After ending the month of June undefeated and outscoring their three opponents 6-2, the Columbus Crew aimed to kick off July on a high note as they traveled to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Sounders. The last time the two teams faced one another, the Sounders pulled away victorious behind an Albert Rusnak hat-trick in the 4-0 win for the two-time MLS Cup Champions. Columbus was forced to 10 men in that matchup, after Abraham Romero was shown a red card and midfielder Sean Zawadzki was forced to play in goal.

Columbus came into this matchup fresh off a gritty 1-0 win over then-league leaders, Philadelphia Union, while the Sounders earned a 2-0 victory over Austin FC.

Within the first quarter hour, the Sounders poured on the pressure, pinning the Black & Gold back in their own defensive half. Their best-looking chance came just minutes in, with Jesus Ferriera having a good look on goal, but sending his shot high over the crossbar.

Columbus flipped the possession battle, finally generating a solid spell of the ball, but could not find a threatening moment. Every chance built was soon broken down by lackadaisical passing. Though the Crew would rebound and dispossess Seattle, Columbus would only need one shot or opportunity to make their mark.

In the 27th minute, the visitors did just that. Absorbing pressure from the Sounders in their defensive third, Columbus was able to break and build like they’re known to do. Steven Moreira played a simple bounce pass with Daniel Gazdag before finding Darlington Nagbe in space in the midfield. Nagbe advanced Jacen Russell-Rowe, who sought out Ibrahim Aliyu at the left wing. With a quick dribble inside, Aliyu sent a pass to the back post for Diego Rossi for the easy tap-in past Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

Seattle found their equalizer through Paul Rothrock in the 43rd minute, nearly mimicking Columbus’ goal to bring the home side level 1-1, before both teams were sent into their locker rooms for halftime.

The second half saw both teams look for the go-ahead goal, but could not break each other down. Seattle came close with Albert Rusnak, but the attempt went wide of the net. On the contrary, Zawadzki attempted to put Columbus ahead but had his shot go high over the crossbar.

Seattle found themselves down to 10 men after Kalani Kossa-Rienzi was shown a second yellow card for a foul on AZ Jackson.

With seven minutes of stoppage time added on to the second half, things would go from bad to worse for the Sounders as Stefan Frei would come out to clear a free kick but collided with the knee of Amar Sejdic, which would keep the Swiss-American keeper down and nearly unconscious.

Head coach Wilfried Nancy and Sounders manager Brian Schmetzer agreed to end the game early, splitting the points evenly between both teams.

Two good teams, two good systems

The Columbus Crew found it difficult to generate any scoring opportunities within the first 15 minutes of the match. Seattle, which pressed high, dictated the pace of the game by dominating possession and keeping Columbus pinned in their own defensive half. Columbus was able to flip the script in the 27th minute when Diego Rossi got the first goal of the game.

What’s next?

The Columbus Crew are back on the road this Saturday as they travel to take on FC Cincinnati for the second leg of the Hell Is Real Derby. Kickoff from TQL Stadium is set for 7 p.m. EDT. You can watch the match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.