A draw and a near-disaster: Sounders-Crew ends on somber note

The Seattle Sounders and Columbus Crew played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon in a match that will likely be remembered more for a horrific injury at the end of the game than anything that happened in the 90 minutes preceding it. Diego Rossi and Paul Rothrock exchanged first-half goals, but the final action of the game was a truly awful head injury to Stefan Frei deep in second-half stoppage time.

Seattle and Columbus exchanged chances in the opening phases of the game. The Sounders created a fantastic chance in the 3rd minute as Danny Musovski, Paul Rothrock and Jesus Ferreira combined to create a great look at the Crew’s goal, but when Ferreira received a pass at the edge of the 6-yard box from Rothrock he launched his shot well over the bar. Jackson Ragen put in an outstanding sliding challenge after a really good recovery run to deny Diego Rossi an equally good chance in the 15th minute, but Rossi found his goal a little over 10 minutes later.

In the 27th minute Ibrahim Aliyu received a through ball on Seattle’s right side that split Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Alex Roldan, then played a fairly simple ball back across goal where Rossi was uncontested on his finish to open the scoring.

Seattle were rejuvenated by the need to chase the game, creating a fantastic chance in the 38th minute when Albert Rusnák found Musovski in space inside the area, but nothing ultimately came of it. Then in the 43rd minute Kossa-Rienzi and Rothrock combined to create an equalizer for Seattle. Kossa-Rienzi received a ball on the right wing, took it out of the air and drove towards the Crew goal before hitting a perfect pass to Rothrock who let the ball run across his body before his first-time finish with his left foot slotted the ball inside the far post to make it 1-1.

The Sounders were even better coming out of halftime than going in, but for all their effort and seemingly improved spirits, they couldn’t find a breakthrough. They pushed and pushed, out-shooting Columbus 4-2 and taking two corners to the Crew’s zero, but nothing came of it. Things started taking a bit of a turn for the worse when Kossa-Rienzi collided with Aziel Jackson for a yellow card, his second of the match meaning that the Sounders would finish the game with 10 men.

What really matters came after a free kick in the 8th minute of second-half stoppage time. Stefan Frei tried to come out to collect a free kick, but collided with Columbus’s Amar Sejdic, taking a knee to the side of the head. Frei immediately went into what is known as a fencing posture, "an unnatural position of the arms following a concussion,” where the arms are held in a flexed or extended position. While Frei lay still on the field, medical staff were immediately called out to the field. Players stood around, clearly struck by the injury and the moment. Sejdic, who obviously did not intend to collide with Frei, was visibly shaken. Cristian Roldan could be seen fighting tears.

Brian Schmetzer pleaded with officials to end the game. Wilfried Nancy agreed, telling referee Ismir Pekmic to end the game when consulted on the matter. The injury took place after the initial seven minutes of stoppage time, and the decision to end the game came about five minutes after the injury. Players were left stunned after the whistle, and Frei was eventually loaded onto a stretcher and into an ambulance that drove him off the field. A piece of apparent good news was that Frei could be seen moving his limbs and lips in response to medical staff before being removed from the field.

In a week that has already seen tragedy befall the football world, as Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva perished in a car accident in Spain, it’s difficult to think of something as silly as a bunch of people kicking a ball around in any serious sense. Football is a passion and an escape for many if not all of us, but that pales in comparison to the importance of life itself. Our hearts all go out to Stef Frei, his family, and all those who are impacted by this incident. We hope for a full and speedy recovery for Frei.

Lineups

Brian Schmetzer opts to roll out as close to the same lineup as the one that started against Austin FC as possible, with the only change being Nouhou returning to the starting XI in place of the suspended Reed Baker-Whiting. Paul Rothrock and Jesus Ferreira once again start on the wings after the two combined on Seattle’s opening goal last week and Ferreira provided the assist on the second goal.

Key moments

3 - Chance! Musovski gets on a through ball and finds Rothrock running through the box. Rothrock cuts it back for Ferreira, but his look from close range is blazed over the bar.

15 - Block! Rossi gets in behind on a flick from Russel-Rowe, but Ragen makes a sliding challenge to block his shot out for a corner.

17 - Break! Seattle put together a slick little attacking moment as Ferreira releases Rothrock, then makes a supporting run along with Musovski. Rothrock gives the ball back to Ferreira, but his pass to play Musovski in behind is intercepted.

27 - Goal, Columbus. Rossi gives Columbus a 1-0 lead, receiving a pass across the box from Aliyu after a simple ball splits Kossa-Rienzi and Alex Roldan. 1-0 Crew

38 - Chance! Rusnák makes a great move and pass to find Musovski in space inside the area, but Musovski is closed down after taking a touch to find a shooting angle.

43 - GOAL! Kossa-Rienzi drives through the Columbus defense after winning the ball and finds a perfect pass for Rothrock in the box. Rothrock lets the ball run across his body and finishes first-time to equalize. 1-1

47 - Recovery! Rossi gets free down Seattle’s right side with Farsi open inside, but the Roldans track back and Cristian makes a late intervention to allow Frei to collect.

51 - Shot! Ferreira finds Rusnák at the top of the box, but his shot after setting himself up skims just wide of the post.

52 - Shot! Rusnák makes a great run through midfield with the ball then finds Rothrock with an excellent pass, but Rothrock’s shot is hit right at Bush who knocks it away for a corner.

71 - Sub. Seattle’s first change comes as Jordan Morris enters in place of Danny Musovski.

77 - Tackle! Gazdag receives a ball in the box and is headed to goal, but Alex Roldan is able to tackle the ball away and clear the danger.

79 - Subs. Both sides make two substitutions. Columbus take off Dylan Chambost and Jacen Russel-Rowe to bring on Aziel Jackson and Amar Sejdic, and the Sounders swap Ryan Kent and Pedro de la Vega for Paul Rothrock and Albert Rusnák.

90 - Sub. Tristan Brown comes on for Columbus to replace Ibrahim Aliyu.

90+2 - Red card. Kossa-Rienzi collides with Jackson and is shown his second yellow card of the match. Seattle will finish the game with 10 men.

90+3 - Save! Jackson gets a shot off from the top of the box, but Frei is able to get down to his left and stop the shot and collect the ball.

90+4 - Sub. Seattle bring on Jon Bell and take off Jesus Ferreira.

90+6 - Shot! A Seattle free kick is cleared away, but the ball falls to Alex Roldan who takes a first-time shot that goes wide of goal.

90+7 - Sub. Columbus make a final change, replacing Mo Farsi with Cesar Ruvalcaba.

90+8 - Frei comes out to try to collect a free kick, but collides with Sejdic taking a knee to the side of his head. Medical personnel come out, as Frei goes still after the collision.

Quick thoughts

Seeing red: Kalani Kossa-Rienzi’s second-yellow red card marked the third consecutive league game in which the Sounders have had a player sent off, making him the fourth player to receive a red card during that stretch. It’s something of an annual pattern. There may not be any real rhyme or reason, no true underlying lack of discipline within the squad, but it certainly feels like at least once a season the team goes through a stretch where players just see red and the Sounders have to manage a run of games with fewer than the standard allocation of players for the full 90 minutes. Maybe it’s a sense of desperation, a particular drive to prove something that crops up. Regardless, as the Sounders look to push forward over the remainder of the season they’ll need to find a balance between that desire to make the most of each match and a calmness in order to keep all their players on the field.

Cristian Roldan is in the form of his life: Cristian Roldan played like a man possessed against some of the world’s best clubs during the Club World Cup. He’d already been having a career season prior to that point, but he’s carried that form into Seattle’s return to league play and was once again a standout player against Columbus. Facing off against one of the league’s top teams, a Crew side that is more ball-dominant than any other MLS side, Roldan still ran the show in midfield. He didn’t take any shots or create any chances, but he made Seattle tick with and without the ball. He went 42/52 passing, including going 3/6 on long passes. He recorded 11 defensive actions, winning 3 of 4 tackles, making 8 recoveries and never being dribbled past. He also won 6 of 9 duels, winning both of his aerial duels. At 30 years old, Cristian Roldan is aging like a fine wine, and as his importance for the Sounders grows it’s increasingly easy to see him playing his way into a spot on the USMNT roster for the World Cup next summer.

Sweet Stefan Frei: Stefan Frei is an icon, a Seattle Sounders legend. This game marked his 409th career appearance across all competitions for Seattle, he recorded his 1000th and 1001st regular season saves as a Sounder, and moved closer to overtaking Kyle Beckerman (41,164) for 2nd most all-time regular season minutes in MLS as he reached 37,991 minutes. Those are fun facts, and they help to illustrate his importance to the Sounders. Seeing his injury was deeply upsetting, but it sounds like he should be should be OK and that’s what matters the most. He should be back between the posts for Seattle before too long, but before that he’ll be back home with his wife and dogs. We can all be grateful for that.

Notable quote

Player spotlight

Kalani Kossa-Rienzi’s afternoon may have been darkened by his sending off, but that won’t overshadow the fact that when he’s on the field the Sounders have a player who helps to drive the team forward, particularly following turnovers. His play on the goal was fantastic in all aspects, and with him around Seattle’s right back spot is in very good hands.