SEATTLE — The Seattle Sounders found themselves trailing after 18 minutes against San Diego FC, but salvaged a point thanks to a late Danny Musovski goal to tie the game 1-1. Marcus Ingvartsen opened the scoring in the 18th minute, and Musovski provided the answer in the 80th minute.
The Sounders seemed to firmly be in the driver’s seat in the opening minutes of the game, creating three legitimate chances before the 10th minute. Nouhou had a fair shout for a penalty in the 8th minute when he ran onto a loose ball heading into the area before contact with Chris McVey that appeared to involve a push in the back, a clip of a heel and zero attempt to play the ball sent him to the ground, but referee Armando Villareal emphatically indicated that he wasn’t interested in calling a foul.
Shortly after that incident San Diego started to find their footing, and in the 18th minute they put together their first sustained, threatening spell of possession around Seattle’s area. That spell ended with Onni Valakari playing a ball diagonally through the box that Ingvartsen received with Nouhou trailing him and Ingvartsen made no mistake as he smashed his shot past Andrew Thomas.
As Seattle tried to grab hold of the game again Amahl Pellegrino nearly doubled the visitors’ advantage with a header that looked destined to end up in the back of the net, but Thomas made an excellent diving save to push the ball wide.
On either side of halftime the Sounders continued to generate chances, but couldn’t find the cutting edge necessary to beat San Diego goalkeeper Duran Ferree. Ferree’s defense in front of him certainly helped, as Seattle repeatedly found themselves facing a packed box amounting to nine blocked shots for the Sounders. Finally in the 80th minute the home side managed to break through that wall. Albert Rusnák sent a corner kick to the near post where Cristian Roldan was waiting and swung the ball along through a couple sets of legs to where Musovski was running through a crowd and was able to knock the ball in for the equalizer.
Seattle had a pair of chances in the game’s final minutes, but the best look at the end of the game belonged to San Diego. Alex Mighten was able to work his way around Alex Roldan inside the box and found Anders Dreyer near the penalty spot, but his well-hit shot was equally well-saved by Thomas. The save did give up a rebound, but Ingvartsen wasn’t nearly as clinical with that opportunity as he was on his goal and put the shot high.
The Sounders will have to put the result behind them quickly, as they’re back in action on Wednesday night when the San Jose Earthquakes come to town.
Lineups
Seattle makes one change to the Starting XI, dropping Danny Musovski to the bench and bringing Albert Rusnák into the lineup at the 10. Jordan Morris moves up top, and Jesus Ferreira slides back out to the right wing.
Our Delta Starting XI for #SEAvSD! 💥 📰: sndrs.com/mysf3g62
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) May 9, 2026 at 6:41 PM
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Key moments
3 - Chance. Rothrock nearly jumps on a ball intended for Morris that gets past the striker, but Ferree is able to just beat him to it.
4 - Block. Morris picks up a nice little slip pass from Rusnák and takes a touch to go around the GK to find an angle for a shot, but a defender is able to block his effort.
8 - Shove. Nouhou runs onto a loose ball heading into the box and takes a shove before he can get a shot off, but the referee waves off any thought of a foul.
There is no agenda behind this clip.
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) May 9, 2026 at 7:53 PM
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12 - Shot. The ball falls to Brunell just outside the area, but his shot never drops as it flies over the goal.
18 - Goal, SD. Ingvartsen gets goal side of Nouhou to receive a pass from Valakari and Nouhou never gets position as runs at goal and finishes past Thomas. 1-0, San Diego
22 - Save! Pellegrino has a clear look with a header that’s aimed right for the inside of the post, but Thomas is able to dive and push it just wide for a corner.
36 - Skied. Cristian Roldan finds Rothrock in a pocket of space and he takes a touch to control before firing at Ferree’s near post, but can’t keep his shot down.
42 - Chance. Brunell creates a little space with a dribble just inside the box and sends a cross to the front of goal for Morris, but he can’t get his header on frame.
49 - Slice. Kossa-Rienzi has a nice play to get the ball to Brunell who finds a little space and takes a shot that ends up going wide of goal and out for a goal kick.
54 - Block. Ingvartsen gets on the end of a ball into the box and has eyes for the goal, but Nouhou makes a last second sliding challenge to put the ball out for a corner.
63 - Subs. Seattle take off Snyder Brunell and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, bringing on Peter Kingston and Danny Musovski.
65 - Sub. Nouhou leaves the game and is replaced by Antino Lopez for Seattle.
69 - Shot. Morris gets a flick on a Kingston throw that drops for Ferreira inside the box. Ferreira drops it back to Cristian Roldan who takes a nice shot, but it’s blocked out for a corner.
71 - Chance. Morris looks like he leet an opportunity pass him by, then dribbles through a crowd and finds Musovski with a back heel, but the final effort is easily handled.
73 - Sub. San Diego replaces Amahl Pellegrino with Alex Mighten for their first change of the game.
79 - Shot. Seattle has a couple of passes in and around the area to eventually set Musovski up for a shot, but he puts his effort off the post.
80 - Shot. Musovski with another look, this one is saved by Ferree. The rebound falls to Ferreira, but his headed attempt is blocked out for a corner.
80 - GOAL! Seattle levels it with off of a corner. Rusnák sends in the service and Cristian Roldan helps it through traffic before Musovski runs onto it and knocks it into the back of the net! 1-1
THE MOOSE IS LOOSE 🫎
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) May 9, 2026 at 9:23 PM
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85 - Rip! Rusnák takes an audacious attempt that looked headed for goal, but Ferree gets just enough of a touch to keep it out of the top corner.
86 - Subs. San Diego take off David Vazquez and Luca Bombino, bringing on Alejandro Alvarado and Kieran Sargeant.
87 - Shot. Peter Kingston lets one fly from the top of the box after excellent work from Musovski to get onto a ball over the top and into the box, but the shot goes just over the bar.
90+5 - Save! Mighten gets around the corner against Alex Roldan, then finds Dreyer for a shot that Thomas is able to parry away. The rebound falls to Ingvartsen, but he puts his shot over the bar.
Quick thoughts
Not sharp enough: There’s some degree of luck involved in any game, and that’s particularly true when a team takes 26 shots, 20 of them inside the penalty area, and only puts one in the back of the net. It wasn’t just a matter of finishing — there were a couple of excellent saves by Ferre— the Sounders had numerous moments in transition or opportunities for clearer looks at goal where a clean touch or pass would have allowed the team to open up the defense, but a loose touch or sloppy pass forced extra work and allowed San Diego’s defenders to get set and put their bodies in front of goal. There’s not just one player at fault, or one area of the field where the team is struggling, but the lack of sharpness throughout the squad is resulting in dropped points and missed opportunities.
Staying in the game: Andrew Thomas hasn’t necessarily had the easiest start to life as Seattle’s starting goalkeeper. Although he’s only lost one game in goal, after recording five shutouts in his first six matches he hasn’t kept a clean sheet in his last four. It’s hard to put much of the weight of those goals — only one in each – on him alone, although maybe he could have done a little better on a goal here or there. Particularly in the last two games, which Seattle drew both 1-1, what Thomas has done has been to keep the team in games. Although the Sounders have created enough chances to feel like they could have gotten more from both games, Thomas has also been called upon time and again to make big saves to keep these matches within reach in order to salvage a point rather than coming away with nothing. It’s easier to praise the goalkeeper when it’s a shutout, but Thomas deserves recognition for his role in the team’s unbeaten run even.
Maintaining standards: There’s an understandable impulse for some to look at the last couple of games, and in some sense the season up to this point as a whole, and say that fans of the team should be satisfied with the performances. The Sounders are still in 4th in the West with 21 points from 10 games, even on points with LAFC in 3rd while holding a game in hand. They’re unbeaten at home, and have only lost once in the league on the road against a very impressive Real Salt Lake team. But the club’s stated standard is to compete for trophies, and the players themselves have said that they want to push for Supporters Shield. If those are the goals, the performances so far have not been good enough. There have been good results, strong showings here and there, but nothing that the players or the team can hang their hats on and say, “this is how we’ll fill the trophy case.” If they can’t put away a terrible Sporting Kansas City side on the road, or a middling San Diego FC team at Lumen Field, there’s not much reason to think that they can beat the league’s best in order to climb the table or advance when the stakes are highest in the playoffs. Those performances that lead to MLS Cups have to start during the regular season.
Notable quote
Schmetzer: ‘im happy Musovski scored but we’ll keep running guys out until someone claims it.’
— Sounder at Heart (@sounderatheart.com) May 9, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Player spotlight
Albert Rusnák – Rusnák was credited with 7 chances created, 2 “big chances” created, had 8 passes into the final third, and nearly beat Ferree with a would-have-been golazo.
