The Seattle Sounders put in possibly their worst performance of the season as they settled for a frustrating 1-1 draw on the road against Sporting Kansas City. Despite a very early goal from Paul Rothrock in the 2nd minute to take the lead, an awful back pass from Cristian Roldan gifted Dejan Joveljic a golden opportunity to even the score in the 18th minute, and try as they might, the tally didn’t change over the final 70+ minutes of the game.
It looked like the Sounders were off to the races when Alex Roldan played a fantastic ball from the back line that was intended for Jesús Ferreira. He jumped to challenge for the ball, but it took a touch off of a defender and made its way through to Rothrock, who was running in on the weak side. Rothrock measured up his opportunity and comfortably placed his shot into the far post. Rothrock had another opportunity from the left side in the 6th minute that he couldn’t put on target, and Ferreira had a chance of his own in the 13th minute when he combined with Jordan Morris and Danny Musovski before hitting a lofted shot that looked like it had beaten Sporting goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland, but it struck the crossbar and Cleveland was able to gather it.
Then in the 18th minute Cristian Roldan received a pass from Nouhou and attempted to play a back pass that he possibly misjudged and woefully under-hit, leaving it out of reach for any of his teammates on the back line and perfectly set up for Joveljic to run onto. Andrew Thomas attempted to close him down, but never had much chance of stopping the opportunity as Joveljic slotted his shot into the back of the net to tie the game.
From that point forward the Sounders effectively just slammed their heads against the wall for the game’s remaining 72 minutes. Seattle did take 23 shots between SKC’s goal and the final whistle, with 19 of them coming from inside the area, but for all of Cleveland’s 7 saves over the course of the game, he didn’t have to work especially hard for most of them. Meanwhile, Andrew Thomas had to put in some impressive work to keep an already poor result from turning poorer.
The Sounders will now look to pick themselves up as they turn their attention to San Diego FC, who come to town on Saturday, May 9.
Lineups
Seattle makes one change to the starting lineup as Cristian Roldan returns from concussion protocol, retaking his spot in central midfield as Hassani Dotson goes to the bench. Albert Rusnák and Paul Arriola are also both available as substitutes after missing last week’s game with injuries.
Our Delta Starting XI in Kansas City 💪 📰: sndrs.com/da4nzbcp | #SKCvSEA
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) May 2, 2026 at 10:41 AM
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Meanwhile SKC switch up their formation and make 5 changes to the lineup following their 5-0 blowout loss on the road against Chicago Fire.
Key moments
2 - Goal! Paul Rothrock gets on the end of a great ball out of the back from Alex Roldan intended for Ferreira that takes a touch off of a defender before reaching Rothrock, who makes no mistake with the finish. 1-0, Sounders
A dream start 🤩 Paul bags his sixth all-competition goal of 2026 to give us the early lead!
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) May 2, 2026 at 11:55 AM
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6 - Shot. Rothrock gets in on goal down the left again, but with pressure from a defender he’s unable to put his shot on frame.
13 - Shot! Morris, Musovski and Ferreira with some slick one-touch passing at the top of the box to set up a shot from Ferreira that nearly beats Cleveland but hits the crossbar, and the GK is able to catch the rebound.
18 - Goal, SKC. Cristian Roldan under-hits a back pass that allows Joveljic to run onto it under no real pressure and finish past Thomas. 1-1
27 - High. Morris gets a lovely chipped ball over the back line from Ferreira and has a nice touch to create some space for a shot, but blasts the ball into the stands.
29 - Header. Cristian Roldan with a header at the back post off of a corner, but he puts the ball back into the ground and it bounces over the goal.
34 - Save! Suleymanov takes a shot from the top of the box and Thomas dives to his left to keep it out of the net! Nouhou attempts to clear the ball, but gives it to an SKC player and the play ends in a corner.
36 - Chance! Cristian Roldan plays a clever slip pass for Morris to run onto and he attempts to find Ferreira in the box with a cutback, but the ball is cleared out for a corner.
42 - Scramble. Ragen misplays a ball over the top and gives SKC a chance, but he’s able to retreat and shoulder Joveljic off the ball before putting it out for a corner.
45+2 - Header. Nouhou sends in a cross to Morris inside the area, but it lacks enough pace for the header to challenge Cleveland as he easily catches it.
46 - Header. Ragen gets a header from a Ferreira corner, but puts it wide.
47 - Shot! Morris gets played through the back line with a simple pass by Kossa-Rienzi and Cleveland gets enough of a touch to his shot to put it out for a corner.
49 - Save. Jayden Reid cuts inside and takes a shot that’s deflected, but Thomas is able to read the deflection and catch the shot.
52 - Flurry. Seattle with multiple looks at SKC’s goal as Kossa-Rienzi has a header cleared off the line and Rothrock has a shot saved out for a corner.
65 - Save! Thomas closes down Capita after a nice pass from Joveljic and is able to drop to the ground to cut out the shot.
66 - Subs. Jordan Morris and Paul Rothrock exit the game as Paul Arriola and Albert Rusnák enter the game for Seattle.
70 - Shot. Kossa-Rienzi takes the ball down at the top of the box with his chest and rips a shot that Cleveland stops but can’t hold onto, but Musovski can’t get to the rebound in time to get a real shot off.
74 - Sub. SKC take off Capita, replacing him with Calvin Harris.
75 - Chance. Arriola creates an opportunity with some hustle pressure in SKC’s end to force a turnover, then gets played into space by Rusnák but his shot is blocked.
76 - Sub. Danny Musovski subs off for Seattle as Osaze De Rosario enters the game.
81 - Shot. Rusnák swings a ball out to Ferreira just inside the box who nearly curls a shot into the far side of the goal, but Cleveland is able to push it wide.
83 - Chance. Brunell evades pressure inside the area before finding Ferreira at the top of the box who takes a touch to set up a shot, but puts it wide of goal.
84 - Sub. SKC swaps out Manu Garcia as they introduce Taylor Calheira.
85 - Save! Calheira’s first involvement is a dangerous shot at the near post, but Thomas is able to get a hand up to keep it out and instead concede a corner.
86 - Subs. Jesús Ferreira and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi come off and Peter Kingston and Hassani Dotson come on for Seattle’s final changes.
90+3 - Header. Ragen jumped up for a header off of a corner from Rusnák in one of the game’s final acts, but put his attempt over the bar.
Quick thoughts
Curious changes: Brian Schmetzer and his staff have largely been able to use their substitutes to impact games over the course of this still young season. A benefit of Seattle’s roster construction is that there are multiple players on the bench in almost any game who can change the team’s approach or punish a tired opposing defense. To amplify that depth, the decisions about who to sub off for those game-changing players have often been guys whose influence was waning. In this game, particularly the first changes, two of Seattle’s most dangerous players were the first to be sacrificed as Morris and Rothrock exited in the 67th minute. With each change, the team seemed to become less likely to find a winner, and in the end that proved to be the reality.
Clean it up: Cristian Roldan’s poor back pass that created SKC’s goal may have been the most prominent example and the moment that took the wind out of Seattle’s sails, but the imprecision of the team’s play was a major part of the problem and it’s something that’s dogged them throughout the season so far. 65% possession and a 91% passing accuracy may suggest that the passing was actually pretty clean, but the reality is that in the moments when it most mattered on both ends of the field, the players' touch and technique often let them down. It’s all well and good to have a lot of the ball, but if the Sounders have real aspirations of lifting trophies this season they’ve got to be cleaner in possession, more incisive in the attack, and decisive and controlling in the back, and they really weren’t any of those things against the worst team in the league.
Will the real Sounders please stand up: One loss in nine MLS games is pretty good, especially considering that six of those games have been on the road. That the Sounders are still averaging 2.22 points per game is even better, but there has been reasonable concern over the fact that the underlying numbers and advanced metrics haven’t exactly matched the team’s results. At the end of the season the stats that matter most are the ones on the scoreboards, stat sheets and in the standings, and for now those look pretty good, but it’s also fair to wonder who the Sounders really are. Are they this team, who couldn’t find a way to come out on top against the league’s worst team, or are they the team that steamrolled the Vancouver Whitecaps over two legs and nearly sent Tigres packing? Maybe they’re a team that puts on their best performances against the toughest competition, but if Seattle wants to really compete for the Supporters Shield as they’ve said, they also need to get the job done against weaker opposition.
Notable quote
“The players had made a statement about being a Supporters’ Shield contender. You can’t let points slip away like this if you want to be a real contender.” Says next three games will test their mental toughness.
— Sounder at Heart (@sounderatheart.com) May 2, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Player spotlight
Jesús Ferreira – Ferreira didn’t end up with an assist on the goal, and wasn’t able to find a goal of his own, but he created 6 chances, took 5 shots, and was a near constant source of danger while he was on the field.
