Crew falls 4-0 to Seattle in dramatic game that sees midfielder in goal

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Seattle Sounders took on a 10-man Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field, securing an uncommon defeat against the Crew at home.

Attention was already on the Crew's goaltending, with goalkeeper Abraham Romero making his Crew and MLS debut after both Nicholas Hagen and Patrick Schulte were called up during the international window. Unexpected, however, was Romero's red card in the 45th minute after colliding with Seattle's Jordan Morris outside the box.

Perhaps most surprising was Sean Zawadzki's debut as goalie. The 24-year-old stepped into goal as a jack of all trades for the Crew, managing three saves in his first venture into MLS goaltending. Nevertheless, Seattle managed four goals after the red card and secured the Crew's first loss since June 19 against Miami.

Seattle's Albert Rusnak was responsible for most of those goals, securing a hat trick. 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.

The red card also meant the Crew playing 10 on 11 for the remainder of the match, with both teams already missing key players. This match was initially scheduled for June 1, but was rescheduled into the international window to accommodate the Crew's CONCACAF Champions Cup final against CF Pachuca. Now in the international window, two Seattle players and five Crew players were absent after being called up to national teams.

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

Before the game, NBC4's own Matt Barnes ignited the match, launching the Crew into its 7:30 p.m. start. See Matt Barnes ignite the match in the video player above.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.