The Seattle Sounders earned a grueling 1-0 win over San Diego FC on Wednesday evening. The league newcomers posed constant problems for Seattle, but a fantastic play by Jesús Ferreira to turn and shoot provided the Sounders with a 58th minute winner.
The Sounders started the game well, forcing their visitors into some tough situations early on as Alex Roldan nearly caught goalkeeper Carlos Dos Santos off his line after the ‘keeper gave the ball away with a loose pass in the 3rd minute, but the shot was too close and Dos Santos was able to get enough of a touch to the ball to put it out for a corner. Then in the 5th minute Albert Rusnák sent in a corner that hit Paul Rothrock in the chest at the back post, but Rothrock couldn’t control the ball before a defender intervened and the ball was cleared before a shot came.
From that point Seattle were able to hold their own but all the danger came from San Diego. The Sounders were forced to make a 35th minute substitution as Kim Kee-hee went down with an injury while Seattle were already missing Yeimar, and Jackson Ragen was only available from the bench. As a result Stuart Hawkins came into the game to pair with Jon Bell, marking the 18 year-old’s first Sounders appearance at Lumen Field.
Stefan Frei made 4 saves in the first half, but the most impressive one came just before half time in the 44th minute. Alex Mighten received the ball in the left channel and cut centrally as he drove into the box before shooting across goal, but Frei dove to his left and was able to stick his arm out and block the shot before Nouhou, in typical Nouhou fashion, cleared the ball away.
San Diego made the game’s first change by bringing Chucky Lozano on to start the second half in place of Mighten. Both sides made adjustments coming out of halftime and were clearly feeling the opposite side out during the second half’s opening minutes, but the breakthrough finally came for Seattle in the 58th minute. With substitutes Danny Musovski and Pedro de la Vega waiting on the sideline to come in, Alex Roldan played Paul Rothrock down the right wing and Rothrock found Ferreira running at goal. Ferreira took a touch with the outside of his right boot that brought the ball around his back, spun and fired home a left-footed shot just beyond the reach of Dos Santos to score his first goal for the Sounders and take the lead!
The two sides traded blows over the final half-hour, but Seattle were unable to add to their lead and San Diego couldn’t find a way to beat Frei. Both teams came close, but Dos Santos and Frei each came up with some big saves to keep the score where it was. Rusnák came inches from making it 2-0 just minutes after the opener, but his 60th minute attempt was sent over the bar by Dos Santos, who dove and got just enough of his arm to the ball to block it out. In the 66th minute Milan Iloski had his shot take a big deflection off of Stuart Hawkins that just about fooled Frei, but the ‘keeper was able to drag his feet enough to make the crucial kick save.
In the end Seattle held on to make sure Ferreira’s goal stood up to the challenge San Diego posed, collecting all 3 points to make it 6 of 6 with a chance to make it a 9-point home stand on Sunday as they close out their 3-game week when they host Minnesota United.
Key moments
3 - Shot! A giveaway by Dos Santos puts the ball on Alex Roldan’s foot with the GK out, but Dos Santos is able to get a touch to put his shot out for a corner.
5 - Chance! A corner from Rusnák makes its way to Rothrock at the back post. His attempt to control with his chest gets away from him, and it’s cleared before he gets an opportunity to shoot.
21 - Save! Alejandro Alvarado takes a shot from distance after a corner gets recycled, but Frei gets down to save it easily.
35 - Sub. Seattle are forced to make an early substitution as Kim Kee-hee leaves with an injury and is replaced by Stuart Hawkins.
35 - Oops! Alex Roldan plays a disastrous back pass that nearly ends up at the feet of Dreyer, but Frei is able to slide out and sweep it away for a corner.
44 - Save! Mighten cuts in from the left side and hits a shot to the far post, but Frei makes a great save as he gets low and sticks an arm out to block the shot.
An amazing Stef save + An acrobatic Nouhou clearance 😆
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) 2025-05-29T01:46:26.820Z
HT - Sub. Chucky Lozano enters the game for San Diego, replacing Alex Mighten.
58 - GOAL! Jesús Ferreira! Rothrock receives a slip pass from Alex Roldan to get in behind then plays the ball across for Ferreira who takes a touch, spins and fires beyond the reach of Dos Santos to open his account and take the lead! 1-0 Sounders
The turn and finish 🤩 Jesús Ferreira gives us the 1-0 lead!
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) 2025-05-29T02:01:26.309Z
60 - Sub. Anibal Godoy comes in for Alejandro Alvarado.
60 - Shot! Rusnák very nearly makes it two, taking a shot from the top of the box after Ferreira finds him, but Dos Santos gets enough of a touch to deflect it away for a corner.
64 - Sub. Luca de la Torre exits the game for San Diego and is replaced by Milan Iloski.
66 - SAVE! Iloski takes a deflected shot that nearly fools Frei, but he’s able to make a crucial kick save to maintain the lead.
66 - Subs. Jesús Ferreira and Ryan Kent come off and are replaced by Danny Musovski and Pedro de la Vega.
77 - Subs. Paul Rothrock and Obed Vargas exit the game and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and João Paulo take their spots for Seattle’s final two subs.
81 - Subs. San Diego make their final changes as Onni Valakari and Oscar Verhoeven are subbed out for Jasper Löffelsend and Tomas Angel.
85 - Shot! Seattle have a transition opportunity, but with de la Vega running into open space on his left Kossa-Rienzi elects to try to catch Dos Santos off his line and his shot is easily caught.
92 - Shot! Kossa-Rienzi creates a counter with an interception that ends up with Cristian Roldan driving at goal with runners to his left, but he elects to shoot and his effort is saved.
Quick thoughts
Character building: There are no moral victories in professional sports, not really. Ultimately you win or you lose, and how you do it doesn’t matter when you’re counting up the points at the end of a season. If there were moral victories, though, this would be a particularly protestant sort of moral victory. The Sounders didn’t come out on top because of a deep commitment to lofty ideals or a pure vision of How The Game Should Be Played, they won because they worked the hardest and suffered better than San Diego did. Instead of a moral victory, this is the sort of win that builds character. On short rest against a team that came into the game absolutely on fire, a team that demolished them nearly two months ago when they played them on the road, the Sounders ground out a result through determination, effort and resiliency. This team can win pretty, but they don’t have to, and that’s a team that no one will particularly want to face when the chips are down.
Phenomenal Frei: Stefan Frei recorded his 121st career MLS clean sheet, and his fifth of the season with tonight’s win. He recorded 7 saves with a couple for the highlight reel in the batch to make sure that Ferreira’s lone goal was enough to secure the result. Facing 15 shots on the night, Frei simply would not be beat as he came up with a variety of different saves to keep San Diego frustrated. He hasn’t been perfect this season, but but time and again he’s shown that on his night he’s still one of the best shot-stoppers in MLS and it’s his night more often than not.
The value of depth: On this site and others, the quality and strength of Seattle’s depth has repeatedly been praised throughout this season. Through 16 games that depth has been tested about as far as could ever be expected, and week after week that depth passes the test. Paul Arriola looked like something of a revelation when the season started, then a knee injury knocked him out for the season. No worries, Paul Rothrock stepped up and has 2 goals and 3 assists so far this season. Jordan Morris started the year off on a heater in MLS, but muscle injuries have kept him off the field and Danny Musovski has stepped up to reel off 5 goals and an assist. Jesus Ferreira only scored his first goal of the season tonight, but that’s paired with 5 assists. They’ve seen their top three choices at CB taken out by injuries over the last month or so, and tonight they beat the team currently second in the West with their 4th and 5th choice options anchoring the back line. There are more players that could be mentioned, but that only goes to show that what the Sounders have put together is truly something special.
Notable quote
Brian Schmetzer on Jesus Ferreira scoring: “Fate has a way of being kind... We needed him to score, he needed him to score."
Player spotlight
Stuart Hawkins didn’t have a perfect game, but at 18 and making his home debut he stood up to Chucky Lozano and one of the league’s best attacks and his side came out on top.
