By Official Florida FC
Inter Miami clinched its second trophy of the Lionel Messi Era on Wednesday night when it won the Supporters’ Shield.
The Herons beat reigning MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew 3-2 in Ohio. Messi scored a brace moments before halftime to lift Inter Miami over the team with the best defensive record in Major League Soccer.
It sounds simple. This match was anything but that.
Miami was open defensively, as they have been for large portions of the season. Unlike their most recent encounter, a 3-2 loss in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals in August – the Herons made their two-goal lead count.
It didn’t hurt that seconds after Columbus scored its opener in the 46th minute, to cut Inter Miami’s lead to 2-1, the Crew conceded in a way that one might see at an Under-12 match.
Central defender Rudy Camacho and goalkeeper Patrick Schulte didn’t communicate and collided at the top of the penalty area. Schulte fell, the ball spilled in the direction of Luis Suarez and Miami’s No. 9 gleefully accepted the gift.
Cucho Hernández scored his 17th goal of the season from the penalty spot in the 61st minute to tighten the contest. Camacho earned his second yellow card shortly Cucho’s goal, but Columbus kept coming at the visitors.
Cucho had a chance to equalize from the penalty spot, but was denied by Inter Miami’s Drake Callender.
It’s not a chance Inter Miami’s No. 9 would have squandered. Suarez has 18 goals in 1,811 league minutes this season. He may be a 37-year-old with an arthritic knee, yet his finishing is as potent as ever as he has outperformed his 13.51 expected goals this season.
Through 32 matches, Inter Miami has identical 10-4-2 records at home and away. However, Wednesday was the first time this season the Herons beat an elite MLS side away from South Florida.
Inter Miami (20-4-8. 68 points) has a chance to set the MLS all-time regular season record if it can defeat Toronto (11-18-4, 37 points) and New England (9-18-4, 31 points) in its final two matches. Should Inter Miami win its last two games, it would also set MLS’ all-time points per game mark for the regular season.
This is not the first time the MLS Supporters’ Shield has been won by a Florida club. The Miami Fusion won the trophy in 2001 when it finished 16-5-5 with 53 points in 26 matches.