The Columbus Crew offense has taken Major League Soccer by storm in 2023. After ranking in the bottom third for goals scored last year with just 46, the Crew has emerged as the league’s top-scoring team, finding the back of the net 33 times in 16 games this season.

To the casual observer, it might be assumed that Cucho Hernandez has been the standout goal-scorer for the Black & Gold, leading the team to these impressive attacking numbers. However, that is not the case. The Colombian Designated Player has only scored three goals so far this season, the same number as midfielder Aidan Morris.

Hernandez had set high expectations for himself in terms of goal totals before the season began, but a knee injury sidelined him for six matches early on. Since his return, he has regained his shooting form and scored all three of his goals.

“I understand that perhaps people expected me to have more goals at this point, but it’s important to notice that I was injured for a while and returning isn’t always easy,” Herandez said earlier this week. “I was able to return with assists and playing well and I feel like I’m in good form. With the injury behind me now, I know there’s a lot more to come.”

What has made the Columbus Crew offense so formidable in 2023 is the fact that Hernandez hasn’t been solely relied upon for scoring as initially expected. Last season, the team struggled offensively before Hernandez’s arrival in June, and he was seen as a savior of sorts. However, this season, Columbus managed to score 15 goals even when Hernandez was sidelined due to injury.

At present, attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan leads the team in scoring with seven goals, followed by offseason addition Christian Ramirez with five. The Black & Gold has 13 different goal scorers so far this year, matching the number of goal scorers from the entire previous season. Additionally, in the last four games alone, seven different players have found the back of the net.

In addition to the natural attackers, the Black & Gold have had five goals from central midfielders, four from wing backs and two from central defenders, demonstrating the diverse finishing abilities within the squad.

Head coach Wilfried Nancy deserves credit for this offensive success. “This is the way I see football,” Nancy explained. “I know that we have forwards. I know that the forwards, they have to score because this is their job also. But I like when everybody can score on my team because the way we attack, we can attack in the middle or out wide. And it’s all about the concepts. This is more about how to finish the action, how to attack the box. And for me, I like that we can have a few players or different positions like this.”

Nancy’s aim is to create a fluid and dynamic attack, generating overloads and exploiting mismatches while identifying the right spaces to exploit. Although attacking players have designated positions, the team’s structure allows for movement and interchange, making Columbus difficult to defend.

Hernandez is a prime example of this flexibility. While he can play as a traditional No. 9, positioning himself in the penalty box to finish chances, his game offers more versatility. Nancy has capitalized on this, often deploying Hernandez not only directly in front of the goal but also on the wing or in a floating role that allows him to exploit spaces as they open up.

This adjustment hasn’t posed a major challenge for Hernandez, who has previously played in various positions, including as a winger during his time with Watford in the English Premier League prior to coming to Columbus.

“Before joining the Crew, I got to play in every position on the frontline,” Hernandez said. “In Spain, I played as a second forward too. I see myself as a forward with great mobility and I like to drop deeper and combine with my teammates. In whatever position I’m asked to play, I always try to do my best.”

Despite not reaching his expected goal-scoring numbers, Hernandez remains an integral part of the Black & Gold attack. His contributions have simply taken a different form, with seven assists to his name so far this season.

“I didn’t think I would start the season getting more assists than goals,” he admitted. “But I’m happy with that because assists help me statistically, but most importantly they help the team get wins.”

Hernandez’s passing abilities were evident last season, but this year, he has elevated his creativity by creating clear-cut chances for his teammates at a higher level. Nancy values this aspect of Hernandez’s game and has helped enhance his creativity within the team’s system.

“I like his progression because he was focused on the goals,” the head coach said. That’s normal because this is a forward – almost a forward, this is not a real forward for me. But he has the qualities to be a really good forward. But the idea was for him to understand the game at the right moment. So that’s why I’m not surprised that he has seven assists because he’s able to pass, he’s able to score. And this is something that we’ve been working with him because he could be unpredictable like this.”

Although Hernandez’s goalscoring ambitions for the season remain unchanged, with hopes of becoming one of MLS’s top finishers by the end of the year, he is content with contributing in other ways as he finds his rhythm in front of goal. Nancy’s offensive system has facilitated this and created one of the league’s most dangerous attacking units.

“As a striker, it’s great that everyone is scoring goals because this way I don’t have that pressure of having to score goals for the team to win matches,” Hernandez said. “I feel more comfortable this way because I can not only look to score goals, but also to assist my teammates as I’m confident they can score too. It’s great balance for the team that everyone can score.”