Seattle traveled to Los Angeles for the second time in three weeks, facing the improved yet still underwhelming LA Galaxy. Once again, the Sounders were the superior team, securing a 2-0 victory in the Leagues Cup Semifinal. The Sounders consistently carved out scoring opportunities, converting multiple chances while limiting the Galaxy to speculative long-range shots or toothless possession. Seattle’s defense proved resolute, repeatedly snuffing out Galaxy attacks before they could threaten the goal. Meanwhile, the flowing attacking system that Seattle has developed this season was in full effect. A late red card marred the final ten minutes, but the end result is the Seattle Sounders will host the Leagues Cup Final this Sunday at Lumen Field.
Finals Bound: Seattle cruises into a tournament final, with a balanced team that has a +11 goal differential in the tournament. The Sounders are playing exciting, attacking soccer and scoring team goals while also keeping the stout defensive base they’re known for.
Embrace the Journey: Waiting at the weekend is Inter Miami, with their Argentine captain and his lesser-known teammates. This match will pit a star-laden, individual-brilliance group against a tremendously cohesive, deep and talented team. While Seattle has the home field advantage, this will be a huge test.
Goalkeeper
Andrew Thomas – 7
Andrew Thomas earned a shutout and ensured that his team would play for the tournament trophy this weekend. He had four saves against the Galaxy, and he only conceded two goals in the entire tournament, showing his massive upside.
Finals Bound: A nice save in the 20th minute was one-upped by a better one in the 28th. While neither was a high probability shot, the second one was through traffic and forced Thomas to make a great diving save.
Embrace the Journey: The distribution was an adventure, and not a good one. Only completing 20 percent of his long balls and 60 percent total, Thomas couldn’t dial in either throws or kicks to teammates. In the 51st minute, his poor outlet nearly tied the score up as LA stole and had a solid chance.
Defense
Nouhou – 5
Nouhou played 83 minutes and was great in possession. He had 96 percent passing and continually got the ball onto Pedro de la Vega’s feet. He added nine defensive contributions and was important in defending the wide areas that LA wanted to concentrate on. He would have had a solid rating had he managed seven more minutes without blundering.
Finals Bound: For much of this match, Nouhou played well. He was beaten a few times early, but he settled in and was excellent late in the first half, adding stellar crosses in the 39th and 43rd. In the second half he and the defense completely shut down LA’s offense for long stretches and looked to be coasting to an easy shutout.
Embrace the Journey: You can debate the red card validity all you want. But it was stupid to attempt that aggressive of a tackle late in a match you’re completely dominating. There is little upside to that play, and Nouhou doesn’t make anything easy.
Jackson Ragen – 6
Jackson started in his usual left central defensive spot and was solid. He had 58 touches and mostly stayed central with safe, possession-oriented passing. He had six defensive contributions but only two passes into the final third as the Sounders often relinquished possession.
Finals Bound: A strong 22nd minute challenge was some unexpected physicality. A 71st minute dribble into the box like a striker was even more unexpected.
Embrace the Journey: Ragen only won about half his duels, and he didn’t complete a single long ball, as this match lacked much of the creativity from the back we usually see from him.
Yeimar – 8 (MOTM)
LA appeared more dangerous this time around, but still ran headlong into Yeimar and had no answers for him. Every time they got a step on the defense, he popped up to win the ball. His defensive range and quality meant Seattle snuffed out attacks before they materialized, as Yeimar repeatedly won the ball and turned possession forward for Seattle.
Finals Bound: Yeimar was a dominant defender, constantly matching up and coming out the better in physical battles with the opponent. That meant nine won headers, consistently winning the aerial challenges among 13 defensive contributions.
Embrace the Journey: Yeimar had to clear the ball off the line in the 54th minute in a nervy moment, and a 72nd minute bad pass was a headscratcher.
Alex Roldan – 6
Alex had an important defensive duty and was pretty solid. Although LA had some luck attacking down his wing, Alex consistently tracked back and made everything predictable. He ended with nine defensive contributions.
Finals Bound: Alex did a lot of little things in this one, like winning an important defensive header, adding a safe outlet to move the ball through the middle, and clearing the lines to promote transition moments. His ability to combine to the middle areas brought Pedro into the match in some key moments.
Embrace the Journey: Alex struggled with the speed and creativity of opponent Joseph Paintsil. He didn’t offset his defensive mishaps with offensive excellence, ending with only a single key pass while focusing on defense.
Defensive Midfield
Cristian Roldan – 6 (off 76’ for Kossa-Rienzi)
The Roldan-Vargas midfield was again the dominant force in the match, controlling the center, finding quick transition points, and feeding dangerous balls to the width. Cristian was credited with a key pass while leading the match with eight defensive contributions.
Finals Bound: Paintsil was the most direct and dangerous Galaxy member in the first half, and he nearly created a big moment in the 44th minute. Instead, he found Cristian coming across to defuse the situation. Roldan’s range and tackling on the night meant LA had zero presence centrally.
Embrace the Journey: An uncharacteristic error on defense meant he was grabbing and earned a yellow card in the 67th. Some inaccurate passes resulted in an unusually low 78 percent completion rate. Also unusual, but positive, was seeing Cristian get subbed out for some rest with Seattle cruising.
Obed Vargas – 6
Vargas had a quiet but efficient night. With nine passes into the final third and four recoveries, he spent long stretches of the game doing the thankless running necessary to keep a cohesive shape in the midfield.
Finals Bound: Obed nearly steered in a shot in the 40th minute, and he had strong defense all night. Especially impressive was an 88th minute individual effort that saw Vargas shrug off six challenges and get a shot off, all while Seattle was down a man. He kept getting stronger throughout the match.
Embrace the Journey: Vargas completed over 90 percent of his passes but was somewhat absent. He had only 36 touches; by comparison Cristian had 10 more in 20 fewer minutes. Obed was missing from long stretches as LAG held undangerous possession.
Attacking Midfield
Pedro de la Vega – 7 (off 60’ for Baker-Whiting)
Pedro brought a lot of energy to his 60 minutes on the pitch, showcasing excellent pace, touch, and attacking energy. He didn’t ignore his defensive duties, though, with seven recoveries and multiple won duels. The two-way play down his wing was a full-field dominant performance.
Finals Bound: Charging into the box and picking up a deflected shot, Pedro finished clean near-post with a tight angle shot in the 7th minute. Throughout the first half he was dynamic, constantly attacking, and the best winger in the match. He looked great on a 39th minute vertical dribble.
Embrace the Journey: That goal was his only shot, and while Pedro was creating a lot off the dribble, the final ball wasn’t there, missing a number of crosses.
Jesús Ferreira – 7 (off 83’ for Kim)
Jesús was very strong in this match. With three key passes, he was continually creating big moments for teammates by spraying the ball around. He was also excellent at moving to spaces, combining, and being a consistent option in a variety of central areas. His touch and decision making centrally were great.
Finals Bound: Once again, Jesús was terrific as a central playmaker, weaving in and out of traffic and combining to set up teammates. His blocked shot was part of the first goal sequence. He had a fantastic pass to Pedro in the 47th minute, after his own press won Seattle the ball. He did himself one better from deep in the 51st, unfortunately a sequence ended by Osaze De Rosario missing a 1-v-1 with the keeper.
Embrace the Journey: Ferreira’s best chance came when he followed up on Dero’s shot in the 7th minute, but instead of finishing cleanly, it was blocked. Seattle was lucky that Pedro didn’t miss from there.
Paul Rothrock – 6 (off 60’ for Leyva)
Rothrock is currently the preferred right winger, and he used his start to impact the match early. He ended more slowly, eventually subbing after 60 largely average minutes. With no successful dribbles and just one off-target shot, Paul wasn’t able to create a lot individually. His movement and aggression were essential to balance out the width.
Finals Bound: The Rothrock effect: with almost any other player, that early Sounders goal doesn’t materialize, as keeper Novak Mićović grabs his own bobble off a testing shot from ODR. Instead, Rothrock made Mićović pay the xDawg tax, preventing him from corralling the rebound. The ball ended in the back of the net via de la Vega, but if it hadn’t scored, Paul had a shout for a PK for the foul on him (luckily, we didn’t have to test the referee’s desire to make that call).
Embrace the Journey: An unnecessary yellow card late in the first half, combined with a bad cross right after halftime showcased Paul’s struggles on the night. After his early burst, LA adjusted and he was largely held in check.
Forward
Osaze De Rosario – 8 (off 60’ for Brunell)
ODR showed a tantalizing mix of size, power, cultured touch, and a nose for the goal against LA. He looked like the real deal, returning five shots on seven touches in the box, creating and finishing on massive chances with smart movement. He mixed up strong long shots (such as the one that ended up as the first goal) and being a big presence in the box for attacks to focus around.
Finals Bound: For Osaze to try his 57th minute move was audacious. To pull it off was sublime. A long throw found him in the box surrounded by defenders. He started with a sombrero into traffic that seemed destined for flashy failure. Instead, a spin, a burst of speed and brute force meant Osaze split multiple defenders to get a touch on the ball, flicking it past another and then controlling a tough deflection with his thigh as he glided toward goal, his momentum pulling the ball with him before poking home. This was a Ruidíaz-esque finish from a guy twice his size.
Embrace the Journey: It could and should have been more. A miss in the 5th minute off a great setup was poor. Another in the 51st was worse, as Jesús found Pedro, who pushed the ball into Osaze’s path for a 1-v-1 with the keeper. He was unable to find the right finish, and for a while, LAG still had life.
Substitutes
Danny Leyva – 5 (on 60’ for Rothrock)
Danny did the defensive work needed, especially down a man late, including two recoveries, and a surprising two header clearances. He added in multiple strong dead ball services and helped run out the clock for the Sounders.
Finals Bound: A bit of beautiful control in the 93rd minute earned Danny a foul, and Seattle valuable time running off the clock in a won match.
Embrace the Journey: As Seattle was dominating the match most of the time, Leyva entered and fit in nearly seamlessly, connecting passes and being a calm distributor.
Reed Baker-Whiting – 5 (on 60’ for de la Vega)
Onto the wing came RBW in the 60th minute, replacing Pedro and being an active offensive threat playing both sides of the field. Reed ended 6/7 passing including a key pass, and he looked confident and active.
Finals Bound: In the 64th minute Reed got into a great spot in the box, but the feed didn’t materialize. An inspired backheel in the 73rd was a sneaky piece of tidy passing that wasn’t just fancy, but also effective.
Embrace the Journey: Hope he’s ready for his biggest start ever this weekend. He will need to show better than his early cross after subbing in, that went harmlessly out of bounds.
Snyder Brunell – 5 (on 76’ for De Rosario)
Brunell continues to earn time in a show of confidence from the staff. His role in this game was more defensive due to the game state, and he responded by winning two duels and a tackle.
Finals Bound: What a great story, as Brunell not only grasped his chance with quality play, he’s now trusted to replace the irreplaceable Cristian Roldan in the middle. He responded with measured and smart play, including taking the ball to the corner in the 96th to kill the clock.
Embrace the Journey: With only five touches, Snyder wasn’t a huge factor, and he was dribbled around once during some less than stellar defense.
Kalani Kossa-Rienzi – 5 (on 76’ for C. Roldan)
Kalani entered with Snyder, as Osaze and Cristian subbed out, Alex moved inside and Jesús pushed forward. Unfortunately, the match changed drastically about five minutes later, as Nouhou subbed himself out and Seattle scrambled to defend in structured blocks.
Finals Bound: In the 87th minute, Kalani showed his impressive physique, holding off multiple challengers on the right and earning a throw-in with positioning and will. He handles his balance and center of gravity so well.
Embrace the Journey: Subbed in late, the red card likely changed his role completely. After coming in on the wing, he drifted around and looked lost as the tactical setup became murky.
Kim Kee-hee – 5 (on 83’ for Ferreira)
With Nouhou exiting the match, Seattle went defensive through the end, comfortably holding onto their two-goal cushion. Kim immediately subbed in as the Sounders packed the box and held on.
Finals Bound: Kim entered the match late to add some size and calmness, replacing Jesús and helping see out the win.
Embrace the Journey: With only two touches (both clearances) for Kim, this was a no-nonsense “kick-it-away and get to the final” performance executed well.
Referee
Adonai Escobedo – 7
A new referee was similar to others in this tournament by letting a lot of contact go, but eventually he found his whistle and did a solid job keeping the peace. With a lot of physical play, that meant 26 fouls called, but necessary cards were handed out to both teams.
Finals Bound: After Vargas was fouled three times by the same guy, an immediate 16th minute yellow card was shown, which clearly set the tone for the rest of the match. Similarly, when Gabriel Pec attempted to argue a foul in the 62nd minute, a dissent card quickly shut that narrative down.
Embrace the Journey: A phantom foul on Osaze early was a headscratcher and Brunell was shoved pretty hard late without a call, with a few issues in between. The red card is worth a debate, but likely the correct call.
Upcoming: Time to lift another trophy.
