After dropping points to Sporting Kansas City and San Diego in draws that felt like losses, the Sounders welcomed the San Jose Earthquakes to Lumen Field and immediately spotted them a goal. Kalani Kossa-Rienzi played a bad ball backward, San Jose pounced, and Nick Fernandez scored in the 2nd minute, before half the crowd had found their seats. Great start. So relaxing.
Then Seattle responded. Not just half-heartedly. They actually responded. For 88 minutes, they pushed, controlled, created, and eventually got goals from Albert Rusnák, Jesús Ferreira, and Osaze De Rosario to beat a San Jose team that was at the top of the West and very much looked like they’d be a problem. Seattle finished with 57 percent possession and outshot San Jose 23-11, including nine shots on goal. This 3-2 win was exactly what Seattle needed after two infuriating draws, not because it fixed everything, but because it showed the ceiling again. The Sounders conceded immediately, punched back, took the lead, got dragged level, and still found the winner, and that matters.
Are the vibes back? Maybe not fully trusted yet, because this team can make trust feel like a subscription service with hidden fees. But beating a top team means the talent is there, the ceiling is real, and the standard should stay high enough to make anything less disappointing.
Good response: Conceding immediately against a good team could have turned into another miserable little lesson. Instead, Seattle took control and punched back.
Bad habit: The self-inflicted nonsense has not disappeared. The opening goal was a gift, and San Jose still found an equalizer after Seattle had put in the work to get ahead.
Keep receipt: This was a satisfying win and the vibes are back for now. Keep the receipt, though, because this team still insists on making every transaction require manager approval.
Goalkeeper
Andrew Thomas — 6 | Community — 6.9
This was not a goalkeeper showcase. Thomas conceded twice, only had a small handful of actual save work, and mostly watched Seattle turn the match into a territorial argument in front of him. Neither goal is mainly on him, but two goals against on limited San Jose chances keeps this at average, even though he may have saved the second SJ goal had it not been deflected.
Good response: Andrew stayed composed after the early gut punch and helped Seattle avoid turning one mistake into multiple ones. An 18th minute save combined well with control of his box throughout.
Bad habit: Two goals allowed in a game Seattle otherwise controlled is still not a fun box score, and at least one of his saves was pushed back into danger in the middle of the box.
Keep receipt: Thomas did fine, but this one was won by the guys in front of him.
Defense
Nouhou — 8 | Community — 7.4
Nouhou had a massive game. It was a performance where the chaos stayed pointed in the correct direction and then he provided not just chance creation but elite distribution. He helped create the penalty sequence with a smart ball forward, defended with his usual physical confidence, and served the game-winning assist to Osaze in the 89th minute. Seeing Nouhou as one of Seattle’s most important final-third players is both joyous and confusing.
Good response: This was a huge two-way performance. As mentioned, Nouhou was involved in the penalty buildup and delivered the winning assist. He also made smart runs and, more importantly, smart decisions.
Bad habit: There were still a few moments where San Jose found too much room in transition, and a 10th minute good dribble up the middle turned bad quickly when he lost possession.
Keep receipt: If this is the playmaking left back version, please keep printing copies. It’s a remarkable improvement so far this season from an evolving Nouhou.
Jackson Ragen — 7 | Community — 7.0
Ragen was solid, calm, and generally effective at keeping San Jose from turning limited looks into bigger problems. He was not the headline player, but he helped Seattle sustain pressure by winning his moments and keeping possession (92 percent passing) moving back toward the right end of the field. This was not a flashy center back night. It was a competent one, and competent mattered after the opening minute threatened to make the whole evening weird.
Good response: Ragen was steady after the early mistake and helped Seattle keep the game tilted forward throughout. He was a constant threat on corner kick offense.
Bad habit: The back line still gave up two goals, and Ragen could have scored twice that many, had he put his open looks on corner kicks into the net, the best of which was a wide open chance in the 38th minute that he somehow put wide.
Keep receipt: This was a solid performance that could have been much better with a little polish on the offensive end. Jackson’s speed was exposed a few times.
Alex Roldan — 6 | Community — 6.7
Alex was fine, but fine in a match like this gets squeezed a little by the two goals against and the moments where San Jose did find space. He helped Seattle circulate the ball and keep control, but he did not have the same positive attacking imprint as Nouhou or the same recovery arc as Kalani. He did lead the team with 100 touches, although he only had 82 percent completion on his pass attempts.
Good response: Good enough in possession and part of Seattle’s overall control, Roldan added some offensive class that was previously missing. He should have had an assist in the 38th minute to Ragen on a corner play.
Bad habit: The defensive unit still had too many “please don’t do that” moments, with San Jose creating nearly enough offense for points.
Keep receipt: Average-ish night in a very not-average match. Alex remains a very good centerback.
Kalani Kossa-Rienzi — 5 | Community — 6.2 (Off 75’ for Kingston)
This is a hard grade, because after the mistake, the rest of Kalani’s game was pretty good. He recovered, got forward, worked hard, and had enough positive involvement that the rating sites liking him makes sense. Unfortunately, the early mistake was not small. It was a first-minute back pass that handed San Jose the opening goal and made Seattle spend the rest of the night cleaning up a mess it created. That is how you turn what might have been a 7 rating into a 5. Good performance, giant dent in the hood.
Good response: To his credit, Kalani was a calm veteran after the big mistake and did not collapse, playing well afterward. His 21st minute shot after a wonderful dribble across the box found the post. His header (and push) forced the penalty.
Bad habit: The back pass was brutal, immediate, and exactly the kind of self-inflicted blunder Seattle keeps promising to stop doing. It was weak, not to anyone in particular, and immediately penalized.
Keep receipt: A good 75 minutes dragged down by one very loud minute: this match didn’t endorse KKR’s defensive skills.
Defensive Midfield
Cristian Roldan — 7 | Community — 6.9
Cristian was back to looking like the emotional metronome of the team. He pressed, covered, connected, and helped Seattle keep San Jose pinned in for long stretches. After the Kansas City mistake, this was a much better version of Cristian: active, useful, and not handing the opponent a free goal and reason to hope. His defensive intensity spread to the whole team, as he covered the entire field with physical play.
Good response: This was a typical Cristian big engine performance, and one of the reasons Seattle controlled the match after the early disaster. He improved throughout, growing in force all the way to the end, and his pressure and quick transition ensured Seattle kept earning chances until they won.
Bad habit: There could have been more final-third sharpness from the group around him before the late winner, and outside of set pieces, he isn’t finding any free looks.
Keep receipt: This team looks a lot more like itself when Cristian sets the temperature. It was a game won on the margins, and he dominated his moments.
Snyder Brunell — 6 | Community — 6.6 (Off 68’ for Dotson)
Brunell gave Seattle a good, solid start and helped the midfield recover after the opening goal. He was involved early, moved the ball well, and looked comfortable enough in a pretty high paced match. Not spectacular, nor overwhelmed, he drove the ball forward and chipped in on direct play that Seattle needed after conceding early. This wasn’t a “prodigy” performance, but it was a professional one, which is exactly what was needed. He maintained a level of tactical discipline that allowed Cristian to wander a bit more, anchoring the center while Seattle worked through their early-game trauma. It was a quietly effective shift.
Good response: As the midfield settled into the match, they helped Seattle regain control and keep it for nearly the entire first half. Part of that was Snyder getting into the box and taking great shots in the 5th and 38th minutes.
Bad habit: He is providing direct shots, but could work at finding the decisive attacking pass that was missing at times. A 22nd minute cross was a great example of a chance wasted, as he lofted a ball directly to the keeper.
Keep receipt: These were solid minutes for Brunell, and solid depth matters during this stretch as the team tries to take seven points in a week.
Attacking Midfield
Paul Rothrock — 5 | Community — 6.3 (Off 82’ for Other Paul)
This was a quieter game from Rothrock, compared to how lively the rest of the attack looked. He worked, pressed, and did some of the usual nuisance stuff, but this was not a game where his chaos became production. With the attack humming around him, he was more the guy who pulled the shape around than the ball-dominant one. He had 30 touches and two shots before being removed for Paul A.
Good response: The effort and movement were still there, and an isolated 1-v-2 in the 59th earned a beautiful nutmeg as Paul split the defense, and he should have earned said defense a yellow card. He settled for a dangerous free kick right outside the box.
Bad habit: This was a little too peripheral for a game where Seattle created a lot of chances. This was mostly due to his own poor first touch and botched attempts, like a missed header in the 54th.
Keep receipt: Rothrock’s floor is solid and he still leads the team in goals, but this was not one of his louder nights.
Albert Rusnák — 7 | Community — 6.8 (Off 75’ for De Rosario)
Rusnák calmly buried the penalty just before halftime, which was an important response after Seattle had spent most of the half trying to undo its own opening-minute nonsense. He was polished, involved, and generally helped Seattle look like the more mature attacking team. He wasn’t the main star, but he was a major part of the control and the scoreboard.
Good response: Albert scored the penalty, kept the attack connected, and gave Seattle quality in the final third.
Bad habit: There wasn’t quite enough open-play ruthlessness before he was subbed off.
Keep receipt: Reliable attacking production is still useful, even when someone else is MOTM.
Jesús Ferreira — 8 (MOTM) | Community — 8.1 (MOTM)
This was the Ferreira performance Seattle has been waiting for: creative, assertive, dangerous, and attached to a finish that makes all the clever stuff matter. His goal in the 55th minute was ridiculous in the best way, an end-to-end solo action that looked like a player deciding he was tired of asking politely. He also started or influenced a lot of Seattle’s best attacking sequences, which is the real reason he earns MOTM. He gave the attack teeth by consistently dialing up others for moments and by seizing his own. He had seven chances created and did some of everything.
Good response: This goal that made the whole stadium remember why he is supposed to matter. Taking a ball in his own defensive third, Jesús surged through the open middle, putting the defense on its heels. He put a centerback on skates, took a nifty essential setup touch, then hammered home a knuckler that had the goalkeeper guessing fastball and getting physics homework.
Bad habit: There were still moments where the final action around him could have been cleaner, because apparently we are not allowed to enjoy anything without a disclaimer. A 12th minute shot didn’t score. The horror.
Keep receipt: This is the version of Ferreira that helps the whole attack make more sense. His ability to find wow passes like his 28th minute ball in behind for KKR unlocks the entire field.
Forward
Danny Musovski — 5 | Community — 6.0 (Off 68’ for Morris)
Musovski did not do a ton to impress. He had 17 touches, battled, occupied defenders, and gave Seattle a central reference point, but this was another striker performance where the function was easier to see than the impact. That became especially noticeable when Osaze came on later and scored the winner.
Good response: Moose set up Kalani in the 12th and completed all of his pass attempts. He worked hard and helped the structure, but his biggest play may have been getting out of the way as Jesús scored.
Bad habit: For a guy fighting for starter’s minutes, this was not enough danger, not enough punishment, not enough “this is my job” in front of goal. Perhaps pushing for exactly that reason, Danny missed an open assist in the 13th minute, shooting from a hard angle instead of passing to a wide open Kossa-Rienzi.
Keep receipt: This was an average shift, and average pretty much sums up everyone who starts at striker this season.
Substitutes
Hassani Dotson — 5 | Community — 5.3 (On 68’ for Brunell)
Dotson came on and gave Seattle fresh legs in midfield while the match was getting weird again. He was fine. Not a game-changing cameo, not a problem, just a useful body helping Seattle push toward the finish. His mistakes seemed to be amplified, especially as Seattle conceded almost immediately after he subbed in.
Good response: Hassani must have seen something from the bench, because he arrived firing. He took two shots in his first few possessions, clearly attempting to be goal-dangerous.
Bad habit: He didn’t really put his stamp on the match, and when San Jose was finding an equalizer in the 70th minute, Hassani was picking himself off the turf after being put on skates and choosing to slide right on by.
Keep receipt: This was a standard sub performance, but he isn’t forcing his way into more minutes with this play.
Jordan Morris — 5 | Community — 5.8 (On 68’ for Musovski)
Morris entered to give Seattle more speed and a different attacking look, and while the threat of him mattered, the production did not arrive from the front, as he was almost immediately shuttled to the side. He helped stretch things a little, but this was not a cameo that changed the match the way Osaze’s did, although he managed a shot and a key pass.
Good response: As usual, Jordan added pace and forced San Jose to account for him, and he had a nice look in the 76th off the left wing, forcing a save with a powerful hit.
Bad habit: With no decisive final action and only 10 touches, Morris wasn’t a huge factor.
Keep receipt: Morris got about five minutes to play the striker before being pushed outside to make way for ODR. The two of them combined well for the last 15 minutes of the match.
Osaze De Rosario — 6 | Community — 7.0 (On 75’ for Rusnák)
Osaze scored the winner, and scoring the winner is famously helpful. He got himself into the right spot, finished Nouhou’s ball, and turned another potential “we played well, but…” column into a win. Yet again, an attacker off the bench got on the score sheet, and ODR showed mobility, physicality, and a scoring touch.
Good response: He scored the game-winning goal via a decisive header in a great position in the box. Pretty good hobby.
Bad habit: He didn’t have enough time to do much else, but a great defensive carry out of pressure late was negated by holding the ball too long and coughing it up.
Keep receipt: This was exactly the kind of bench impact Seattle needed, and now Osaze has bolstered his case for more minutes.
Peter Kingston — 5 | Community — 6.2 (On 75’ for Kossa-Rienzi)
Kingston came on late and helped Seattle push through the final stretch. There wasn’t much to judge, and not much to complain about, which is often what you want from a late sub in a chaotic match.
Good response: Peter brought fresh legs and no obvious disaster, with multiple moments showing strong defensive work including the play that ended the match.
Bad habit: Kingston had one tough play in the 93rd as he lost his man and was forced to chase.
Keep receipt: This was a fine cameo and someone who shows both solid skills and good decision making.
Paul Arriola — 5 | Community — 5.8 (On 82’ for Other Paul)
Arriola came on for the final push and mostly provided energy and pressure. He did not have enough time to really separate himself, and the winner came through Nouhou and Osaze rather than anything he directly created.
Good response: He brought some beneficial late energy.
Bad habit: Not much time, not much final product. Only two touches was sure a quiet outing for someone who was brought in to support possession and get the ball forward.
Keep receipt: Paul hasn’t lived up to the expectations yet this season.
Referee
Filip Dujic — 7 | Community — 5.8
Dujic was not the story, which is a perfectly acceptable referee review. Seattle got the penalty late in the first half, San Jose picked up a couple of yellows, and the match mostly stayed about the soccer. In a game this emotionally stupid, that is probably enough. A number of exceptional calls highlighted this outing, although the ref had the opportunity to be more punitive and allowed some shenanigans.
Good response: The simulation yellow on Preston Judd was fantastic. It was a perfect reading of a play that could have fooled a less attentive official.
Bad habit: Not carding Judd for a blatant shove on Alex, or for kicking the ball away, meant he essentially earned at least three yellows without being sent off. Rothrock should have earned San Jose another yellow for an obstruction that gets carded everywhere else on the field, except, apparently, right on the edge of the box.
Keep receipt: This was a strong referee performance defined by the center ref’s ability to remain in firm control of a match that threatened to get weird.
San Jose Earthquakes
Halftime addition Preston Judd spent 45 minutes being a nuisance. He earned a yellow for a dive in the 58th, continually looked to battle with any nearby Sounder, scored to level the match in the 69th minute, and should have been sent off on a couple of occasions. This must be what it’s like to play against Paul Rothrock.
Up Next:
Another game this weekend at Lumen Field welcomes an LA Galaxy team that is wildly inconsistent. A dominant win would set up one more key match before the World Cup break.
