Stefan Frei taken off field in ambulance as Sounders and Crew play to 1-1 tie

By Canadian Press on July 6, 2025.

SEATTLE (AP) — Paul Rothrock scored a goal for Seattle in the 43rd minute and the Sounders and the Columbus Crew played to a 1-1 tie on Sunday.

Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei took an accidental knee to the head with seconds remaining in stoppage time and was taken off the field in an ambulance. Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer and the Crew’s Wilfried Nancy agreed to call the game with Columbus due for a corner kick.

Frei had three saves for Seattle (8-6-6).

Columbus (10-3-8), which had won three in a row, in unbeaten in four straight.

Rothrock put away a one-touch shot, off a feed from Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, from the left-center of the area to make it 1-1.

Diego Rossi gave Columbus a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Ibrahim Aliyu, on the counter-attack, slipped a perfectly-placed cross between three defenders to a charging Rossi for a first-touch finish from point-blank range.

The Sounders are 8-4-6 all time against Columbus, which includes a 4-0 road win in the only meeting between the clubs last season.

Kossa-Rienzi was shown yellow cards in the 87th minute and the second minute of stoppage and the Sounders played the final few minutes a man down.

Evan Bush stopped one shot for Columbus.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press

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