
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Just like against Tigres in Champions Cup,
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coach Wilfried Nancy had no clue who would be taking the PKs tonight for Columbus... Left it all to the players
I can finally reveal that it has been confirmed with me that Columbus will be hosting the 2024 SheBelieves Cup on April 9 at Lower(.)com Field. An official announcement is expected to be made by U.S. Soccer tomorrow
#USWNT
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Christian Ramirez said that himself, Darlington and Cucho came up with the idea for a “jersey theme day” for the match
He added that because Marino Hinestroza wore a Travis Kelce on Wednesday, they were joking that he got the day wrong
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Asked Cucho what happened here. He explained how his actions were because of the way Mabika was pushing Taha Habroune during/after the play. Full answer ⬇️⬇️
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Five
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players are 2024 MLS all-stars:
- Cucho Hernandez
- Diego Rossi
- Darlington Nagbe
- Rudy Camacho
- Steven Moreira
Hernandez, Rossi, Camacho and Moreira were all selected by Wilfried Nancy (who's coaching the team). Nagbe was a commissioner pick
“I'm a completely different person, different player… I think it's come full circle. I'm so comfortable in my game”
In front 30+ family and friends, Christian Ramirez had a stand out performance against his former club, LAFC
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Also, did Schulte just 100% secure his Olympic team spot? (He was already likely to make it, but something big has to happen for it not to happen after that performance)
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🚨BREAKING: Sources tell The Dispatch that
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president/GM Tim Bezbatchenko is close to signing a deal for a new job with Black Knight Football, which has EPL’s AFC Bournemouth amount its holdings
More
@DispatchAlerts
When talking about the Aston Villa game,
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coach Wilfried Nancy says if it was possible, he would take fans to a Premier League game, just to experience the environment
He jokes that he is going to ask Jimmy Haslam to get the funds to do it
Sources: Aidan Morris is not expected to be on the 18-player United States Olympic team roster, set to be announced in a couple minutes. Middlesbrough would not release him to compete
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: When talking to Cucho today, he mentioned he has moments when he comes out of his “zone of being calm”
I asked if he struggled remaining calm during the Charlotte match, here is his response (via translator):
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Malte Amundsen says that signing the contract extension was "not a crazy decision" and that Columbus has a great environment making it "easy to say yes"
I want to take a second to give a huge shout out and thank you to
@BaileyAJohnson_
She started the season as the Dispatch’s Crew beat writer and has helped me so much as I started at such a crazy time (despite having a super cool job of her own)
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has officially released their availability report and as of right now, no one is listed as questionable or out
Biggest takeaway: Will Sands is seemingly cleared to play for the first time since his ACL injury on April 22 of last season
Wilfried Nancy said he talked to Marino Hinestroza already following his red card at the end of the match and that “the best way to learn is when you make a mistake, and he made a mistake”
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MLS Commissioner Don Garber says that there was no league investigation in regard to the food poisoning
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caught ahead of the CONCACAF Champions Cup final
So today’s happenings at
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training: The team is practicing taking shots blindfolded. The blindfolded player is paired with a partner guiding them
The results are very mixed
Big Columbus Crew News: Sources confirm the club has acquired midfielder Marino Hinestroza. Team is expected to make official announcement soon. A full report coming ASAP
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Wilfried Nancy says that Cucho was having some back pains, and he could have started/came off the bench if needed, but Nancy felt it was best to let him rest
Cucho will be available for the Chicago match according to Nancy
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Today, Alex Matan confirmed that the injury he was dealing with earlier this season was a muscle strain on his quad. He was also having some family issues
Matan says that everything is good with his family now, while he's still working to get back to 100% physically
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Wilfried Nancy says the refs could have "been better" at certain points towards the end of the match, but Columbus found "a way to escape that"
There is no denying that the No. 1 topic regarding
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is Cucho’s absence.
So, I asked Wilfried Nancy if there is any update or timeline for the current situation. Here’s his full response:
Well today has been a day. Originally set to arrive in Pachuca around noon, delay after delay has pushed back that arrival time to 11:00 tonight
At least I’ll make the game tomorrow (knock on wood)
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🚨BREAKING: Sources tell The Dispatch that
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president/GM Tim Bezbatchenko is close to signing a deal for a new job with Black Knight Football, which has EPL’s AFC Bournemouth amount its holdings
More
@DispatchAlerts
So Max Arfsten’s 🤷🏻♂️ reaction after his made PK: He says that was because the refs told him “don’t celebrate until we blow the whistle”
When they didn’t blow the whistle right away, he was confused and was wondering “is it over or not”
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According to Cucho, the cleats he was wearing in the first half in Orlando were new.
The pink ones he switched to and scored in after halftime have the "it factor" though and will likely the pair he'll be sticking with the rest of the postseason
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What a pretty sight to sign off too
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More coverage from the game to come tomorrow. Excited to get this season going and produce good content for the Black & Gold fans, I appreciate all your support!
One personal note before the game: Since I was 16 years old, I’d dreamed of covering a women’s sporting event of this size. I didn’t expect to happen so early in my career, but I’m so proud that I’ve already gotten to this point and know there’s still so much more to come
Don Garber says that every time he is in Columbus, there's a lot of "reflecting" on what happened back in 2017 and that it "wasn't a fun time for anyone"
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So the story behind the dinosaur… Rossi told me today that it is an inside joke between him and Cucho referencing the way he runs looks like how a dinosaur runs
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So my big news: We got a dog!!
Boomer isn’t much for sitting still, so the pictures were tough, but this is him! We love him so much already and are so happy we found our new lifelong buddy! Shout out to Franklin County Dog Shelter for helping us find him