Entering the 2025 Leagues Cup, Seattle faced low expectations, with many suggesting they prioritize resting key players or boycott the “cash-grab” tournament. This sentiment was evident from the sparse home crowd, where cheers for Mexican giants Cruz Azul often drowned out support for the local team. The first half of the match was like many we’ve seen before, where the Sounders dominated possession and created chances but failed to convert, leaving the score tied at halftime. Historically, Sounders matches against Cruz Azul in Seattle had seen dominant play lead to missed opportunities and eventual mistakes. However, the second half of this encounter was a complete reversal. Seattle exploded with an audacious SEVEN goals, and allowed none, via superior, impressive team play. Several additional chances were squandered or controversially denied by referees. The 7-0 result marked the largest margin of victory for an MLS team over a Liga MX opponent, and this colossal beatdown of the Leagues Cup tournament’s supposed “best team” stands as the most impressive victory in Sounders history.
Lucky 7s: Awesome. Amazing. Incredible. Fantastic. Mind-boggling. Tremendous. There are so many adjectives to describe this match, especially the second half that was completely sublime. Cruz Azul is a good team and in form, but by the end of the game, Seattle was dancing around them and scoring worldies. What a great team performance, and it was so much fun to see all the players, coaches and fans smiling ear to ear after that game.
House always wins: Sure, the first half could have been cleaner and we could have scored earlier. But honestly, there was almost nothing to nitpick about in this 7-nil match, and I won’t do it a disservice by doing so.
Goalkeeper
Andrew Thomas – 7
Thomas was barely tested in this match, and was credited with just two saves. The way the team was playing, it was going to take something special to score against the Sounders. Cruz Azul had nothing special.
Lucky 7s: Time and again, Seattle calmly played through pressure, and when needed, they turned all the way back to Andy to help. He made smart choices and allowed Seattle to carve up the Cruz Azul midfield.
House always wins: A humorous moment came in the 67th minute as, after ignoring the whistle for much of the match, the referee decided to call Thomas for time wasting, offering the opponents a free corner kick.
Defense
Nouhou – 8
Nouhou did just about everything right. He defended almost perfectly, he got involved in the offense and made great decisions, and when the opportunity arose, he energetically followed up a free kick and scored an open header.
Lucky 7s: His coverage defending early prevented the best chance for CA. He sprung Jesús Ferreira in the 43rd minute after tremendous defense in the Seattle box translated to a big counter. He finished a goal of his own in the 88th minute after sprinting while others watched. He was excellent.
House always wins: Nouhou had a perfect assist on a goal called back; seeing him make the smart choice to put Jesús in for a free tap-in and then disallowing it was harsh.
Jackson Ragen – 7
Ragen was the fulcrum for Seattle’s possession play that controlled most of the match. His 94 percent passing was vertical, controlled, and continually befuddled Cruz Azul. He had a massive 11 passes into the final third, and perhaps most importantly, was 12/15 on long balls, switching the attack at will.
Lucky 7s: Everything went through Ragen, who was brilliant in the back. Numerous times, Seattle recycled possession through Jackson who eviscerated the opponent midfield with pinpoint passes, over and through the defense. His distribution was nearly perfect.
House always wins: Ragen’s mind-blowing 54th minute set piece through ball cut out 90 percent of the Cruz Azul team in a single pass and set Nouhou in on goal to provide a tap-in for Ferreira. Unfortunately, it was called offside. Boo.
Yeimar – 9 (off 65’ for Kee-hee)
Yeimar started the match by dominating physically on the backline. In the middle of the match, he dominated in the air on a set piece. By the time he had ended his stint in the 65th minute, he had dominated the entire field. Cruz Azul got YEIMAR’d.
Lucky 7s: Seattle was controlling the match but couldn’t seem to break through until the 48th minute. First, Yeimar won a corner after sending in a nice recovery cross, and then on that set piece, rose up like a salmon to head home the opener. This broke the dam and Seattle was off to the races.
House always wins: He and Ragen were split in the 28th minute for an open header in behind. The dude heading the ball wasn’t Yeimar, though, so it didn’t go in the net.
Alex Roldan – 8
Alex was a vertical threat early, going in behind on multiple occasions, assisting on a goal that was eventually ruled offside. He still ended with two assists, the final coming on a fabulous switching ball to help kick the extra point.
Lucky 7s: Roldan was fantastic, understanding the space that Jesús was creating and continually surging into it to get in behind Cruz Azul before setting up scoring chances for teammates. And Pedro de la Vega’s moment of spectacularity in the last play of the game wouldn’t have happened without Alex’s incredible vision and execution to get him the perfect switching cross.
House always wins: Alex was the best performing Sounder in the first half and looked to be on his way to a MOTM award before … almost everyone else started scoring goals. He still added plenty of great plays of his own.
Defensive Midfield
Cristian Roldan – 7 (off 80’ for Brunell)
It’s Cristian Roldan and the Sounders dominated, so you know his footprints were all over the match. He was awesome as usual, controlling play and making essential defensive recoveries that constantly denied Cruz Azul even a sniff of counterplay. As Seattle was rolling in the second half, it was Roldan’s calm distribution that constantly got the ball into dangerous places. He had 92 percent passing and 13 recoveries.
Lucky 7s: Part of Seattle’s resurgence on set pieces was a lovely near-post run and flick from Roldan in the 58th minute, keeping the pressure up and giving Seattle a third goal and Cristian an assist.
House always wins: Everyone else scored, and what did Cristian do? Sadly, “only” winning duels, distributing, creating, and assisting others.
Obed Vargas – 8
Obed was fantastic against Cruz Azul, showing poise and control, and was the best midfielder in the match for long stretches. He only had 76 percent passing, but that was because he was trying shit, and more often than not was creating massive opportunities. This version of Vargas was amazing, and showed him living up to his high expectations in real time.
Lucky 7s: Something about playing international competition brings out the best in Obed, and boy did he impress. From minute one he was offering physical tackles, connecting with teammates, and consistently turning from pressure and attacking Cruz Azul off the dribble. His 50th minute goal was yet another lucky bounce that was created from a willingness to put the ball into the mix in the box. Even more impressive was his silky dribble in the 69th minute to fleece a defender and find Ryan Kent en route to an Osaze De Rosario goal.
House always wins: Breaking out in the 29th minute, full speed with runners on either side and Seattle looking to take advantage of a 4 on 2, Obed felt sorry for Cruz Azul and kicked the ball away, turning it over and keeping them in the match a bit longer.
Attacking Midfield
Ryan Kent – 7 (off 73’ for de la Vega)
Kent did a lot in this match. A lot of picking himself off the ground after being hacked. He was fouled SIX times, usually because he was dribbling around the opponent and forcing contact. When they finally allowed him to play, he dialed up teammates for easy finishes, winning 10 duels, and balancing out the attack.
Lucky 7s: His 69th minute pass to Osaze was excellent, attacking the goal with his head up and finding the perfect ball through traffic, and giving his striker a massive chance that didn’t go to waste.
House always wins: Kent was fouled so many times, especially in the first half, it was amazing that he kept his cool. He was battered and hacked time and again, and yet he had the last laugh.
Albert Rusnák – 7 (off 73’ for Leyva)
In a match where Rusnák was almost an afterthought on the scoreboard, he still had the most key passes (four) and dropped two perfect set piece dimes that Seattle scored on. He also casually delivered 90 percent passing as he floated around the midfield setting up chances.
Lucky 7s: Instantly looking for Danny Musovski over the top, Rusnák was a dangerous man all night. His beautiful pass in the 47th minute won a corner. Seattle scored on the next corner via Albert, who did the same later in the match from a set piece. He was quietly electric.
House always wins: Where has this corner kick service and execution been in MLS play? Two perfect connections meant two goals for Seattle.
Jesús Ferreira – 9 (MOTM)
The most consistent attacker on the evening was Jesús, who was everywhere. His movement and connection with teammates was mesmerizing, creating giant chances all over the field. He had two shots, 86 percent passing, a goal that counted, a couple that didn’t, and multiple big opportunities all match.
Lucky 7s: Ferreira scored a tremendous goal in the 58th minute, curling around the defense on what looked to be a set play on a corner kick, calmly finishing a difficult goal and finally being rewarded. Later, he found Pedro for an assist, after a silky touch in the box.
House always wins: Ferreira scored three times in this match, the first being removed for a clear offside and the second for a more questionable call. Each time, his incredible movement got him into dangerous spots where his clean finishing meant only the referees would deny Seattle goals. Oh, and his press and quick pass found Musovski who missed an early goal too.
Forward
Danny Musovski – 6 (off 65’ for De Rosario)
Danny did many essential things in this match, on only 21 touches. A necessary and active presser, Musovski’s angles helped the wide players pinch service, resulting in significant possession for Seattle.
Lucky 7s: Seattle needed a tip of the spear to press Cruz Azul, and Moose did that all night. When the opponent tried to get in his face, Danny refused to back down and sent messages early and often that Seattle wasn’t to be trifled with.
House always wins: Compared to everyone around him, Danny stood out for not joining the scoring party, especially when he missed chances like the one Jesús got him in the box. Albert was open!
Substitutes
Osaze De Rosario – 7 (on 65’ for Musovski)
De Rosario came in and immediately scored, finding the great positions he has in every Sounders appearance so far. He barely touched the ball, but had the one that mattered, touching home clean after understanding where to be and how to get there.
Lucky 7s: Massively goal dangerous, Osaze constantly ran into the six-yard box and planted himself in good spots. This paid off with a perfectly timed run in the 69th where he dove at goal and finished clean from a nifty Kent pass.
House always wins: Apparently, you can get a yellow card for putting your shirt over your head. Cool celly, though, and my small humans have been practicing that for days.
Kim Kee-hee – 6 (on 65’ for Yeimar)
Kim entered for Yeimar and did his job, ensuring the clean sheet and keeping his play compact with teammates. He had 12 touches and was solid.
Lucky 7s: He had 8/10 passing, completed his long ball attempt, found the key players and got a sweet view of a lot of goals.
House always wins: Everyone else on the backline scored or assisted, but not Kim!
Pedro de la Vega – 9 (on 72’ for Kent)
Pedro came in and scored on his first touch. He ended the game with an audacious goal. He was every bit the dominant player we hoped for.
Lucky 7s: There hasn’t ever been a finish for the Sounders like the one Pedro put the game to bed with. First time, cross field from a 40-yard pass, full side volley off the far post. It’s the best Sounders goal ever, and one of the best goals I have ever seen. Ninety percent of players won’t even try that shot. Another 9.9 percent don’t even get it in the vicinity of the field, let alone the goal. Pedro is one of the very, very few who can get it on frame, and in the goal. It was spectacular.
House always wins: In the 86th minute he could have gone for another goal and pulled the ball back, smartly killing the clock instead of finding an open ODR for goal number 42. Lame.
Danny Leyva – 7 (on 72’ for Rusnák)
Leyva was perfect for this match, showing vision and distribution moving forward, leading the charge and setting up teammates. He was a perfect 20/20 passing, set up multiple big chances, had a shot on goal, and did an excellent Rusnák impression.
Lucky 7s: In the 76th he broke out and played a ball from the width into Jesús, and Pedro did the rest. In the 88th, standing over a set piece, you knew Danny MF Leyva was going to go direct. He didn’t disappoint, his lovely free kick forcing a save off the crossbar that dropped onto the Nouhou noggin.
House always wins: That set piece didn’t go in.
Snyder Brunell – 6 (on 80’ for Cristian Roldan)
Brunell, recently signed, fit immediately into the match and saw his first action as a Sounder. He had seven touches, completed all his passes, and looked to play at Sounders speed (and faster than Cruz Azul).
Lucky 7s: Loved seeing Snyder immediately mix it up physically, showing great touch and not intimidated or flustered by the atmosphere or opponent. Pretty nice debut.
House always wins: He lost a duel and committed a foul. And didn’t score. Geez.
Referee
Víctor Cáceres – 5
This referee let so much go in the first half that Ryan Kent is lucky he still has legs. The fouls were 11-3 with Cruz Azul finding double digits in the first half, and yet cards still didn’t come.
Lucky 7s: VAR got the first offside correct, and maybe the second, but it was such a nice pass from Ragen and somehow Nouhou made the right pass too. Why did you take that away from us?
House always wins: Willer Ditta headbutted Danny Musovski in the 31st minute and somehow that wasn’t even considered, instead both got yellow cards. But the ref immediately called time wasting on Thomas later in the match. Ridiculous.
Upcoming: Wounded Mexican team missing their keeper. It’s not a trap game if we don’t let it be one.
