The Seattle Sounders hit the road for the final time before the World Cup break, heading down to LA to face LAFC. A goal in the 86th minute from Timothy Tillman proved the difference as the Sounders lost 1-0.
The Sounders had the chances to get more out of the meeting with an LAFC side that had lost each of its last three MLS games and its last four in all competitions. The first half started with a solid look at goal from Seattle in the first minute, but Albert Rusnák put too much on his shot and sent it into the crowd. Following that sequence LAFC took control of the game and created a few looks of their own but the Sounders defense was able to get between those chances and Andrew Thomas’s goal. The best opportunity of the opening 45 minutes actually belonged to Brian Schmetzer’s side. In the 30th minute Hassani Dotson played an excellent ball that split the defense and put Jordan Morris in on goal, but Morris’ shot came too close to goalkeeper Thomas Hasal who was able to put it out for a corner with a solid save.
After getting to halftime tied 0–0 despite LAFC taking 12 shots to Seattle’s 3, the Sounders exerted more control over the second half. Possession flipped, with Seattle holding 61% of possession during the second half after only 41% in the first, and the Sounders even held a slight advantage in shots (7–5) although they were forced to take 4 of their 7 shots from outside the area.
The Sounders were able to get into dangerous spots with some degree of regularity, but often weren’t able to turn those moments into shots that really threatened the goal. They did have a particularly good opportunity to take a lead in the 76th minute when Morris was able to fight his way around Ryan Hollingshead on the wing before finding Danny Musovski with a cutback from the end line, but Musovski's attempt to clip the ball into an open back post floated just too much and struck the crossbar.
In the end, for all that Seattle put in some good work to have a chance at all three points their work was undone in the 86th minute. Tyler Boyd was able to send in a cross under minimal pressure from Nouhou on Seattle’s left side, and Timothy Tillman made a run inside Kalani Kossa-Rienzi that the right back struggled to pick up and never got goal side of the midfielder before he slid in and knocked the ball home just inside the post.
Seattle now heads into an extended break in 6th in the West with 24 points from 13 games played. They have plenty of room to make a run back up the table, but they’ll need to make full use of the break to get healthy, figure out how to get more from their approach to games, and probably find some reinforcements capable of turning a game like this one in their favor.
Lineups
Another game, another five changes to the lineup for Seattle. Kim Kee-hee makes his first start of the season alongside Jackson Ragen with Kalani Kossa-Rienzi at RB, while Alex Roldan, Antino Lopez and Peter Kingston are all available off the bench. Cristian Roldan returns to the starting lineup in midfield with Hassani Dotson as Snyder Brunell makes way. Paul Rothrock gets the start on the left wing and Jesús Ferreira slides to the right wing as Albert Rusnák starts centrally and Jordan Morris moves back up top.
Tonight's Delta Starting XI for #LAFCvSEA! 👊 📰: sndrs.com/0x6anzir
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) May 24, 2026 at 5:26 PM
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Key moments
1 - Shot. Kim Kee-hee sends in a ball for Jordan Morris that’s headed away by a defender but falls to Albert Rusnák who overhits the shot.
3 - Block. Jackson Ragen gets a foot in the way and sends a shot from Son Heung-min out for a throw after Kim Kee-hee helped to corral him.
15 - Stop. Denis Bouanga slips between Jesús Ferreira and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, but his shot is blocked enough that Andrew Thomas is able to gather it.
26 - Corner. David Martinez finds space for a shot inside the area, but Ragen is able to block it out for a corner.
30 - Chance! Hassani Dotson plays Morris in on goal with an excellent through ball, but goalkeeper Thomas Hasal makes a fantastic save to deny him.
31 - Header. Dotson has a look at the back post from an Albert Rusnák corner, but his effort bounces just high wide.
38 - Wide. Son makes an unmarked run through the defense but his touch as the cross comes in goes out for a goal kick.
42 - Shot. Bouanga cuts inside against KKR and gets off his shot before Dotson closes him down, but it goes just over Thomas’s bar.
47 - Chance! KKR plays Morris in and he gets off a shot that forces a save from Hasal. The rebound falls to Rusnák but he settles for a cross after he can’t get off a shot.
49 - Chance. Seattle recycles possession after a corner and Paul Rothrock eventually sends in a cross that Ragen gets a foot to, but puts it wide.
62 - Shot. Cristian Roldan receives the ball from Rothrock centrally and drives toward goal before taking a shot from about 20 yards out that’s easily caught.
63 - Subs. Snyder Brunell and Antino Lopez enter the game, replacing Hassani Dotson and Kim Kee-hee for the Sounders.
67 - Chance. Ryan Hollingshead has a clean look on a header inside the area, but it appears to deflect off the foot of Son Heung-min and goes out for a goal kick.
69 - Shot. Snyder Brunell receives a pass from Roldan in a pocket of space in front of the box and drives toward goal before taking a shot from distance that’s caught.
69 - Sub. Seattle swaps Paul Rothrock out for Danny Musovski, moving Jordan Morris out to the left wing.
76 — Chance! Morris fights his way past Hollingshead and is able to find Musovski with a cutback from the end line, but Musovski's attempt to clip the ball into the back post comes off the crossbar.
77 - Save! Ragen turns the ball over and Son has a great look, but Thomas dives to his right to push the ball out for a corner.
79 - Subs. LAFC takes off Mathie Choiniere and David Martinez, replacing them with Tyler Boyd and Stephen Eustaquio.
82 - Sub. Nkosi Tafari replaces Aaron Long for LAFC.
86 - Goal, LAFC. Timothy Tillman runs in past KKR at the back post to put away a cross from Tyler Boyd and give the hosts a late lead. 1-0, LAFC
90 - Subs. Jesús Ferreira and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi leave the game as Seattle brings on Osaze De Rosario and Peter Kingston.
92 - Sub. LAFC brings on Artem Smolyakov, replacing Denis Bouanga.
Quick thoughts
Too sloppy: Over the last month, maybe longer, it has been all too common to see players that we otherwise think of as sharp and reliable make simple mistakes. Sloppy passes, seemingly unaware of the game around them, leading to opportunities for opponents to attack. Players a step too slow to close down a player, pick up a loose ball or win a second ball. Particularly with absences to key players the Sounders have a small margin for error in many of their games, and sloppiness – even simply looseness in their play — make those margins even finer. Mistakes keep hurting the team game after game, and for any other changes or improvements to matter they need to clean their game up.
Reasons to be frustrated: To be fair the Sounders have had a mostly good season that’s largely been marred by three weeks or so of decidedly frustrating football. They’re in 6th place in the West, but a win in their first game back after the World Cup break could push them into 3rd. Their 11 goals allowed is tied with Nashville SC for the lowest mark in the league. But the poor three weeks that started with the draw against SKC and ended with tonight’s loss underscores the concerns that have floated around all season as the team struggles to find any consistent attacking cohesion and hurt themselves with mistakes. Good players are underperforming, and there’s not really one absence that can be pointed to as a cause or solution. It’s now been about a month since the team won back-to-back games, and after a single loss in the first 11 league games they’ve lost consecutive games and have one win in the last five, the only game during that time in which they scored more than one goal.
A needed break: The Sounders now have nearly two months before they step on the field for a competitive game. Some of that will be a full break during the World Cup, an opportunity for just about everyone to rest and heal up. After that they’ll have what has been referred to as a mini-preseason ahead of the final 21 games of the season and Leagues Cup. There’s still plenty of time to make good on the promise of the start of the season, and the team should be getting back Pedro de la Vega and Yeimar, which should also allow Alex Roldan to return to RB rather than filling in for Yeimar. Those returning players should provide a lift to the team, but more than that the team needs to look at what has worked and what hasn’t, and they need to use the summer window to add to the team’s strength. It’s not a simple task, but no one on the team or in the front office signed up for an easy job, and they owe it to themselves and the fans to give themselves the best opportunity to do something special.
Notable quote
Schmetzer: “What I challenged the team with was the money guys have to step up and score more goals. We’ve done a great job defensively, but we have to score more. It has to be everybody.”
— Sounder at Heart (@sounderatheart.com) May 24, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Player spotlight
Jackson Ragen – Ragen has hardly been perfect in recent weeks, but even so with the rotating cast around him on the backline his steadiness has been crucial. Against LAFC he won 3/4 ground duels, 1/1 aerial duels, had 10 defensive contributions and completed 58/63 passes with 7 passes into the final third and 2/2 long balls.
