The Seattle Sounders tied their franchise record with a fifth-straight regular-season loss, falling 1–0 to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Despite a much-improved second half for Seattle, a 31st-minute goal from Milan Iloski was the first and only goal of the game.
The Sounders had their moments early in the game. Paul Rothrock had a look at goal in the 9th minute after Snyder Brunell played an excellent ball in behind for Kalani Kossa-Rienzi to run onto, but Kossa-Rienzi’s cross to the far post was too lofted and Rothrock’s header was under the ball and never challenged Andre Blake in goal as it went over. Andrew Thomas blocked a free kick over the bar a few minutes later, then Osaze De Rosario had a good chance in the 18th minute when Paul Arriola played a really good pass down the middle for him to run with. De Rosario was able to create some separation with his long stride, but when it came time to get his shot off it was knocked out for a corner by a good sliding challenge.
That was just about it in terms of real positives for Seattle in the first half, though. In the 31st minute, Iloski got his goal on a pretty sloppy play from everyone in a Sounders uniform. Rothrock was a little slow to get out to Seattle’s left side to put pressure on Franky Westfield who hit a ball over the midfield to Iloski as he ran through the center. Antino Lopez didn’t track the run behind him, Stuart Hawkins was too slow to close space to apply pressure, and Thomas made a poor choice to try to come out and claim the ball. With room to maneuver and the goalkeeper off his line, Iloski was able to chip it into the back of the net.
Things nearly got worse for the Sounders just before halftime. After putting together a good spell of possession in Philadelphia’s end, a series of hesitant and negative passes eventually turned the ball over and the Union were immediately headed for goal. But Hawkins made an excellent defensive run and sliding challenge that not only broke up the play but won back possession.
The second half started out slowly, but a trio of changes in the 59th minute for Seattle helped them get more of a foothold. The swap of Jesús Ferreira and Peter Kingston for Paul Arriola and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, in particular, really helped as both players got the ball going toward the Union goal when in possession and provided some creativity. Ferreira even had a good look at goal with his first touch of the game in the 60th, but after receiving a dangerous pass from Rothrock he failed to connect on his shot near the top of the box.
Both Ferreira and Kingston were involved in several good opportunities over the game’s final 30 minutes, with the best of them falling to Kingston. In the 75th a chipped ball into the box from Brunell intended for De Rosario forced Blake into a punch that dropped for Kingston who tried to chip the ‘keeper himself but couldn’t get his shot down as it went out for a goal kick.
That was sort of the story of the night, though. Seattle put together some good opportunities, but either failed to turn them into shots or didn’t trouble Blake with the shots they did take as the Union GK only made a single save on the night. There was more fight in the second half, but the Sounders now head into their rematch with the Portland Timbers on a 5-game losing streak. They’ll need to use every second of the week between now and that game to get their heads right, get guys healthy, and figure out a plan that gets the most out of the players available if they want to stop this terrible run of form and have a hope of a bit of redemption if not revenge next Saturday at 7:30 pm.
Lineups
A handful of changes for the Sounders following Wednesday’s loss to Austin FC. Osaze De Rosario gets his turn to start with Jordan Morris out and Danny Musovski on the bench. Paul Arriola starts on the right in place of Jesús Ferreira. The back line features Stuart Hawkins making a second consecutive start paired with Antino Lopez at centerback and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi at right back.
Our Delta Starting XI in Philly! 🫡 #PHIvSEA | 📰: sndrs.com/123h2squ
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) July 25, 2026 at 3:41 PM
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Key moments
9′ — Header. Brunell plays a great through ball for Kossa-Rienzi whose cross into the area is floated a little too much and Rothrock’s header goes over the goal.
13′ — Pushed. Philadelphia goes direct for goal from a free kick, but Thomas is able to push the well-hit shot up and over the bar for a corner.
18’ - Corner. Arriola plays an excellent ball for De Rosario to run onto, he opens some space with his stride to get a shot off but it’s blocked with a great sliding challenge and Seattle have a corner.
31’ - Goal, Union. Iloski chips Thomas as Hawkins is too far from the attacker to pressure him and the goalkeeper gets caught coming out to try to close down. 1-0, Philadelphia
That’s now seven goals in five matches as Milan Iloski chips in the opener in Philadelphia!
— Soccerwise (@soccerwisehq.bsky.social) July 25, 2026 at 5:35 PM
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44’ - Stop! Hawkins makes a good defensive run and sliding block to break up an attack and win possession after good possession from Seattle breaks down and turns int a Union counter.
59’ - Subs. Seattle makes a trio of changes, bringing on Jesús Ferreira, Peter Kingston and Gallatin Sandnes to replace Paul Arriola, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Antino Lopez.
60’ - Chance. Rothrock swings a ball in from the corner of the box to Ferreira, but with his first touch of the game he bobbles his shot.
64’ - Offside. Seattle gets bailed out after a poor pass from Dotson intended for Nouhou is picked off and Damiani slides around Thomas for the finish, but Damiani was offside on the play.
65’ - Subs. Bruno Damiani and Indiana Vassilev come off as Philadelphia brings on Ezekiel Allah and Quinn Sullivan.
69’ - Shot. Rothrock puts a header wide at the back post after some strong play from Kingston and a good cross from Ferreira.
75’ - Chance. Kingston nearly gets a response for Seattle after De Rosario forces Blake into a punch that falls to Kingston, but his chipped effort goes over the bar.
76’ - Save! Seattle’s defense struggles to prevent the Union from playing through them, but in the end there’s enough pressure to force a tough shot at the near post and Thomas is able to come up with the save.
78’ - Almost. Some slick passing from the Sounders with Ferreira and Rusnak involved, but Rusnak is too slow to react to a final pass from Ferreira and the Union clear the ball.
80’ - Subs. Both sides make changes as Seattle swap Hassani Dotson and Osaze De Rosario for Sebastian Gomez and Danny Musovski, while the Union replace Danley Jean Jacques with Jesús Bueno.
84’ - Shot. Gomez shows some skill and a little toughness on the left side of the box to keep possession and then find Rusnak at the top of the box, but his shot goes over the bar as he’s clattered into.
89’ - Sub. Cavan Sullivan leaves the game as Philadelphia brings on Alejandro Bedoya.
90’+3 - Save! Once again the Sounders struggle to stop Philadelphia from working the ball around in the box, but as Iloski receives it at the far post Thomas is able to dive across and deny him.
Quick thoughts
Mismatched: To whatever extent the Sounders came into this game — or any of the last five, for that matter — with a plan, they have seemed incapable of executing it. Some of that has simply been down to execution; too often players are failing to complete simple passes, read developing plays or provide the necessary touch to control a ball. But part of the problem is also a matter of players being asked to perform roles that they’re just not suited to. Seattle has put a major focus on controlling the ball, and using possession both to limit opponents' chances and create their own attacks, but that requires a team full of players who are positives in possession. For their other strengths, none of Nouhou, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi or Hassani Dotson really fit that description. They’re not guys that you can give the ball to in or approaching the final third and expect them to unlock a defense with a pass, and in fact they’ve frequently been where promising spells of possession go from a chance to threaten goal to a turnover and an attack headed the other way. Either the plan or the players need to change, because they’re just not suited for each other.
No more captain Nouhou: With the current injury list, it’s not especially obvious who the captain should be. For the last three games it’s been Nouhou, and it’s hard to see a reason why that should continue to be the case. The exact role of a captain is more ceremonial than anything else, but beyond that there are multiple schools of thought. Some want the captain to be an emotional leader, someone who sets the tone for the squad with a mix of passion, intensity, and calm – “fire in the belly and head in the freezer” if you like. Occasionally the captain is a coach on the field, an extension of the staff who helps to relay tactics and keep the system intact and cohesive. In some cases, the captain is someone who leads by example, running hard with no expectation of reward, putting in tackles and doing the dirty work for his teammates to show them what’s expected. Very rarely you get a mixture of all of them, which is sort of what Cristian Roldan gives you. Nouhou is none of them, more likely to shout and gesticulate at his teammates than make a hard run solely to open space, prone to lose his head or make risky decisions with little chance of a payoff that’s hardly ever large enough to make the calculation make sense, and far from an extension of Brian Schmetzer on the field. I don’t know who should be the captain when the team walks out at Providence Park, but it really shouldn’t be him.
Gathering data: Changes need to be made. That sucks, but it’s the reality. Part of the challenge with the lengthy list of injuries is that without new signings, there just aren’t a ton of options for who or how to change the lineup. That makes performances for fringe or depth players in a game like this particularly important, because it provides a chance to gather some data and earn additional opportunities going forward. Peter Kingston made a case for himself, as his ability to create on the dribble and play dangerous passes opened things up in the second half for Seattle. Sebastian Gomez’s 10 minutes weren’t a ton of time, but he showed well in his run out putting to bed some of the concerns about his ability to hang physically at the MLS level while still demonstrating the technical ability and reading of the game that have made him such a highly-praised prospect in the organization. Stuart Hawkins continues to show well, even if his performances haven’t been perfect. Osaze De Rosario’s ability to combine with his holdup play and open up space with his running showed that until Seattle can get a top-end striker one way or another he probably offers the most in terms of how the team wants to play even if he’s not putting the ball in the back of the net — which he needs to do, but none of the other strikers have been doing that either.
Notable quote
Hassani Dotson: "There’s some frustration. We had high expectations. This club has been very successful in the past. If you’re not frustrated, it means you don’t care. It’s about time we start creating our own luck."
— Jeremiah Oshan (@jeremiah.sounderatheart.com) July 25, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Player spotlight
Snyder Brunell – Snyder Brunell wasn’t great, but he continues to be a positive force when Seattle are in possession. 8 of his 39 passes were into the final third, which he combined with a physical performance as he won 5/6 ground duels, drew 2 fouls and committed 1.
