Albert Rusnák has hat trick, Jordan Morris adds goal and assist as Sounders rout Crew 4-0

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Albert Rusnák scored three goals, Jordan Morris had a goal and an assist and the Seattle Sounders rolled to a 4-0 victory over Columbus on Saturday night, taking advantage of a first-half red card on goalkeeper Abraham Romero in his league debut.

Neither team scored until Rusnák found the net off a free kick from outside the box in the sixth minute of stoppage time to put the Sounders (12-9-7) up 1-0 at halftime. The free kick came after Romero was tagged with a red card for a foul on Morris, forcing the Crew (14-5-7) to play a man down in the second half.

Starter Patrick Shulte was away on international duty, leaving the Crew without a backup and forcing them to use midfielder Sean Zawadzki in goal in the second half.

Morris took advantage of the mismatch to score his 11th goal of the season, giving the Sounders a 2-0 lead in the 60th minute. Paul Rothrock earned his second assist of the campaign.

Rusnák netted his second goal when he scored in the 67th minute for 3-0 advantage. Joshua Atencio had his first assist of the season on the goal. Rusnák took a pass from Morris and scored three minutes later to complete the scoring. It was the eighth goal this season for Rusnák and the second assist for Morris.

Andrew Thomas made his fourth career start for the Sounders, saving one shot to notch his second clean sheet. Thomas blanked Austin FC in a scoreless draw in the second match of the season, filling in for starter Stefan Frei.

Romero finished with one save. Zawadzki saved two shots.

The match was originally scheduled to be played on June 1 but was moved to accommodate Columbus' appearance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final. Cucho Hernández, Mohamed Farsi, Steven Moreira and Nicholas Hagen also missed the match because of international duties.

Defending-champion Columbus would have clinched a playoff spot with a victory. Instead, the Crew lost for only the third time in their last 39 home matches across all competitions, going 25-3-11. The two teams last played in August of 2021, a 2-1 Sounders' victory at Lower.com Field.

Columbus had allowed just 24 goals this season entering the match — five fewer than the next closest club. The Crew saw a seven-match win streak across all competitions — including a Leagues Cup title - end.

The Sounders went 2-1-0 on a three-match road trip.

Columbus travels to play FC Cincinnati on Saturday. The Sounders return home to play Sporting Kansas City on Sept. 15.

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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer