The Seattle Sounders came away from Children’s Mercy Park with a 3-2 win on Saturday over Sporting Kansas City in what proved to be a much more frustrating and stressful evening than it looked like it would be through the first hour or so. Seattle jumped out to a 3-0 lead at halftime with goals from Jordan Morris, Albert Rusnák and Jesús Ferreira before a pair of second half penalties from Dejan Jovelic and Santiago Muñoz made things sweaty.
From the start of the game the Sounders were all over the hosts, piling up 6 shots and a goal before SKC managed their first attempt from distance in the 21st minute. The front three of Paul Rothrock, Ferreira and Morris were particularly active as all three were harrying the Sporting back line. Morris provided the opening goal, picking up the ball centrally before playing it out to Rothrock on the left and continuing his run towards goal. Rothrock sent in a cross from the side of the box and although it was slightly behind Morris the striker was able to get his head around and make good contact as he smashed home the opening goal in the 15th minute.
Seattle kept pushing for more and in the 26th minute after referee Elijo Arreguin went to the monitor for review the Sounders were awarded a penalty for a pretty obvious handball by Daniel Salloi. Rusnák stepped up to the spot and put his PK away, sending John Pulskamp the wrong way to give the Sounders a 2-0 lead.
SKC started putting on a bit of pressure, reeling off five consecutive shots over the first half’s final 15 minutes and the start of stoppage time, but Andrew Thomas was equal to the challenge when called upon. That SKC pressure ultimately resulted in Seattle’s third goal with what was practically the final kick of the half when Cristian Roldan picked up the ball in his own half and turned to recognize that Ferreira, Morris and Rusnák were ready to break. Roldan played a long ball to Ferreira who slowed the play down as Morris raced off to his left and Rusnák continued his run to the right. Ferreira played the ball out wide to Rusnák then made a central run into the box where Rusnák returned the favor and Ferreira calmly put his chance away to give the Sounders a 3-0 lead at the break.
Seattle and Kansas City exchanged chances over the first 20 minutes of the second half, but in the 66th minute substitute Danny Musovski was judged to have fouled Jovelic inside the area and given up a penalty. It may have been soft, but the penalty still stood and Jovelic put his PK away going to his left while Andrew Thomas dove the other direction to make it 3-1 in the 67th minute.
Jovelic nearly got a second goal in the 73rd when a Salloi shot hit off the post and came out to him, but his own shot from the edge of the 6-yard box was blocked by a clever bit of body contortion from Alex Roldan, which took enough off the shot for Thomas to make the save.
Seattle’s luck took another turn for the worse as second half stoppage time wore on. In the 4th minute of an initial six minutes of stoppage time, after review it was determined that Reed Baker-Whiting had fouled Santiago Muñoz in the penalty area and SKC had their second PK of the evening. Before the penalty could be taken Nouhou was shown a straight red card for throwing a ball into the stands at a fan who had apparently flipped him off. Muñoz took the penalty himself and put it away, making it 3-2 in the 6th minute of stoppage time. Seattle were able to hang on and come away with the win, and now turn their attention to the Colorado Rapids who come to town on Wednesday.
Lineups
Seattle’s lineup featured three changes from the XI that started against the Columbus Crew. Andrew Thomas started in place of the injured Stefan Frei, while Alex Roldan moved back to right back as Jon Bell started alongside Jackson Ragen at center back and Jordan Morris got his first league start since March 1, replacing Danny Musovski.
Key moments
6 - Chance! Vargas sprays the ball out to the right and Alex Roldan centers the ball for Ferreira who can’t quite find Morris with a pass that goes out for a goal kick.
7 - Shot! Morris gets the ball on the right wing and plays it centrally for Rusnak who finds Rothrock on the left. Rothrock cuts inside and curls a shot it in, but it goes out without troubling Pulskamp.
11 - Shot! Rothrock fights through a challenge on the left before playing a central ball for Ferreira who gets a shot off from the top of the box, but can’t get any power behind it and it’s easily caught.
15 - GOAL! Jordan Morris with the opener! Morris spreads the ball out to Rothrock on the left and continues his run up the gut where Rothrock finds him with a cross and he smashes the header home! 1-0 Sounders
Paulie Primetime ➡️ JMo 💥 Two Seattle kids give us the early lead!
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) 2025-07-13T01:01:55.100Z
19 - Shot! Rothrock cuts the ball back from the end line to Rusnák at the top of the box, but his shot is blocked off the line by Miller.
21 - Save! Salloi takes SKC’s first shot of the night, a laser from the top of the box that Thomas calmly blocks down and catches.
26 - Penalty! Salloi is judged to have committed a painfully obvious handball offense after review, and Rusnák is stepping up to the penalty spot.
27 - GOAL! Pulskamp dives to his right and Rusnák calmly pops it in on the empty side of the net to double the lead from 12 yards out. 2-0 Sounders
As cool as can be from the spot 🥶
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) 2025-07-13T01:13:33.754Z
32 - Save! Nouhou completely misplays a ball into the box to give it right to Salloi at the edge of the box, who lines up a curling shot that Thomas is able to easily catch.
45+2 - Corner! Cristian Roldan loses the ball in midfield and SKC come down the field quickly, working the ball to their left to set up a ball in from a tight angle that Thomas dives and blocks out for a corner.
45+8 - GOAL! Seattle get out in transition with Ferreira, Morris and Rusnák in a 3-v-2. Ferreira plays it over to Rusnák who gives it back and Ferreira easily slots it home. 3-0 Sounders!
Goals Galore 🥳 Jesús caps off a beautiful counterattack to make it 3-0!
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) 2025-07-13T01:41:38.799Z
HT - Subs. Seattle take off Jordan Morris and bring on Danny Musovski, while SKC swap Memo Rodriguez and Shapi Suleymanov out for Jake Davis and Santiago Muñoz.
48 - Save! Thomas makes a diving save to stop a snap shot from a corner, colliding with Cristian Roldan at the near post in the process.
58 - Shot! Rusnák sends a corner out to Alex Roldan at the far corner of the box and Roldan attempts to volley it, but never gets his shot down.
61 - Save! SKC get a shot from outside the area after a corner is recycled, but Thomas blocks the shot and Alex Roldan clears it away for a corner.
62 - Subs. Seattle bring on Ryan Kent and Pedro de la Vega, relieving Jesús Ferreira and Paul Rothrock.
64 - Chance! Vargas plays a slip pass in behind for Kent who hits a low cross from the left with de la Vega and Musovski crashing on goal, but Pulskamp is able to cut it out.
66 - Penalty. Musovski is judged to have fouled Jovelic in the area, and SKC will have a chance from the spot.
67 - Goal, SKC. Thomas dives to his left and Jovelic goes the other way with power to pull one back. 3-1 Sounders
73 - Save! A giveaway in a dangerous spot creates a perfect opportunity for SKC, but a shot from Salloi comes off the post and Jovelic gets a look on the rebound and Alex Roldan gets enough of a touch on the line for Thomas to make the save!
78 - Sub. Alex Roldan comes off with an injury and Reed Baker-Whiting comes on in his place.
80 - Subs. SKC take off Logan Ndenbe and Daniel Salloi, replacing them with Nemanja Radoja and Mason Toye.
82 - Sub. Danny Leyva enters the game for Seattle in place of Albert Rusnák.
84 - Sub. SKC’s last sub is Andrew Brody coming on for Khiry Shelton.
90 - Save! Seattle can’t clear the ball out of their end and SKC get a shot from a dangerous spot, but Thomas is able to keep it out.
90+4 - Penalty. Baker-Whiting is judged to have fouled Munoz after an extended review, and SKC will get a second opportunity from the spot.
90+4 - Red card! Nouhou is shown a straight red after the penalty is awarded, and Seattle will finish out stoppage time with 10 men.
90+6 - Goal, SKC. Thomas dives to his right and Munoz goes to the other side to close the gap to 1. 3-2 Sounders
90+7 - Shot! Kent dribbles through the midfield and finds de la Vega in space. De la Vega takes a shot from outside the area and sends it out for a goal kick.
Quick thoughts
Red card fever: This marked the fourth consecutive league game in which the Sounders have had a player sent off, and Nouhou became the only player to be sent off twice in that run of games as he and Jon Bell were both sent off against the Vancouver Whitecaps on June 8. Head Coach Brian Schmetzer said it’s not something the team feels the need to address as a broader problem, as the previous individual incidents have already been addressed, but it still feels frustrating to say the least. The reds against Austin FC and the Columbus Crew were both second yellows for Reed Baker-Whiting and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, respectively, but the apparent pattern does seem to point to a tendency for players if not the team to allow themselves to get into excessively pressurized situations.
Getting the motor going: Setting aside the second half for the moment to focus on the flowing first half, it feels particularly good to see all of Ferreira, Morris, Rothrock and Rusnák on the score sheet. Morris hadn’t scored since the 5-2 demolition of LAFC on March 8 as injuries kept him off the field for months, but his tally today gives him 4 goals in 367 MLS minutes this season. Ferreira and Rothrock both have 3 goals a piece in league play, to go with 6 and 5 assists (including secondary assists), while Rusnák has largely picked up where he left off from last season with 8 goals and 4 assists in the league. With a busy calendar ahead of them, the Sounders are getting their attack in gear at just the right time.
Incredible Cristian Roldan: Cristian Roldan just keeps putting in spectacular performances game after game. This time it was leading the team in completed passes as he went 62/64 while going 5/6 on long balls. He also completed his lone attempted dribble, won 2/4 tackles while making 8 recoveries and winning 8/10 duels. We’ve been lucky to have him for a long time, but watching him this season is truly special.
Notable quote
Brian Schmetzer on the performance: “It’s hard to win on the road in MLS. Again, there was some really good soccer played in the first half ... I loved some of the things we did. Just look at when Alex Roldan comes inside as part of the pivot ... we just need to figure out how to have a complete performance."
Player spotlight
Andrew Thomas – He couldn’t do much about the two penalties, but Thomas made 6 saves on the night, controlled his box well, and in general gave the team and Stefan Frei no reason to rush the veteran goalkeeper back from his head injury.
