Rock the Casbah: Sounders turn in a Heritage classic

SEATTLE — The Seattle Sounders remain committed to the bit of making games far more exciting than they need to be, but they at least have three more points to show for their effort.

Despite giving up the first goal and then surrendering a 2-1 lead, the Sounders ultimately secured a 3-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes/Clash on Saturday. It the first time the Sounders have beaten the Quakes/Clash or claimed the Heritage Cup since 2021.

Leading the way was a monster performance from Pedro de la Vega, who had a goal and an assist in the second half. Both came when he was allowed to get into the open field, setting up Danny Musovski with a beautiful Trivela on the first one and then taking it himself with a gorgeous bending shot inside the far post for the game winner. Musovski also scored the Sounders’ opener, heading in a Albert Rusnák cross.

Musovski was only playing because Jordan Morris suffered a separated AC joint in a collision with Quakes goalkeeper Daniel in the 12th minute. Morris will require surgery, which will involve at least eight weeks of recovery before he can resume playing.

The Sounders are now 3-0-2 since the Club World Cup, but once again made this a bit more stressful than it probably needed to be.

The Sounders started brightly with Reed Baker-Whiting finding Morris with a ball over the top. Morris easily won the ball and Daniel was stuck way off his line. Looking at an open net, Morris attempted to shoot around the goalkeeper — as opposed to chipping him — and the ball went just wide.

The Earthquakes took advantage of the opening when Jamar Ricketts beat Kalani Kossa-Rienzi to the endline and cut it back to Preston Judd, who finished inside the near post.

As they’ve been doing a lot recently, the Sounders answered quickly. Just two minutes later, Rusnák found Musovski for a header just in front of an onrushing Daniel.

The Sounders then took their first lead of the match in the 54th minute when Cristian Roldan found de la Vega streaking up the left sideline. De la Vega dribbled into the box and found Musovski perfectly in stride for an easy header.

But the Earthquakes came right back in the 64th minute. The play started with Cristian Espinoza swinging in a free kick that Judd headed on goal. Thomas was able to save it off the post, but the rebound came right to Cristian Arrango who pounded it into the net.

Not to be denied, the Sounders bounced right back again on a play that was very similar to their previous goal. Once again, Roldan found de la Vega streaking up the sideline. Once again, de la Vega dribbled toward goal. Only this time, he let it rip from about 22 yards out, a beautiful curling shot that beat Daniel to the far post.

The Sounders had a couple good chances to add an insurance goal, but their failure to convert nearly bit them. In the 4th minute of second-half stoppage time, Espinoza got a free kick from about 27 yards out and sent in a bending ball that looked bound for the net. Andrew Thomas leaped and may have gotten a finger to it, forcing it off the crossbar.

Lineups

The Sounders made four changes from midweek, but not necessarily the changes most would have expected. Pedro de la Vega started at left midfield, the first time he’s started there for the Sounders. It also marked the first time the Sounders had started all three DPs in a league game since Sept. 16, 2023.

Key moments

2 - MISS! Reed Baker-Whiting plays a ball over the top to Jordan Morris. Earthquakes goalkeeper Daniel gets caught way off his line, but Morris’ attempt goes just wide.

10 - SAVE! Preston Judd gets off a diving header from about six yards out but Thomas has it covered.

12 - INJURY! Jesus Ferreira plays a ball through to Morris. Daniel comes off his line to win the ball but takes out Morris in the process. Morris leaves the game as a result and is replaced by Danny Musovski.

23 - CHANCE! Baker-Whiting gets it at the endline, lobs balls across box and forces poor clearance that goes right to Obed Vargas, who cuts it back to Rusnák about 12 yards out but he shoots high.

26 - Goal. Preston Judd cuts in front of Jon Bell to finish off a cross from Jamar Ricketts, who had beaten Kalani Kossa-Rienzi to the endline. Quakes, 1-0.

27 - GOAL! The Sounders immediately answer through a Danny Musovski header off an Albert Rusnák assist. The goal was created when Pedro de la Vega intercepted a Daniel clearance at midfield and pushed it ahead to Vargas, who found Rusnák. 1-1.

32 - CROSSBAR! Jon Bell nearly gives the Sounders a lead when he hits a standing header off the crossbar. Ferreira sent in the cross.

34 - Pedro de la Vega cuts in off the wing to open up a shot from about 22 yards, but his attempt goes just wide.

45+3 - Save! Rusnak squeezes off a quick shot at the near post but Daniel is quick to it. Pedro de la Vega set up the chance with a nice chess pass.

54 - GOAL! Danny Musovski puts away a Pedro de la Vega cross. Cristian Roldan played de la Vega in on the wing, who dribbled into the box before shaping his cross with the outside of his foot. Sounders, 2-1.

64 - Goal. Cristian Arrango puts away a rebound after Preston Judd’s header off a Cristian Espinoza free kick is saved off the post. 2-2.

66 - Daniel comes off his line to grab a ball but gets de la Vega with a high boot in the process. No foul is called and VAR does not intervene.

69 - GOAL!!! Cristian Roldan plays de la Vega in on the wing. De la Vega drives at goal and then lets it rip from about 22 yards out, beating Daniel to the far post. Sounders, 3-2.

80 - PENALTY SHOUT! Albert Rusnák gets run over in the box with no penalty call, but Reed Baker-Whiting is still able to force Daniel into a diving save on the play.

82 - Save. Jesús Ferreira plays Rusnák into the box for a 1v1 chance, but Daniel is able to come up with the save.

90+4 - CROSSBAR! Cristian Espinoza hits a gorgeous free kick that was dipping down only to strike the top of the crossbar. Josef Martinez then attempts a bicycle kick after the rebound that Andrew Thomas saves, only to be called offside.

90+6 - SAVE! Paul Marie gets free in the box, but can’t make strong contact on his attempt and Thomas comes up with another save.

Quick thoughts

Can’t catch a break: The Sounders finally started all three Designated Players together and for about 12 minutes it was looking pretty nice. Morris probably should have opened the scoring in the 2nd minute but his attempt with Daniel off his line went just wide, and it looked like he might be able to get behind more. But after Jesús Ferreira played him through in the 12th minute, Daniel came off his line again to clear the ball and took out Morris’ leg. Morris came down hard on his shoulder and eventually had to come off, holding his shoulder. It’s the third time Morris has had to leave a game early this year and we can only hope he’s back relatively quickly.

This left-sided combo needs another look: We’ve been asking to see de la Vega on the left for awhile and we finally got to see what that looked like. He did everything we could have asked. Even though he wasn’t quite as influential in the first half, he did squeeze off a couple dangerous shots and was willing to stay high even though he wasn’t getting a ton of the ball. Once he got into the open field, he was absolutely magical. And behind him, although not as clean of a defender as Nouhou, Baker-Whiting did have 20 defensive actions and combined well with de la Vega. He also played mostly solid defense, albeit giving up a couple fouls in bad spots.

Cardiac kids: I can’t really put my finger on why, but the Sounders seem to be addicted to a type of wide open soccer that is the antithesis to how Schmetzer usually wants his teams playing. Over the last three games, the Sounders have scored nine and given up seven. For a neutral, I assume this is a ton of fun. For those of us who care about the results, though, it’s a lot. As long as they keep scoring like this, I suppose it’s a fair trade off, but I wouldn’t mind a simple 2-0 win here and there either.

Notable quote

Player spotlight

Danny Musovski — While Jordan Morris can’t catch a break, Musovski keeps making his own. Pressed into action yet again, Musovski responded with possibly his best performance of the season. Both goals were wonderfully well taken and he was constantly putting himself in dangerous spots. Morris is going to be missed, but Musovski’s continued form suggests that he can carry the load.