FULLTIME: The Sounders lost their first game of the season, falling 1-0 to FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Brenner scored the game’s one goal.

The Sounders appeared to equalize in the 90th minute when Yeimar Goméz Andrade converted Jordan Morris’s cross. But after VAR intervened, it was deemed that Yeimar fouled the defender to make space for himself.

FC CINCINNATI 1, SOUNDERS 0: Moments after getting away with a bad turnover in their own end, the Sounders gave it away again and this time paid for it. Brenner found some space near the top of the box and beat Stefan Frei low and off the post.

LINEUPS: Fredy Montero gets the nod in place of the injured Héber while Raúl Ruidíaz will be available off the bench.

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The Seattle Sounders will face their biggest test of the young season when they make their first ever trip to FC Cincinnati today. FC Cincinnati has been a dark-horse pick to contend for the Supporters’ Shield this year after making their first-ever playoff appearance in 2022, which came on the heels of three consecutive Wooden Spoon finishes.

Cincinnati is led by an impressive attacking trio of Brenner, Brandon Vazquez and Luciano Acosta, who combined for 46 goals and 33 assists last year. They have not looked quite as formidable this year — having failed to register a goal or an assist — but should still be a handful.

For all of Cincinnati’s improvement, though, they were still pretty middling at home in 2022, with a 6-5-6 record. They are 8-16-11 all time at TQL Stadium.

After briefly training at full strength for one day, the Sounders will show up slightly shorthanded after Héber suffered a hamstring strain and has been declared out for the match. Head coach Brian Schmetzer will likely be choosing between veterans Raúl Ruidíaz and Fredy Montero as Héber’s replacement.

Cincinnati has started the season 1-0-1, beating the Houston Dynamo 2-1 at home in their opener and drawing 0-0 at Orlando City last week.

Notes

• The two teams have met twice before, with the Sounders winning the first encounter, 4-1, in 2019 and the two teams drawing 1-1 last year in Seattle.
• FC Cincinnati has scored at least two goals in each of their past seven home games, the longest active streak in MLS.
• After outscoring opponents 6-0 in their first two games, the Sounders became the first team in MLS history to start their season by scoring at least five goals and not allowing any.
• Héber became the first Sounder to score in his first two MLS games since Fredy Montero did so in 2009. João Paulo also scored in his first two Sounders appearances in 2020, but both of those were in CCL. No one has started their Sounders career with goals in three straight.

Absences: Injury, international duty and suspension

Seattle

OUT: Héber (left hamstring)

FC Cincinnati

QUESTIONABLE: Santiago Arias (leg)

Officials

REF: Joe Dickerson; AR1: Kevin Klinger; AR2: Brian Dunn; 4TH: Nick Uranga; VAR: David Barrie; AVAR: Fabio Tovar

How to Watch

Match date/kickoff time: Saturday, 4:38 PM PT

Venue: TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Global Streaming English: MLS Season Pass (Tyler Terens & Devon Kerr)

Global Streaming Spanish: MLS Season Pass (Bruno Van & Andres Aquilla)

English TV: None

Local Radio: 950 KJR-AM Seattle, iHeartMedia (Danny Jackson & Steve Zakuani)

Local Spanish Radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Rodriguez, Maqueda, Tapia)

Is this game available to stream for free? Yes

Will Sounders radio be available as an alternate feed? No

Lineups

Highlights will be posted as the match progresses.

This is Seattle Sounders at FC Cincinnati; watch with us

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