Crew forward Cucho Hernandez has a specific goal in mind for 2024. Although he refuses to divulge the exact number, he aims to score more than the team-leading 16 goals he recorded in 2023.

He wasted no time building toward that total, putting up the lone score in the Crew's 1-0 victory over Atlanta United in the club's season opener Saturday.

By opening with a win at Lower.com Field, the 2023 MLS Cup Champions started 2024 the same way they left off last year. It has been 11 weeks since Columbus defeated Los Angeles FC 2-1 to win the title in front of their home fans.

Before the start of the game, the Crew players and staff were presented with their championship rings. Wanting his team to enjoy the moment, Crew coach Wilfried Nancy was happy to see them able to quickly flip the switch for the match.

"Atlanta started the preseason two weeks before us," Nancy said. "We knew that we would struggle around 65, 70 minutes... They did a really good first half, we could have scored more goals. After that, the second half was a bit different."

Taking full control of the first half, Columbus came out of the gate Saturday looking to score fast, with Hernandez in particular trying to find the back of the net as soon as possible. He had three shot attempts in the first 25 minutes of the match.

The second half, Atlanta had the possession advantage, but the Crew managed to limit their opponents to six shot attempts throughout the entire match.

"I really like to see my players with a good resilience and the persistence to try to keep the clean sheet," Nancy said. "The way we defended the box also was good."

It was at the 27-minute mark when Hernandez put his first goal of the season on the board, finding an open opportunity from the right side after Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan blocked Diego Rossi's shot attempt from the left.

Hernandez kept the shot attempts coming throughout the match but was unable to connect once again, even when given a penalty shot attempt.

"I scored the goal, but I did miss the penalty, but those are things of soccer," Hernandez said via a translator. "Now it's just building that momentum and continuing on with scoring more goals."

The penalty kick came around the 53rd minute following Stian Gregersen's foul on Columbus' Mohamed Farsi in the penalty area. Farsi had to be helped off the field with what Nancy confirmed was an "ankle issue" and was replaced by Max Arfsten.

"I just always try to stay ready," Arfsten said. "This happened a couple times last year. So, I feel like I was used to it and just one of those games where we got to a point where we had to defend the lead."

Returning as Columbus' starting goalkeeper, Patrick Schulte recorded three saves, stymieing MLS's second-best offense in 2023. This was a very different story from his rookie debut in the season opener last year when he gave up four goals on the road in a loss to the Philadelphia Union.

With that game no longer sitting in the back of Schulte's mind, his full focus was on Atlanta. The 22-year-old felt good recording a clean sheet against scoring threats such as Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis, making key saves off shots from both players in the second half.

"I give credit to Phil Boerger, the goalie coach," Schulte said. "He kind of prepares our trainings how he thinks actions and situations that we might see in a game... We prepared cutbacks and scenarios like that where I might have to close space and kind of stand him up and react."

Columbus Crew schedule and more: The 2024 Columbus Crew season is here. What you need to know

Schulte also credited the guys in front of him, especially in the first half. Columbus' defense looked strong despite defender Steven Moreira, normally a starter, on the bench. Nancy opted to begin the game with Sean Zawadzki in the lineup. Moreira did see minutes at the end of the game as a sub.

Jacen Russell-Rowe also received a starting nod. He saw limited minutes in the MLS Cup playoffs but was notable on Saturday, taking three shots in 75 minutes of play.

"For this game, I felt that Jacen could have done something good," Nancy said in regard to the decision to start Russell-Rowe. "Again, this is a new chapter, a new season."

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15

Get more Columbus Crew news by listening to our podcast

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew vs Atlanta United: Crew win first game of 2024 season