That thud you heard all the way from Texas was the Seattle Sounders blowing a match they should have won against Austin FC. The 2-1 defeat perfectly encapsulated their recent struggles. Two massive defensive mistakes allowed Austin’s goals, but it was the offensive chances squandered that kept Seattle from putting this one away early. The final score was extremely disappointing, because Seattle controlled the flow of play for significant periods, created a number of big opportunities, and yet were only able to find the back of the net a single time.
After riding high from the Leagues Cup, the Sounders are suddenly dropping points. They’ve earned one point out of their last nine available, blowing defensive assignments late in two winnable matches. The once-sturdy defense that was a hallmark of Seattle’s success now looks porous and prone to critical errors at inopportune moments. At the same time, their attack lacks the clinical finishing touch required to convert chances into goals. This combination of defensive fragility and offensive inefficiency has the Sounders sliding down the Western Conference standings, and it could derail their playoff aspirations if not addressed quickly and decisively.
Great Expectations: Only weeks ago, the Sounders were the darlings of MLS. Their dominant performance in the Leagues Cup, where they sliced through both Mexican and American teams, placed them near the top of power rankings. With key players returning to health, Seattle seemed poised to make a charge up the standings, potentially even competing for the Supporters’ Shield.
Reality Check: The Shield chase is a distant memory, and a favorable playoff seed is unlikely. The team once perceived as deep and indestructible has had a dramatic fade, exposing potentially fatal flaws.
Goalkeeper
Andrew Thomas – 6 | Community – 6.2
When Stefan Frei got sick, Thomas got the start in Austin, but he didn’t have much to say about the outcome. He had four saves and seven throws in a quiet match, outside of the last 10 minutes in each half.
Great Expectations: Already viewed by many as Seattle’s better keeper, Thomas made an incredible save in the 93rd minute, leaping to his left to push a goal-bound shot away.
Reality Check: Unfortunately, Seattle conceded right before the end of the match, as the midfield failed to close down and Austin got an open back post header. Thomas wasn’t able to do much on either goal against.
Defense
Nouhou – 6 | Community – 5.9
Nouhou returned to the left with 89 percent passing and eight defensive contributions in a muted performance. His 12 passes into the final third demonstrated his willingness to push the ball forward but keep out of the way and let the attackers work. He led the entire match with 105 touches.
Great Expectations: A brilliant curling pass in the 80th minute put Georgi Minoungou in behind, an absolutely fabulous look. These passes seem to be showing up more consistently.
Reality Check: Nouhou’s usual overzealous shot into the stands right before halftime was the kind of thing that drives people nuts. He only won half his duels.
Jackson Ragen – 5 | Community – 4.4
With the second-most touches and 96 percent passing accuracy, the stats like what Ragen was doing against Austin. Unfortunately, he paired those stats with a massive mistake that was immediately penalized.
Great Expectations: In the 13th minute, a brilliant line-splitting pass to Alex Roldan on the overlap was lovely, wrestling real estate from Austin and giving Seattle a breakout.
Reality Check: One of the most boneheaded plays of the season came right before halftime. With Seattle dominating, Ragen was carelessly looking for a long ball. His attempt was blocked, stolen, and converted to Austin’s lead, their momentum at halftime, and their belief that they could win.
Yeimar – 6 | Community – 5.4
While others around him had a few hiccups, Yeimar was his usual solid self, dropping over 90 percent passing while stopping almost all tries down his wing. He had three essential header clearances, owning the air and preventing a majority of crosses from scoring.
Great Expectations: A lovely 65th minute header was part of a strong body of work from Yeimar, who won pretty much everything in the air except the last touch.
Reality Check: Maybe Seattle should have been more prepared for sadness after seeing Yeimar get completely beaten in the 55th minute. Less surprising was a 49th minute pass that was an ugly turnover.
Alex Roldan – 6 | Community – 5.7 (off 92’ for Baker-Whiting)
Roldan played hard but tired, eventually subbing off in the 92nd minute. Maybe he shouldn’t have left at that point, as Seattle immediately conceded through his area. Before this, Alex had two shots and two key passes, consistently creating action up his wing and looking for teammates in the box.
Great Expectations: As usual, the Roldans worked well together, and they nearly connected on a lovely goal in the 37th minute. Alex’s cross found Cristian’s head and the ball found the post, but not the back of the net.
Reality Check: In the 49th minute, Alex looked silly as he got nutmegged; he was lucky that Austin didn’t make more of the opportunity earned from this skill check.
Defensive Midfield
Cristian Roldan – 6 | Community – 5.5
Cristian had another 90 minute shift and looked weary, while still being impactful in the middle. With “only” 72 touches, he had the fourth highest number of touches on the team, and translated them into two shots and 93 percent passing. He was yet again a key central connector.
Great Expectations: As usual, Cristian was involved in some of the biggest moments for Seattle, hitting the post in the 37th minute before finding Danny Musovski in the 46th to earn a secondary assist on the Sounders’ goal.
Reality Check: When Cristian was absolutely burned in transition in the 33rd minute, it was a warning to the team that he wasn’t always going to bail them out.
Obed Vargas – 6 | Community – 6.0
Obed combined with Roldan in the middle, and Seattle controlled vast periods of time in the midfield due to their movement and combination. He had a key pass and two shots.
Great Expectations: In the 59th minute, Obed shrugged off a weak challenge and drove with pace and power nearly 50 yards up the field before putting a shot just wide. His weaving run through multiple defenders was beautiful.
Reality Check: That 59th minute play was similar to multiple other times when Vargas found himself near the box and either failed to penetrate further, put in a weak shot or stumbled over himself trying to figure out what to do next.
Attacking Midfield
Paul Rothrock – 5 | Community – 5.0 (off 60’ for Ferreira)
Rothrock played for two thirds of the match but wasn’t a key contributor. With only 25 touches, Paul didn’t create a shot, either for himself or a teammate, and was repeatedly frustrated by a defense that could handle him fairly easily.
Great Expectations: Early on, Rothrock’s pressure gave Austin fits, and he won a number of fortuitous free kicks after forcing fouls with direct play.
Reality Check: After losing possession in the 28th minute, Paul lunged and took a poor yellow card, forcing him to change his playstyle over the rest of his time on the field.
Albert Rusnák – 6 | Community – 5.2 (off 70’ for Leyva)
Rusnák returned to the starting central attacking midfielder position. He was a possession influence in the middle but wasn’t able to unlock the Austin defense with regularity. He did have two shots and two key passes.
Great Expectations: A lovely corner kick in the 32nd begged for people to get their head on the other end of it, and Albert consistently put the right ball where it needed to be.
Reality Check: This wasn’t his best outing, as Albert had a number of uncharacteristic turnovers against Austin, resulting in only 83 percent passing.
Snyder Brunell – 4 | Community – 4.6 (off 46’ for Minoungou)
Snyder’s recent quality play earned him a chance to play on the outside, as Seattle again tried to see if a young player could run the wing. It didn’t come to fruition, as Brunell had 22 inconsequential touches before subbing out at halftime.
Great Expectations: With great control and tons of effort, it made sense to see whether Snyder could run the wing very inverted and help condense the field centrally.
Reality Check: It didn’t work at all, as Brunell was lost positionally and unable to positively impact the match from wide. His biggest opportunity came in the 38th minute, but his cross was not good.
Striker
Danny Musovski – 6 | Community – 5.6 (off 60’ for Morris)
Danny started at the striker position and did his best to get into the match physically, but he struggled to find direct plays on goal. An adjustment to a facilitator role meant he was innately involved in Seattle’s goal. That assist was one of only 13 touches in his time on the field.
Great Expectations: Moose nearly scored at the death of the first half to bring Seattle back into the match. He did better on the other side of halftime, driving forward onto the end of a superb Cristian Roldan pass before slotting across for Georgi Minoungou’s smart run, as Seattle scored to tie the game.
Reality Check: Getting a yellow card in the 2nd minute diminished Musovski’s ability to be physical as the first line of defense. His pressing took an early hit due to that foul.
Substitutes
Georgi Minoungou – 6 (MOTM) | Community – 6.8 (MOTM) (on 46’ for Brunell)
Georgi joined the match and brought everything you would want from a sub: pace, power, influence, dynamic offense, and the ability to put the ball in the net. He led the team with three shots in only a half of play.
Great Expectations: Immediately upon entering the match, Georgi impacted it positively for Seattle, diving into the box and finishing clean less than a minute into the second half. His big body and great positioning helped secure space for a deft side net finish.
Reality Check: In the 86th minute, Jordan Morris set up Georgi for his brace and a Seattle win with a lovely centering pass. Unlike the prior excellent finish, Minoungou put this one too central, which allowed the opposing keeper, Brad Stuver, to deny Seattle.
Jordan Morris – 5 | Community – 5.0 (on 60’ for Musovski)
Morris came in as another injection of offense and immediately got into great spots, combining with Jesús Ferreira and looking directly dangerous. He had only five touches, but he converted those into two shots on goal and a key pass in limited moments.
Great Expectations: Instantly getting in behind twice, Jordan was direct on goal and added a sweet pass to Minoungou that should have given Seattle the lead.
Reality Check: Stuver stuffed both his attempts 1-v-1, with a 72nd minute chance that Morris will want to do better on.
Jesús Ferreira – 6 | Community – 6.4 (on 60’ for Rothrock)
Along with Morris, Ferreira came in and became a creator from the right channel. With 25 touches, he was both a control player and a chance provider, putting multiple teammates into great spots that they unfortunately didn’t reward.
Great Expectations: Instant offense subbed in with the combo of Ferreira and Morris, and Jesús put through balls via a lovely 60th minute backheel and an even better look in the 72nd to create chances for Seattle. His 82nd minute touch in traffic was incredible.
Reality Check: Forced to hold instead of defending on a transition play, Jesús took a 92nd minute yellow card.
Danny Leyva – 5 | Community – 5.2 (on 70’ for Rusnák)
As Albert tired in his return to the starting lineup, Leyva came in and did some nice things both ways on the field. His 22 touches and 93 percent passing were primarily as a connector, but he didn’t manage to put the ball into direct goalscoring places, outside of dead balls.
Great Expectations: Consistently dangerous on set piece delivery, Danny delivered a particularly nice corner in the 74th that should have been put away.
Reality Check: With Austin pushing late, Leyva could do little more than foul in the 94th minute, giving the home team momentum and a dead ball chance.
Reed Baker-Whiting – 4 | Community – 4.5 (on 92’ for Alex Roldan)
Reed came in on the right side for the last five minutes of the match and had a lot of action, from six touches to a number of calamitous defensive errors.
Great Expectations: After some good outings, Reed was trusted to sub in, to both help see out the defensive work and potentially add some offensive service.
Reality Check: RBW was dreadful, starting with a 95th minute bad touch that lost possession before being spun like a top on the game-winning goal sequence. He was not ready for the speed of the match.
Referee
Jair Marrufo – 4 | Community – 4.7
Seattle has been frustrated by this referee for years, but it was still surprising to see him call only 13 total fouls in the entire match, and to give Seattle three yellow cards. The teams got away with overly physical play, and ultimately no one seemed happy.
Great Expectations: Late in the first half, Marrufo leaned on a quality call from the fourth official or VAR to make a call on the near sideline when he was blocked from view.
Reality Check: This was a mess of non-called fouls, with tons of contact allowed, and at multiple times both teams were frustrated. Two Sounders were fouled in the 63rd minute enough to be on the ground, and neither were called. A 78th minute whistle made zero sense, like many of his calls.
Austin FC MOTM
Certain ratings sites may have seen it differently, but the fans have spoken: Brad Stuver stood on his big dumb head. A match that xG had as a draw (with a Seattle lean) was made not so by the robust Clevelander. Of particular acclaim were his save of a Cristian Roldan snap header off a corner in the 37th that he had to push onto a post, a couple repelled Jordan Morris opportunities ten minutes apart, and a Minoungou shot at the center of the goal (an area Stuver had momentarily vacated, before diving back into). Somewhere in there, against some other keeper, there was probably a Seattle winner.
All Is Not Lost: The Sounders can still reverse this unfortunate trend, starting with winning back to back Cascadia Cup matches at home.
