The Seattle Sounders followed up their worst performance of the MLS era with another absolute stinker, losing 3–1 on the road against an Austin FC side mired near the bottom of the Western Conference table. It’s the first time since 2013 that the Sounders have lost as many as four straight regular-season games and they’ve now been outscored 11–2 in that span.
Ilie Sanchez opened the scoring in the 11th minute before Paul Rothrock equalized in the 26th minute. The Sounders looked like they might manage a point, but a pair of late goals from Myrto Uzuni (86’) and Christian Ramirez (90’+2) sealed their fate before Jackson Ragen got sent off for a second yellow card in the 5th minute of stoppage time.
The first bit of real excitement started with a good play as Peter Kingston, starting at right back, made an excellent defensive run and header to put a cross from Joseph Rosales behind for a corner in the 11th minute.
Unfortunately, from that corner Besard Sabovic played an excellent cross that Ilie Sanchez was able to head with little real challenge down into the far corner to make it 1–0 Austin. Seattle made a good effort to respond immediately, but only came as close as a corner. The next real chance fell to Austin when Andrew Thomas attempted to play a ball into midfield that instead went right to the feet of Myrto Uzuni who tried to catch Thomas out of his goal but hit his shot over the bar.
Seattle found a response in the 26th minute when Paul Rothrock kneed home the rebound of a shot off the post from Snyder Brunell, but the real highlight of the play came a couple of passes before that. Stuart Hawkins froze a pair of defenders with a look towards Peter Kingston on the wing, then played a perfectly slipped pass for Kingston to run onto and Kingston then found Brunell for the shot.
Andrew Thomas had to provide some heroics to keep the score 1-1 headed into halftime, coming up with a couple of good saves on a flurry of chances resulting from some messy defense in the 34th minute. The Sounders created a couple of moments of excitement in first-half stoppage time, but a poor shooting choice and a lack of dynamism in the final third fizzled both opportunities out.
The game pretty rapidly deteriorated coming out of halftime, starting with Seattle being a little slow to leave the locker room. Impatience, frustration, and a bunch of subs all in a row in part to both Kingston and Nouhou leaving the game with apparent cramps. The Sounders did have a couple of decent looks in the second half, but both came just minutes before Austin goals. In the 80th minute Jesus Ferreira set up a shot at the top of the box for Albert Rusnak, but his effort was tipped over the bar by Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver.
Six minutes later in a moment disaster struck on a player that started when Paul Arriola inexplicably saved a ball that was going out by booting toward the middle of the field. Austin recovered, drove forward and Jackson Ragen failed to stop 18-year-old Austin homegrown Ervin Torres from dribbling in the box before playing it to Uzuni who knocked in the game winner in the 86th.
Then in the 90th minute Osaze De Rosario had a shot blocked out for a corner after Paul Rothrock headed down a cross from Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, and in the next minute it was once again Torres providing the assist as he beat Arriola before finding Christian Ramirez in the box. Despite having Hawkins on his back, Ramirez was able to turn and shoot into the far corner to beat Thomas and make it 3-1.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, things got worse deep in stoppage time when Ragen — already on a yellow card from earlier, which meant he’d be suspended for the weekend’s match against the Philadelphia Union for accumulation — took out Uzuni at midfield after Austin easily split the Sounders in half and Hassani Dotson couldn’t stop the forward. The cynical foul earned Ragen his second yellow and a sending off, leaving the Sounders to finish the match with just 10 players on the field.
It’s a pitiful follow-up to the 5–1 loss to the Portland Timbers at home, and things don’t look likely to get much better in the immediate future as the team heads to Philadelphia on Saturday and Portland the week after.
Lineups
The headline is Stuart Hawkins making his first MLS start next to Jackson Ragen, with Peter Kingston at right back. Danny Musovski starts in place of Jordan Morris for the only other change to the lineup from the loss to Portland.
Our Delta Starting XI in Austin! #ATXvSEA | 📰: sndrs.com/4jbrcqbs
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) July 22, 2026 at 5:41 PM
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Key moments
11’ - Corner. Peter Kingston makes a good defensive header to send a dangerous cross from Rosales behind for a corner.
11’ - Goal, Austin. The corner from Besard Sabovic is served up perfectly for Ilie who gets an uncontested header that puts the ball in the bottom corner at the far post. 1-0, Austin
15’ - Shot. Ferreira with a nice little dribble into the box and he picks out an open Musovski, but the forward’s shot is deflected out for a corner.
17’ - Lucky. Thomas attempts to play a ball on the ground through the middle that goes right to the feet of Uzuni but his attempt to catch the GK out is hit over the goal.
26’ - Goal! Kingston cuts the ball back towards the penalty spot where Brunell is running onto it. Brunell’s shot hits the post, but Rothrock crashes in at the back post to knock it home to tie the game! 1-1
Clinical 🫡
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) July 22, 2026 at 7:11 PM
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34’ - SAVES! Andrew Thomas comes up with a pair of big saves after a block from Kingston and a flurry of chances for Austin as Seattle struggles to clear their area.
👏 ANDREW 👏 THOMAS 👏
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) July 22, 2026 at 7:23 PM
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45’+2 - Shot! Brunell receives a pass under pressure from Rusnák and takes it to the top of the box with runners to either side but opts for a shot that’s easily caught by Stuver.
45’+3 - Fizzled. Ferreira plays a fantastic switch over to Rothrock who takes it to the edge of the box but with minimal support he tries to squeeze a pass into the feet of Dotson that misses the target and Austin regain control.
50’ - Blast. Seattle strings together some quality possession in Austin’s end, but Ragen tries a shot from distance that he launches over the goal.
62’ - Subs. Danny Musovski makes way for Osaze De Rosario as Seattle’s first change. Austin take off Brendan Hines-Ike, Joseph Rosales and Besard Sabovic, and bring on Mateja Djordjevic, Przemyslaw Placheta and Owen Wolff.
66’ — Subs. Peter Kingston comes off with apparently cramps, replaced by Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, and Paul Arriola replaces Snyder Brunell for Seattle.
68’ - Catch. Brandon Vazquez has a dangerous header, but Thomas is able to easily catch it.
80’ - Chance! Ferreira lays the ball off for Rusnak at the top of the box, and his shot is just tipped over the bar by Stuver.
82’ - Miss! Gallagher gets the ball after a scrambling Seattle defense fails to prevent a pass through the area, but his shot is over the bar.
83’ - Subs. Austin brings on Christian Ramirez and Ervin Torres, taking off Facundo Torres and Brandon Vazquez.
86’ - Goal, Austin. Ragen fails to stop Ervin Torres as he enters the box before finding Uzuni for a finish that beats Thomas to retake the lead. 2-1, Austin
88’ - Sub. Seattle’s final change sees Sebastian Gomez replace Nouhou.
90’ - Chance! Kossa-Rienzi swings a cross to Rothrock at the back post and he nods it down to De Rosario who touches and turns but his shot is blocked out for a corner.
90’+1 - Goal, Austin. Christian Ramirez makes it 3 for the hosts, fighting off Stu Hawkins on his back to receive a pass from Torres who beats Arriola to get him the ball before Ramirez swivels and puts the ball into the far bottom corner.
90’+4 - Ejected. Uzuni is headed clear through the center of the field and Ragen comes in and takes him out to get his second yellow card of the match, leaving Seattle to finish with 10.
Quick thoughts
Embarrassing: It’s as simple as that, this was embarrassing. It would have been embarrassing to lose to one of the worst teams in the league, regardless of player availability, without ever looking like the side more likely to claim all three points. But to do it after losing at home 5–1 against your biggest rivals the week before is absolutely unacceptable. Mitigating factors aside, it’s just not good enough. It’s not a good enough performance, and it’s certainly not a good enough response to the previous week. The play was sloppy and uninspired from a team that looks like they spent the World Cup break getting Men In Black memory wiped instead of holding a mini-preseason.
A moment of light: Stuart Hawkins showed bits of what has made folks around the organization so excited about the 19-year-old centerback during his first MLS start, not least of which was his unbelievable pass on Seattle’s goal. Not only was the pass immaculate, but his ability to set up the defenders and freeze them with a look that made them think he’d play the earlier pass out wide for Kingston before using their hesitation to open the space for the inside pass was beautiful back court stuff from the kid. He completed 48/52 passes, with 3/5 long balls and 7 passes into the final third. He had his struggles, but he was still able to show flashes amidst those struggles. Just a little bright spot.
In need of a plan: I know that the heat was miserable, but for a second game in a row since having seven weeks without a game the team looked devoid of energy. They were too easy to play through. With few exceptions, good moments in the attack were undone by a lack of supporting runs or dynamic movement from players in advanced positions. The Sounders already struggled to take real control of the game, and then three changes in the span of 5 minutes near the hour mark completely undid any chances of dictating proceedings. Whatever the plan was going into the game, it seemed like that went out of the window before halftime and any semblance of the plan that remained got swept up and tossed in the trash before 75 minutes had been played. I don’t know what happens next, but things are in danger of snowballing now.
Notable quote
"The way we talk about the future is really important too. I think different guys are going to have step up. This is a moment where younger guys have to step up too. … I encourage you to be surprised as to who is going to step up in these games.” — Paul Rothrock
Player spotlight
Paul Rothrock – Paul Rothrock had the goal, and he created a pair of chances. His 13 duels were the most in the game, but he only won 3 of them. The effort was there, but the execution was not.
