If you’re debating whether Albert Rusnák was given easy goals, check his highlight reel. The midfielder had a hat trick to give the Sounders a 4-0 win against Columbus on Saturday at Lower.com Field.
The beauty was the opening goal in first-half stoppage time. Rusnák lined up for a free kick outside the box and hooked a shot that nestled into the net. He bagged a similar goal in a 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake in May.
The difference Saturday was with Crew field player Sean Zawadski in goal, not an experienced keeper. Setting up the wall for the free kick was Zawadski’s first duty of the match after keeper Abraham Romero, who was acquired last month from Los Angeles FC and was making his first MLS start and debut for the Crew, was shown a red card for a foul on Jordan Morris. “I felt a little bit more pressure taking the free kick than if an actual goalkeeper was in goal because you have to score, it’s an outfield player,” Rusnák said.
“I did hit it with a decent amount of pace. That’s for people to speculate whether if there was a goalie that would save it or not. “At the end of the day, we tried to come here for the three points.
After the LAFC [U.S. Open Cup semifinals] and Portland [MLS] losses, it was important for us to get the result.
Whatever way it would’ve happened — 1-0, 4-0 — it doesn’t matter. At this time of year, it’s about collecting points.” The Crew opted not to sign a backup goalkeeper for Saturday’s game despite missing starter Patrick Schulte due to a call-up for the U.
S. men’s national team and backup Evan Bush, who injured his arm. Winging it backfired in the 45 th minute when Romero left his line to defend a possible goal in transition from Morris.
The Sounders forward had his back to Romero. When he turned, a jumping Romero smacked Morris in the face and didn’t make contact with the ball. Both players needed on-field medical assistance.
“Fortunately, whatever hit me, hit me in the mouth,” Morris said. “I have a little bit of a swollen lip but feel good. Just normal pain in my nose and mouth, but I avoided a concussion, which was the main concern.
” Columbus coach Wilfried Nancy’s adjustment was for Zawadski to move from the backline to keeper. At the break, Nancy subbed on defender DeJuan Jones for midfielder Aziel Jackson. The sides were already without key players due to the FIFA men’s international break.
The Crew were also without leading scorer Cucho Hernández (Colombia) while Seattle defender Nouhou (Cameroon) and midfielder Obed Vargas (Mexico) were also called up. Romero’s error and Rusnák’s ensuing goal erased a glaring missed opportunity by Morris in the 33 rd minute. He got a touch on a low Paul Rothrock cross in transition but sent the open attempt in front of goal wide left.
Rothrock created his own look in the 38 th minute. The beautiful right-footed attempt from the top of the box required a diving save from Romero. The halftime talk for Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer was one of the easiest this season.
“Shoot the ball; they don’t have a real goalkeeper in there,” Schmetzer said of his direction. “Even before the red card, our tactics were working,” he said. “We knew they were a possession-based team, but our defending was good and it was compact.
Maybe they had little half-chances, but we had the better chances before the red card.” Morris didn’t miss when given a second chance in the 60 th minute. He again linked up with Rothrock to tap a close-range shot past Zawadski.
It was Morris’ 11 th goal in MLS matches, a career-high 15 th through all competitions. Rusnák also continued to toy with Zawadski. He lasered a shot from distance into goal in the 67 th minute off an assist from Josh Atencio and Georgi Minoungou.
In the 70 th minute, Rusnák was quick with his release inside the box to put the Sounders up 4-0. The play was set up by Morris and Cristian Roldan. Rusnák has eight goals in MLS matches.
Saturday was his first career hat trick. The crowd of 20,523 supported Zawadski’s effort. The loudest cheers were for his two saves in the 83rd minute (Roldan) and second-half stoppage time (Morris).
“The second [goal] was the most important because that really calmed the game down for us,” Rusnák said of Morris’ score. “They are the best team in MLS, and they’ve proven that with everything they’ve won recently.” Most Read Sports Stories The Crew (14-5-7) are the reigning MLS Cup champions and won the Leagues Cup title last month.
Columbus could’ve qualified for the postseason with a win against Seattle. Instead, they suffered just their second home loss in their past 25 league matches (16-2-7). Seattle (12-9-7) moved up to fifth in the Western Conference standings with the win, but that positioning could change once a slate of league matches conclude this weekend.
“I’m sure there are a lot of people who expected this game to be a loss,” Schmetzer said. “For us to persevere. For us to do our jobs, be professional and get three points is massive.
” Sounders defender Nouhou was subbed off in the 22 nd minute of his match with Cameroon. He told Schmetzer via text it was precautionary due to tightness in his quad..
