The Seattle Sounders will have their work cut out for them when they finally play at Lumen Field for the first time in nearly two months next Wednesday. After a solid first half that ended with them dodging a bullet when Angel Correa missed a penalty, the Sounders were overwhelmed in the second half and have to consider themselves a little lucky to go home trailing 2-0 to Tigres UANL in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals.
Tigres got two second-half goals and came inches away from grabbing a third as the Sounders are now forced to lick their wounds after playing eight consecutive games away from Lumen Field.
That said, the Sounders did have two very good chances to score. The first came in the 30th minute when Jordan Morris picked up a loose pass deep in Tigres' end and raced toward goal with Albert Rusnák to his left, Paul Arriola to his right and goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman scrambling to get back. Morris chose to lay it off to Arriola, who got off a decent shot but Guzman was able to handle it rather easily. In hindsight, Morris probably should have challenged Guzman himself or laid it off to Rusnák who seemed to have a clearer path to goal.
The second big chance came about 10 minutes after Tigres scored their opener – a nice shot by Jonathan Herrera after a slick backheel from Fernando Gorriarán. Cristian Roldan played a beautifully weighted ball that put Arriola behind the Tigres back line. Arriola's cross made it through the box to Paul Rothrock at the back post, but he didn't make very good contact and Guzman was able to make the save with his trailing leg.
From there, it was really all Tigres. They got their second goal off a corner when Joaquim was able to make a virtually unobstructed run off a corner. His header apparently deflected off Jackson Ragen, who was harshly given the own-goal.
Tigres probably should have added a third when Herrera got an open look at a header from about 10 yards out, but he hit the post.
For all that, the Sounders still have a puncher's chance when the series returns to Seattle. The Sounders only need to look at what Tigres did to FC Cincinnati in the previous round – overturning a 3-0 road loss to win 5-4 on aggregate – to find an example of a multi-goal comeback. A Sounders 2-0 win would be enough to force a shootout and any three-goal win would put them through outright. That may not feel particularly likely right now, but it's not remotely out of the question.
Lineups
The Sounders made several changes from their weekend match against the Houston Dynamo, most notably Jordan Morris getting his first start since his Week 1 injury. Alex Roldan also made his return to the lineup, slotting in at centerback. Albert Rusnák also replaced Jesús Ferreira at the No. 10 and Stefan Frei slotted in for Andrew Thomas at goal. That said, the biggest surprise may have been the decision to start Snyder Brunell over Hassani Dotson, showing just how much faith Brian Schmetzer has in his teenage midfielder.
Key moments
10 — Albert Rusnák plays Paul Arriola into space on the right wing. Arriola is able to cut in and cross it through the box, but Paul Rothrock’s shot is blocked at the far post.
18 — BIG SAVE! César Araújo winds up from about 20 yards out and hits a low, hard shot but Stefan Frei is able to get down to his right and keep it out.
30 – BIG CHANCE! Tigres turn it over in back. Jordan Morris is able to pick it up and run at goal with runners to either side and Nauel Guzman retreating to goal. He feeds Arriola on the right, but his shot is saved.
44 – Penalty! Diego Lainez drives to the endline and crosses it into the box, which is defended easily. He goes down, makes a bit of a show, stalls the game long enough for VAR to intervene and a penalty is awarded.
45+3 – MISS!!! Angel Correa fires his penalty attempt high.
48 – MISS! Paul Rothrock gets a great look from the top of the penalty area off a cutback pass from Arriola, but he fires high.
52 – Goal. Sounders get a little stretched in the back and Fernando Gorriarán plays in Jonathan Herrera with a backheel. Herrera's shot is just outside of Frei's reach. 1-0.
Jonathan Herrera with a LOVELY goal to put Tigres ahead!
— Soccerwise (@soccerwisehq.bsky.social) 2026-04-09T02:27:59.198Z
63 – Big Chance! Cristian Roldan plays in Paul Arriola who cuts it through the box to Paul Rothrock. But his shot on the doorstep is stopped by the trailing leg of Guzman.
67 – Clearance. Rodrigo Aguierre works himself free for a shot in the box but Nouhou is able to clear his deflected shot.
75 – Block! Desperate defending as Alex Roldan comes up with a massive block after Frei is forced off his line to make a save.
76 – Goal! On the ensuing corner, Joaquim is able to make a virtually unobstructed run and heads it into the goal. The official scorer marks it as an own-goal after it deflected off Jackson Ragen. 2-0.
81 – POST! Jonathan Herrera gets a free look at a header from about eight yards out but his shot rings the post and stays out.
Quick thoughts
Failure to convert big chances: The Sounders only generated four shots, which clearly wasn't enough. But two of those were legitimately good scoring chances and they will surely be ruing those misses. The Sounders often talk about how in high-leverage matches, especially on the road, there are only going to be a few chances. The chances weren't exactly sitters, but they were the types of goals that championship-winning teams find ways to score. Beyond just the score, converting even one of those chances would have given the Sounders an all-important road goal.
A little lucky it wasn't worse: The Sounders were seemingly playing the match they intended during the first half and were able to generate the single best open-play look during the first 45 minutes. But by the end of the game, Tigres looked far more likely to add a third than the Sounders did to get on the board. Tigres' goal seemed to provide them a genuine boost and the crowd came to life. Things really could have gotten ugly.
Finally, the end of the road: This was the Sounders' eighth straight game away from Lumen Field. The second leg will be played there on April 15, about seven weeks after their previous game at Lumen. It's not that hard to imagine that they'll get some sort of boost from not only sleeping in their own beds the night before the game, but also from a crowd that is likely to be around 30,000. A 2-0 deficit is not an impossible hill to climb but they'll need to be much better than they were in this one.
Notable quote
Schmetzer on difference between first and second half: “The first goal put us under some pressure and lifted them. We were a little loose in possession, we didn’t have as good of possession as we had in first half. If we get one of those chances, maybe it’s a different outcome.”
— Sounder at Heart (@sounderatheart.com) 2026-04-09T03:24:26.185Z
Player spotlight
Snynder Brunell: There really wasn't a standout performer from the Sounders in this one, but it does seem notable that Brian Schmetzer trusted Snyder Brunell to start a game like this in Mexico. The 19-year-old only made his MLS debut last August and was now given the nod over a veteran like Hassani Dotson. Brunell wasn't necessarily great, but he never looked to be overwhelmed either. Experiences like this can only help him.
