The Seattle Sounders played their sixth straight game away from Lumen Field and registered their fifth shutout of the season, but had to settle for a 0-0 tie with Minnesota United on Sunday.
The Sounders dominated possession and had a couple decent looks at goal, but only forced two saves from Drake Callender. United ceded the ball for large chunks of the match, but probably had the more dangerous chances on balance. Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas made a couple strong saves, the best of which was a first-half stop of Kelvin Yeboah that was immediately followed by a Jackson Ragen block.
The biggest defensive play of the match, though, was turned in by Tino Lopez. After Thomas came way out of his box to try to play a ball over the top, Lopez followed the play and was able to clear the chance before it became truly dangerous.
There was some good news and bad news on the injury front, as well. Alex Roldan was forced out of the match around 20' with a hip injury, but Jordan Morris was able to make his return and play about 25 minutes. It was Morris' first appearance since he went out with a quad injury during the season-opener about a month ago.
The tie leaves the Sounders with a 3-1-1 record in the MLS campaign, with all but one of those matches on the road. They will have one more league road game before returning home to Lumen Field, but already have seven points during the first four matches and have now registered three straight shutouts in league play.
Lineups
The Sounders went with a bit of a hybrid lineup, making five changes from their midweek affair with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Among the changes were Georgi Minoungou for Paul Arriola, Paul Rothrock for Jesús Ferreira, Tino Lopez for Jackson Ragen and Nikola Petković for Snyder Brunell. Also of note, Jordan Morris was available off the bench effectively in place for Danny Musovski, who is already on international duty with North Macedonia.
Key moments
5' – Block! Albert Rusnák finds Osaze De Rosario inside the box for what looks like a promising chance, but the close-range shot is blocked.
11' – Kelvin Yeboah gets out on a counter-attack, forcing Andrew Thomas off his line and creating a bit of a scramble inside the penalty area.
21' – Injury replacement. Alex Roldan is removed about five minutes after he initially went down with what appeared to be some discomfort in his right hip. Jackson Ragen replaces him.
28' – Nick Markanich gets behind the defense on a pass from Joaquin Pereyra, but Tino Lopez recovers to break it up.
30' – Chances! Georgi Minoungou beats his man on the wing and puts a ball into the box that falls to Paul Rothrock, but he can't get it out of his feet before its blocked. The ball falls to Cristian Roldan, whose shot is blocked and caroms off the crossbar.
31' – Wide! Yeboah gets a look from near the top of the penalty area but he can't keep it on frame.
37' – CLOSE! Minoungou puts a ball through box that looks like De Rosario might walk in, but Callender makes a great stop. Petković had played in Minoungou with a gorgeous ball.
45+4' – SAVES! First Thomas stops Yeboah on a chance from about 12 yards out then Ragen makes a block on the rebound.
47' – Yellow! Minoungou draws a yellow on Jefferson Diaz just outside the penalty area.
52- Save. Rothrock heads it to Petković at the back post, but his close range header is right at Callender.
57' – Block. Sounders work a good give-and-go at the top of the box that ends with Rusnák setting up Petković, but the shot is blocked.
80' – High. James plays in Nick Markanich on the left side but the chip attempt misses.
83' – Wide! Rusnák makes an awkward touch that actually works out OK as he gets a good look, but his attempt to the near post is wide.
84 – Crossbar! James plays a free kick to Mamadou Dieng that forces Thomas into a save he puts off the crossbar.
90 – Clearance! Thomas gets caught way off his line but Antino Lopez is able to cover him and clear a ball before it crosses the line.
Quick thoughts
Defensive solidity: One of the main points of emphasis this offseaosn was returning to the defensive play that allowed the Sounders to lead the league in defensive goal-scoring in 2023 and 2024. With four shutouts in five league games and just three goals allowed in seven matches across all competitions, the Sounders seem well on their way to doing just that. In this one, Minnesota was limited to just eight shots and Thomas was only forced into two saves. That they've done this while rotating players along the backline is even more encouraging.
Road warriors: A year ago, the Sounders had only seven wins across all competitions and 19 points in league play away from Lumen Field. The Sounders now have four wins away from Lumen and seven road points. When this stretch of at least seven straight away from Lumen started, the main hope was that the Sounders could simply avoid blowing their trophy chances. With one more game to go, they've done just that and now they have an extra week of rest before facing a Houston Dynamo team that isn't exactly unbeatable.
Depth shines, again: "Next man up" is, of course, a bit of a cliché. But the Sounders have embraced it so much over the past couple of seasons that you actually do believe that their reserves can keep getting results. Nikola Petković was the latest reserve to step up as he was arguably the Sounders' most effective creative force on the day, dealing from his spot in the double-pivot. The offense could obviously be humming a little better, but there's plenty of reason to think that will come.
Notable quote
KKR on Minnesota: “They came to park the bus and sit back, they’ve been doing that to us for the past year. It wasn’t new, but it’s very effective. They just bunker in and they’re a good counter-attack team.”
— Sounder at Heart (@sounderatheart.com) 2026-03-22T21:13:42.221Z
Player spotlight
Petković – The Serbian hasn't played a ton this year, but he's now appeared in five straight and started 2 of 3. With each appearance, he seems to be growing in confidence and was probably at his best today. He went 56 of 61 passing, had probably the pass of the game when he played Georgi Minoungou in and even had a quality look at his first Sounders goal. I don't quite know where he fits in when everyone is healthy, but he's carving out a role for himself.
