Sounders set to lean into home prowess against Crew

Seattle forward Jesus Ferreira believes no one can match the Sounders on their home pitch.

"We know that at home, nobody can compete with our fans and with our style of play," Ferreira said.

Seattle will put that to the test again Sunday when it hosts the Columbus Crew in an intriguing contest between two of the top teams in MLS.

Seattle (8-6-5, 29 points) sits fifth in the West table after blanking Austin FC 2-0 on June 28. Ferreira keyed the result with a goal in the second minute of first half stoppage time and added an assist on Danny Musovski's goal in the 54th minute.

It was a desperately-needed win for the Sounders. They had lost five straight across all competitions, going 0-3 at Club World Cup while mixing in regular season losses to Minnesota and Vancouver that saw them cede three goals in each match.

Midfielder Albert Rusnak, who has bagged a team-high seven goals, says Seattle has to be ready for Columbus' style of play.

"It's not the same as us but they have a lot of similarities," he said. "It makes it easier to predict but you still have to defend it. In some ways, it feels like a measuring stick game."

The Crew (10-3-7, 37 points) last played on June 29, putting together a sound defensive effort in a 1-0 home shutout of Philadelphia. They didn't allow a shot on frame and frustrated the Union into taking six yellow cards.

Mohamed Farsi bagged the fixture's only goal just before halftime as Columbus improved to fourth in the East. The team might get stronger on the back end as starting goalie Patrick Schulte (oblique) has returned to training.

Schulte's injury occurred May 24 during pregame drills in Charlotte. Evan Bush has filled in nicely but coach Wilfried Nancy is looking forward to the return of Schulte, who has posted two clean sheets in 13 starts.

"Everything is good," Nancy said. "He has no pain."