Columbus Crew SC strolled into BMO Field and upended the defending champs to open the 2018 MLS regular season, riding goals from Federico Higuain and Gyasi Zardes on either side of halftime to an impressive 2-0 win.

At the end of an evenly matched first half, Higuain scored the first goal of the 2018 campaign as Milton Valenzuela collected a long diagonal ball from Artur near the endline and pinged it across for the the Argentine veteran to slam home off the hands of Toronto 'keeper Alex Bono.

Zardes, fresh off an offseason trade from the LA Galaxy, made an instant impact for his new team less than a minute into the second half, sliding a first-time finish past Bono after a perfectly weighted through ball from Pedro Santos. Zardes' goal would prove one more than Columbus needed to secure the victory, though Toronto came agonizingly close twice in the second half, hitting the woodwork on a curling effort from Sebastian Giovinco in the 65th minute and a long-range effort from debutant Ager Aketxe in the 78th.

Goals

• 44' – CLB – Federico Higuain
• 46' – CLB – Gyasi Zardes