COLUMBUS, OHIO – Seattle Sounders FC (12-9-7, 43 points) secured a 4-0 victory over the 10-man Columbus Crew (14-5-7, 49 points) on Saturday evening at Lower.com Field, with Albert Rusnák recording a hat trick and Jordan Morris adding a goal of his own. Crew goalkeeper Abraham Romero was sent off for serious foul play in first-half stoppage time, with Seattle forward Jordan Morris on the receiving end of a hard collision outside the Columbus area. Rusnák drilled home the ensuing free kick, as the home side played on with 10 men and outfield player Sean Zawadzki in goal due to not having a backup goalkeeper available on the bench. Morris added the match’s second goal in the 60th minute, with Rusnák completing his hat trick in the 67th and 70th minutes.
Following tonight’s contest, Seattle returns to the Emerald City for a pivotal late-season homestand. In the first of three Western Conference matches in a row at Lumen Field, Seattle takes to the Emerald Queen Casino Pitch on Sunday, September 15 against longtime foe Sporting Kansas City (4:15 p.m. PT / Apple TV, FS1, iHeartMedia Seattle, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH NOTES
- Tonight’s three points give Seattle 43 points on the season, with the Rave Green moving up to fifth place in the Western Conference as a result. In the race for the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, Sounders FC has six matches remaining in the regular season, with four of those matches at Lumen Field. All remaining games are against Western Conference opposition, beginning with Sporting Kanas City on the Emerald Queen Casino Pitch on Sunday, September 15. The top nine teams in the West qualify for postseason play.
- Seattle attacker Albert Rusnák bagged three goals in tonight’s contest, the first coming via a free kick in first-half stoppage time, with the remaining two occurring during the second half. The trio of strikes give the Slovakian international eight goals on the season, accompanying his 12 assists.
- Interestingly, Rusnak’s hat trick was not the first Sounders trio of goals to be scored against Columbus in the same match. Lamar Neagle and Blaise Nkufo both recorded hat tricks versus the Crew. Nkufo’s came on September 18, 2010 in a 4-0 win, while Neagle’s occurred on August 27, 2011 in a 6-2 victory.
- Jordan Morris’ goal in the 60th minute of play was good for his team-leading 11th goal of 2024. In his Sounders career, Morris now has 81 career goals across all competitions, just five shy of current all-time leading scorer Raúl RuidÃaz.
- Rusnák’s performance on Saturday marked the ninth hat trick in club history for Sounders FC (MLS regular season), and the first since Morris’ four-goal performance last season. He is the seventh player in club history to record a hat trick in MLS regular-season play (Morris, Clint Dempsey, Fredy Montero, David Estrada, Neagle, Nkufo).
- With 15 goals this season across all competitions (11 MLS, 3 Leagues Cup, 1 U.S. Open Cup), Morris has set a new career high, surpassing his 14 goals scored across all competitions last season.
- Goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, starting in place of the injured Stefan Frei, recorded his fourth shutout of 2024 across all competitions and his second in MLS regular-season play.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 4 – Columbus Crew 0
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Venue: Lower.com Field
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
Assistants: Cory Richardson, Kevin Lock
Fourth Official: Marcos DeOliveira II
VAR: Daniel Radford
Attendance: 20,523
Weather: 65 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Albert Rusnák 45’+6’
SEA – Jordan Morris (Paul Rothrock) 60’
SEA – Albert Rusnák (Josh Atencio, Georgi Minoungou) 67’
SEA – Albert Rusnák (Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan) 70’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Pedro de la Vega (caution) 29’
CLB – Abraham Romero (ejection) 45’+3’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Andrew Thomas; Alex Roldan, Yeimar (Nathan 77’), Jackson Ragen, Reed Baker-Whiting (Jonathan Bell 77’); Josh Atencio (Danny Leyva 77’), Cristian Roldan, Pedro de la Vega (Georgi Minoungou 57’), Albert Rusnák, Paul Rothrock (Léo Chú 81’); Jordan Morris
Substitutes not used: Jacob Castro, Danny Musovski, Sota Kitahara, Dylan Teves
Total shots: 15
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 6
Offside: 2
Corner-Kicks: 3
Saves: 1
Columbus Crew – Abraham Romero; Andres Herrera, Rudy Camacho, Yevhen Cheberko, Sean Zawadzki; Darlington Nagbe, Dylan Chambost (Christian Ramirez 65’), Aziel Jackson (Derrick Jones 46’), Alexandru Matan (DeJuan Jones 75’), Max Arfsten (Yaw Yeboah 75’); Diego Rossi
Substitutes not used: Taha Habroune, Owen Presthus, Gibran Rayo
Total shots: 11
Shots on goal: 1
Fouls: 7
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 5
Saves: 3
- SOUNDERS FC -
