Frei, Sounders goalkeeper, leaves in an ambulance after collision; draw against Crew

The Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper, Stefan Frei, suffered an unfortunate blow to the head in the final seconds of stoppage time during the 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew on Sunday. The incident forced Frei to leave the field in an ambulance. Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer and the Crew’s Wilfried Nancy agreed to end the match, with Columbus about to take a corner kick. Paul Rothrock scored for Seattle in the 43rd minute, while Diego Rossi scored for the Crew. Frei, who will retire at the end of the season, made three saves for Seattle (8-6-6). Columbus (10-3-8), who had won three consecutive games, has gone four games without a loss.

Rothrock converted a first-time finish, following a pass from Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, from the left-center of the area, to tie the score 1-1. Rossi put Columbus ahead 1-0 in the 27th minute. Ibrahim Aliyu, on a counterattack, sent a precise cross between three defenders to Rossi, who finished first-time from close range. The history between the Sounders and Columbus is 8-4-6 in favor of Seattle, including a 4-0 away win in last season’s only encounter. Kossa-Rienzi received yellow cards in the 87th minute and in the second minute of stoppage time, so the Sounders played the final minutes with one man less. Evan Bush stopped a shot for Columbus.