Facing their toughest in-conference opponent since the Club World Cup and a chance to move up to third, the Seattle Sounders came up a bit short in a 1-0 loss to Minnesota United on Saturday.
The Sounders dominated possession and had the higher-quality chances through the first 70 minutes or so but couldn't quite close the deal. As they often do, Minnesota found their breakthrough on a set piece. After failing to clear a couple of deep throw-ins, the Sounders gave up a corner kick.
Minnesota played it short, with Joaquin Pererya whipping in a ball that seemed to catch Stefan Frei in no-man's land. The ball came through the box and settled into the net.
The Sounders were able to create a few more chances to equalize, the best coming when Yeimar Gomez Andrade first-timed a shot that hit Carlos Harvey, who was laying down on the goal line.
In the first half, the Sounders were credited with three "big chances," all with Osaze De Rosario on the end. His best look came on a chance that had Dayne St. Clair off his line, but he fired high.
The loss ends a 10-game unbeaten streak. The Sounders are still just four points behind third place with a game in hand on the Vancouver Whitecaps, but also just one point ahead of LAFC who has two games in hand.
The Sounders will now turn their attention to Club Puebla in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Lineups
Stefan Frei makes his first appearance suffering a concussion on July 6, one of four changes the Sounders make to their lineup from last Sunday. They also changed their formation, with Reed Baker-Whiting coming in to play left wingback, Osaze De Rosario getting a shot at the No. 9 and Jackson Ragen returning to the lineup in place of Kim Kee-hee. It also marks the first time since 2022 that they’re starting lineup in a league game didn’t feature a Designated Player.
Key moments
8 – Carlos Harvey attempts a shot from about 25 yards out that Stefan Frei saves, his first since his injury.
19 – HIGH! Jesús Ferreira floats a ball to Osaze De Rosario in the box, but his open header goes high.
20 – CHANCE! Obed Vargas forces Dayne St. Clair off his line with a strong run and then wins the ball. He passes to Reed Baker-Whiting who finds Osaze De Rosario about 10 yards out and with St. Clair out of position, but the shot goes high.
29 – Chance. On their fourth offensive throw-in of the night, the Loons create some danger. After failing to clear a couple balls, Joseph Rosales gets a decent look from the edge of the box that goes just wide.
52 – CHANCE! De Rosario gets another good look after Paul Rothrock heads it back across the box to him, but De Rosario's header goes high.
69 – Chance. Tani Oluwaseyi gets a decent look on the break but he scuffs his shot wide.
73 – Goal. Joaquin Pererya puts a ball into the box that seems harmless enough but there appears to be a miscommunication as Stefan Frei comes off his line and no one is there to defend it.
80 – Save! Alex Roldan lines it up from about 24 yards out but St. Clair has it covered.
82 – Off the line! Georgi Minoungou beats his man and puts a dangerous ball into the box. The clearance comes out to Yeimar who hits it first time but it strikes Carlos Harvey, who's laying on the ground.
90+2 – Save! Cristian Roldan finds Yeimar at the back post but St. Clair tips the head over bar.
Quick thoughts
Not enough composure around goal: It's tough to complain about the Sounders' ability to take chances when they had scored 26 goals in their past eight games, but that quality was missing in this one. While none of the misses were particularly egregious, the struggle was more in their ability to turn half-chances into full ones. When they did create good looks, they weren't as composed as they have been. Osaze De Rosario had three "big chances" and at least two of those felt like they should have at least been on frame.
Missed opportunity: As good as the Sounders have been over the last couple of months, their position in the table is still precarious. The Sounders still have a good chance at finishing in the top 3 or 4, but their path any higher than that just got a lot more complicated. That they were swept by Minnesota for the first time obviously hurts and they only have one more game against teams ahead of them in the standings. The good news is that means a lot of winnable games. The bad news is they have limited control of their future.
Let's not overreact, though: Frustrating as the result was, the reality is the Sounders were a bit unlucky not to get a point and tactically didn't really do much wrong. The goal was more that a little fluky and they didn't really give up any clear looks otherwise. On the other side, the Sounders controlled most of the game despite making a bunch of changes. Other than likely having to play the game on the road, I don't know that this changes my opinion about the Sounders' chances to handle the Loons in the playoffs.
Notable quote
Schmetzer on the changes: “We weren’t going to win all the rest of our games. That was never going to happen. I was happy with the starting group, I was happy with tactics. We needed that little extra something in first half. I thought we started second half on front foot.”
— Sounder at Heart (@sounderatheart.com) 2025-08-17T03:44:19.123Z
Player spotlight
Stefan Frei: It has been about six weeks since Frei's injury. Given his form before that and how he's looked in training, I don't think you can really blame Schmetzer for giving him the start tonight. Frei was mostly fine, but I can't help but feel like he was a little trepedatious coming off his line on the goal. I'm also not sure this does anything to create a clear No. 1 and I suspect we'll continue to see some rotation in goal.
