After punting their midweek match, Seattle commuted down Interstate 5 to their most bitter rivals, the Portland Timbers, and earned a road point. The 1-1 final score was a little hard to swallow, as Seattle scored first and then held the opponents to a single shot on goal. Unfortunately, that shot went in, and the inability of the Sounders’ offense to convert one of their 14 shots into a second goal meant the points were split. This match had both some hopeful signs and some alarming negatives, and your impression will likely depend on which of those elements you concentrated on.
Glass Half Full: A point on the road is a good result. A point against your biggest rivals, who are ahead of you in the table? Pretty good! Holding that potent offense on the road to five total shots, and only one on goal? Awesome!
Glass Half Empty: There are no moral victories when you play Portland. The Sounders rotated the team on Wednesday to get all three points on Saturday, and anything less is unacceptable. Sure, the defense did well, but where’s the offense? All these new pieces and we can’t figure out how to score against a team with, frankly, awful defense. It’s exasperating to tie those guys.
Keep Drinking: This was a quietly dominant performance and Seattle was perhaps unlucky not to get all three points. However, it’s hard to call the Sounders a good team when they’ve gained almost all their points by feeding on lousy teams. They appear to have the pieces to score, and win, more than they have. Maybe they should do that!
Goalkeeper
Stefan Frei – 6 | Community – 6.3
Frei returned to the starting lineup and didn’t have much to do. Facing only a single shot on goal and five total shots, Frei was not too involved in this match. He went long with most of his passes, adjusting to the Timbers’ low block defensive posture.
Glass Half Full: Stefan came off his line in the 58th minute to catch a ball, proving it’s possible.
Glass Half Empty: A communication issue in the 44th minute between Frei and the defense meant no one went to the ball, giving Portland a free corner kick right before half. Multiple times Frei was glued to his line, forcing the defense in front of him to extend even further to cover his refusal to step out.
Keep Drinking: Against a team that can score a lot of goals, Seattle’s defensive unit looked much improved over the midweek squad, and the final result reflected that.
Defense
Nouhou – 6 | Community – 6.5
The Nouhou effect was in evidence against Portland, with mostly strong play and a few head scratcher moments. For the most part, the Timbers flat-out avoided the Sounders left back, attempting a few times to come down that wing before bailing out and switching the ball.
Glass Half Full: Nouhou’s offense has evolved over the last few years, but he’s flourished in this 2025 season. A great 25th minute diagonal ball was followed up by a 34th minute run that was so dangerous it forced a yellow card. Multiple times in the match, he got forward and sent in excellent crosses.
Glass Half Empty: A dumb 50th minute yellow card reminded us that Nouhou still struggles to keep his cool on the field. A 74th minute shot did the same for his shooting acumen.
Keep Drinking: The biggest takeaway is that teams actively avoid the Nouhou defensive side, and that’s great news for the continued success of the team. The additional offensive improvement is gravy.
Kim Kee-hee – 6 | Community – 6.4
Kee-hee started back in a four man backline, controlling much of the play with great positioning and passing. His passes were cautious but clean, and he was a calm physical presence that complemented the aggressiveness around him.
Glass Half Full: Nearly flawless all night, KKH was a rock in the middle, constantly stepping up when needed, finding clean (90 percent) distribution, and almost always being in the right place to ensure that Portland was neutered in front of goal.
Glass Half Empty: Part of the lack of success going forward was an inability to break lines through the middle, and Cristian Roldan needed someone else to help move the ball forward. It wasn’t Kim.
Keep Drinking: Still ostensibly keeping a starting spot warm for Jackson Ragen, Kim has been fantastic in adapting his abilities to fit the Sounders system and is a massive reason for their increased defensive success.
Yeimar – 7 | Community – 6.4
Yeimar put up a defensive highlight reel where he was never dribbled past, posted a team-high four tackles, and was a massive barrier to anything Portland wanted to do for a vast majority of the match. He even got a shot on goal.
Glass Half Full: Portland shied away from their right and continually tried the left. And continually got YEIMAR’d. An incredible 13 clearances highlighted a dominant defensive outing.
Glass Half Empty: Yeimar’s 0/11 on long balls was the flip side to the right side pressure. With all that great defending, it never turned into successful momentum going the other direction.
Keep Drinking: Getting more distribution help to offset his weaknesses should turbocharge what is already a near-impenetrable defensive force.
Alex Roldan – 6 | Community – 6.2
A seemingly quiet outing showed through the stats again that Alex is a driving force in Seattle’s success. He had 64 touches and a team-high 93 percent passing clip, consistently helping the Sounders maintain possession against Portland’s attempts to attack down his wing.
Glass Half Full: The mixture of strong defense and timely offense is what sets Roldan apart. He mixed up excellent crosses, nearly picking out Moose in the 5th minute, and late defense to prevent any Portland comeback.
Glass Half Empty: The team needs more offense from the back when Ragen is missing, and there were times Alex could have added more forward push but didn’t have the creative movement and connection to add value.
Keep Drinking: Alex provides a good combination of positioning and possession connection on defense, but he lacks that aggressive offensive positioning and combination that Seattle could have used in this match.
Defensive Midfield
Cristian Roldan – 8 (MOTM) | Community – 7.6 (MOTM)
Cristian did everything in this match. He was utterly brilliant as a defensive stopper and even better as a facilitator going forward. He had by far the most touches (108, 30 more than anyone else on the field). He was dominant with four interceptions, three tackles, 10 defensive actions, and wasn’t dispossessed a single time. On offense, he had 19 passes into the final third, a shot, and team-high three key passes.
Glass Half Full: His 30th minute first-time through ball that curved around the defense and onto a galloping Moose was awe-inspiring. He had a number of other passes almost as impressive, yet he managed to simultaneously be the best defender on the field.
Glass Half Empty: An almost-intercepted pass across the middle of the goalmouth in the 13th minute was not only a bad choice, it illustrated how dependent this team was on Cristian to be perfect.
Keep Drinking: Seattle appears to only go as far as Cristian can take them, and they desperately need a few others to step up to his level this season.
Obed Vargas – 6 | Community – 6.6
Obed had a quiet match against the Timbers. He touched the ball 71 times and returned 82 percent passing. He was active defending central spaces, with four tackles and three interceptions, but was conspicuously absent from the attack, not recording a single shot or key pass.
Glass Half Full: The high points popped up a few times, most notably a great transition play in the 22nd minute and multiple plays at the start of the second half when Obed cranked up his activity in the middle to win tackles and create forward push.
Glass Half Empty: When Seattle struggles in transition, you almost always find Vargas chasing the play. His defensive work left much to be cleaned up by Roldan, and his offensive impact was missing.
Keep Drinking: Obed has effectively raised his level high enough that this type of average play seems a drop off. That shows how far Obed has come, but this team needs those tantalizing highs every time he’s on the field.
Attacking Midfield
Ryan Kent – 6 | Community – 5.8 (off 71’ for Rothrock)
Ryan Kent got his first taste of Cascadia soccer matches, and was physically up for the test. He had 71 touches, created a chance with a nice cross, and was aggressive in attacking the Portland defense, although with mixed results. His 91 percent passing was a combination of tight passes and spraying switching balls when needed.
Glass Half Full: Clearly understanding a rivalry game, Ryan had some stout defensive plays and a beautiful 38th minute cross that showed his cultured creative ability. When he runs downhill at defenses, he presents a unique challenge. He didn’t pull the trigger on the cut-inside right footed shot in this match, but when he finally shoots, watch out.
Glass Half Empty: It took a while for Kent to realize he couldn’t simply walk through the defense. Repeatedly dribbling at the opponent and losing the ball is reserved for other Sounders.
Keep Drinking: I said he wasn’t Superman last match, but he didn’t need to be Clark Kent against the silly Timbers. Seems like he’s a guy still trying to figure out his teammates, the league, and how it all fits together.
Albert Rusnák – 7 | Community – 7.5
Another match, another goal from the brilliance of Rusnák, who again made a difficult finish look rather mundane, while also adding three key passes. Albert keeps quietly doing nearly everything right, setting up others and taking his opportunities created by exceptional off-ball movement.
Glass Half Full: Of course it’s Albert following up a direct play with possession at the top of the box. Of course he cut inside and found his favorite shot and placed it perfectly to give Seattle the early lead. Of course.
Glass Half Empty: A number of uncharacteristic misses were nearly as impactful as his goal, with a 37th minute misconnection with Kent a big loss. The 88th minute brought one of the few times when Rusnák had multiple options and chose the wrong one, going to his left instead of an open Paul Rothrock to the right.
Keep Drinking: Albert’s consistency is enough to rock you gently to sleep at night.
Jesús Ferreira – 6 | Community – 5.1 (off 71’ for de la Vega)
Jesús started and was part of a first half that lacked the cohesion in the front necessary to break the game open. With three key passes, Ferreira combined well with teammates, but again his 45 touches seemed underwhelming, even though he was doing some excellent work.
Glass Half Full: Jesús is making some great plays that go unnoticed, such as a wonderful 15th minute vertical run ignored by the Sounders left side, and a lovely backheel attempt in the 25th minute combining with Nouhou.
Glass Half Empty: In the 54th minute he hesitated, and then passed. Just shoot, bro! That’s most of the issue with this guy; he isn’t direct, impactful, or aggressive enough in this system and he needs to get some swag and try shit.
Keep Drinking: Sounders aren’t seeing him when he’s open, but there is dynamic movement being missed that is reminiscent of how the team struggled to find Jordan Morris. You gotta hope that they figure it out.
Forward
Danny Musovski – 7 | Community – 6.2 (off 81’ for Minoungou)
Danny started and ran right at the Portland defense, presenting problems with his size and physicality, getting involved as early as the 5th minute, earning a corner for his efforts. He made stuff happen the entire evening, with smart movement and attacking runs, connecting with teammates.
Glass Half Full: Somehow still surprising people with his speed, it was a galloping Moose who charged into the path of an audaciously amazing pass from Cristian Roldan in the 30th minute. When he was spun about defensively, Danny managed to find Albert.
Glass Half Empty: With only two shots and being dispossessed four times, Musovski was an agent of chaos that was only “mostly” good. More composure in a few instances would have helped.
Keep Drinking: Even when he’s not scoring, Musovski effectively makes stuff happen with his movement and aggressiveness, challenging the defense until they crack.
Substitutes
Pedro de la Vega – 5 | Community – 5.8 (on 71’ for Ferreira)
After starting midweek, PDLV entered against Portland in the 71st minute and earned 15 touches, turning them into two shots. He was active, but again didn’t combine too well with teammates, and was part of a rotating striker group as the game ended.
Glass Half Full: Entering and bringing big energy, Pedro buzzed around the field looking to make stuff happen, which he nearly did via a blocked shot in the 90th minute, that should have been a game winner. He fed Georgi Minoungou in the 88th for a big shot.
Glass Half Empty: Danny made a great play in the 75th minute and Pedro just … watched. Gotta move around some, my dude.
Keep Drinking: Big players have to make big plays, and one speculative outside shot and that blocked effort showed ability to get into the area, but the end product still needs work.
Paul Rothrock – 5 | Community – 5.9 (on 71’ for Kent)
Rothrock entered with PDLV as Seattle traded out wingers. He brought his swagger and smiling annoyance and immediately started torturing Portland. He had nine touches and two shots rotating across the attacking band.
Glass Half Full: Almost immediately, Paul earned a big chance, with a good run in the 73rd minute rewarded with a near-post effort.
Glass Half Empty: Rothrock was on the end of a great Nouhou cross in the 94th minute with a chance to win it. Paul got a bit of the ball, but it sailed harmlessly out.
Keep Drinking: It’s Paul Rothrock. Outside of lots of effort, you never know what to expect. He does some great stuff, and some exasperating stuff, and that’s how it goes.
Georgi Minoungou – 5 | Community – 5.6 (on 81’ for Musovski)
Georgi showed up in this match late, arriving to run at tired defenders. Although he had only seven touches, he had a shot and a key pass in a short shift.
Glass Half Full: Brought in to drive at the Portland right side, he did just that, literally juking the defenders into falling down. He earned an 88th minute shot with good movement.
Glass Half Empty: In the 92nd minute, with Seattle pressing, he was watching.
Keep Drinking: Georgi is stuck in a weird position where he likely needs game time to improve on his clear faults, but is behind others who are a little more capable right now. His upside remains high but finding that time to work at game speed has been elusive.
Referee
Rosendo Mendoza – 5 | Community – 5.5
Mendoza refereed a rather tame rivalry game. A number of missed calls were not greeted with much argument from anyone, including a kick to the face and some questionable foul decisions.
Glass Half Full: He called 28 fouls, 19 on the home team, who were by far the more egregious offenders. His hand ball calls in the 7th and 70th were good.
Glass Half Empty: For the second time this year, a referee reached for a second yellow card, then realized it would result in an ejection, and put it back. Seattle created an opportunity to play a man up with 11 minutes plus stoppage, but were denied that due to the spinelessness of a referee who refused to do the right thing. A yellow card foul is a yellow card foul, no matter the gamestate. This was a dereliction of duty.
Keep Drinking: The ref’s desire to keep the teams level should not override the rules.
Portland Timbers MOTM
The 'keeper, I guess? Despite a relatively even split between Santiago Moreno (the goalscorer), Finn Surman (the standout defender), and Maxime Crépeau, the shot-stopper takes it this time. And to be fair, he did deal with five of the six on-target shots he faced. Among them, a near-post parry of a Musovski effort, a point-blank Rothrock rebuttal, and a Minoungou mitigation in the dying embers were highlights.
Upcoming: Home games.
