The Seattle Sounders came back from a pair of deficits on the road against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night to claim a 3-3 draw that feels as close to a win as they’ve been since May. New Rapids DP Morgan Whittaker contributed a brace, opening the scoring in the 28th and adding what looked like the dagger in the 78th, with Donavan Phillip also scoring in the 56th. The Sounders were able to respond, first with a tying goal in the 49th minute from Cristian Roldan, then Dejan Joveljić got the rally started with a 79th minute goal and Caden Clark capped it with a debut goal in the 3rd minute of second half stoppage to claw back a point.
Following an hour-long weather delay before the start of the game, proceedings went back-and-forth to start the game with both sides creating chances including a possible penalty shout for the Sounders in the 10th minute when Cristian Roldan looked like he was possibly fouled in the box when Rob Holding slid across to knock the ball away, but ultimately Seattle only received a corner for it. The Rapids would strike first on a good finish from Whittaker, but the play was something of a series of errors. First Nouhou failed to meaningfully deal with a relatively simple cross and then seemed to try to get Andrew Thomas to pick up an unnecessary, close-range back pass again, forcing Thomas to instead kick the ball out for a dangerous throw-in. From that throw Colorado worked the ball across the field and Paxten Aaronson earned his first assist of the night with a ball to Whittaker near the penalty spot. Cristian Roldan was marking Whittaker, but wasn’t tight enough to put him off and wasn’t able to get either ball side or goal side, and Whittaker was able to redirect the ball through traffic and into the bottom corner at the far post. Bang, 1-0 Rapids.
Seattle came relatively close to an answer at the end of the first half with a couple of looks, first when Albert Rusnák tried to set Jordan Morris up with a slick little slipped pass to put him behind the defense, but Rapids goalkeeper Nicholas Hansen was able to reach the ball just ahead of Morris in the 43rd. Then in the first minute of stoppage time Joveljić had a shot saved from a tight angle, and Rusnák tried to redirect the rebound to Morris but he was offside.
The Sounders kept that same energy coming out of halftime, and had a decent look at their reward within the first minute of the second half. Joveljić and Morris worked a nice little give-and-go to play Morris into the box, where he slid through a pair of defenders then attempted to pirouette around another as the defender came sliding in and seemed to catch Morris’s foot. Morris went down, but no penalty call was coming. Fortunately it didn’t take long for another foul to yield dividends. Cristian Roldan was fouled just outside the box, and in the 49th minute Rusnák sent in a free kick that Roldan rose up to get with a perfectly redirected header on to send it into the far post and make it 1-1.
That scoreline didn’t last long, unfortunately. In the 56th minute Colorado had a corner that forced Thomas to make a reaction save. He gave up a rebound which fell to Phillip, who Nouhou had inexplicably simply stopped defending, allowing the attacker to smash the ball into the roof of the net to retake the lead. 20 minutes later it was Aaronson feeding Whittaker again, this time for a banger of a shot from the top of the box that struck the underside of the crossbar on its way into the back of the net.
As had been the case throughout so much of the game, when things happened they happened quickly. And so it was that just three minutes after Colorado’s third goal, Joveljić put the Sounders back within touching distance of a result. As Seattle worked their way towards goal, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi played a ball along the ground to Joveljić who then laid it off to Sebastian Gomez. The ball came in a little hot and Gomez’s first touch was a big one as a result and Rapids midfielder Hamzat Ojediran was able to pick it up, but Gomez was able to recover with a tackle that not only won the ball back but put it back at the feet of Joveljić. Joveljić took a couple of touches to carry the ball forward and set himself up before rifling his shot into the top corner to make it 3-2 in the 79th minute.
With the deficit cut back down to one goal, the Sounders continued to push. Snyder Brunell nearly set up Paul Arriola at the back post with a cross, but couldn’t quite connect in the 83rd minute, and in the 85th it was Gomez putting former Premier League defender Rob Holding on skates as he dribbled into the box before cutting back to take a shot that forced a save and earned a corner. Then in the 3rd minute of stoppage time Caden Clark opened his Sounders account – his first MLS goal since Oct. 19, 2024, and his first in any competition since scoring for the USMNT in a friendly against Costa Rica on Jan. 22, 2025 – just 10 minutes after entering the game in place of Jordan Morris, who had picked up a knock. Rusnák played Clark a simple pass, and Clark lined up his shot from about 25 yards out before smashing it low into the far corner to earn his side a point.
The Sounders had chances for a winner, most notably late on with Snyder Brunell carrying the ball as Joveljić and Rusnák made runs to either side of Gomez. Brunell tried to pick out Gomez and the chance went wanting. Seattle will now head back home and prepare for their midweek match against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Lineups
The Sounders make two changes to the lineup from the group that started against the LA Galaxy. Peter Kingston starts on the right with Jordan Morris on the left as Paul Rothrock is unavailable due to injury, while Hassani Dotson gets the start in midfield next to Cristian Roldan, with Snyder Brunell available off the bench.
Danny Musovski did not travel with the squad as he and his wife are welcoming their first child 💚
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) September 19, 2026 at 5:44 PM
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Key moments
7’ - Save. Whittaker backs down Hawkins in the box before shooting at the near post, but Thomas is able to handle it easily enough.
9’ - Corner. Morris wins a ball from Hansen with a header and Cristian Roldan makes a move and dribbles into the box where he’s brought down but the Sounders only earn a corner for his trouble.
18’ - Post! Joveljić makes a great run in behind and finds Morris at the far post with a cross, but the header back across.goal comes off the post.
19’ - Miss. Frederick sends in a dangerous cross as Colorado storms down the field, but it just misses Farkhi and Phillip and goes out for a goal kick.
20’ - Shot. Joveljić pulls from about 25 yards out after a layoff from Morris, but he can’t get his shot on target.
28’ - Goal, Rapids. Aaronson plays a cross to Whittaker at the penalty spot, and his first-time finish runs through traffic to beat Thomas at the far post. 1-0, Rapids
41’ - Catch. Farkhi rips from the top of the box, but his shot is right at Thomas who catches it in his chest.
43’ - Almost. Rusnák plays a smart through ball for Morris, but it’s just too far ahead of him as Hansen cleans it up before he can get a shot off.
45’ +1 - Chance. Joveljić forces Hansen to dive to deny an effort from near the edge of the 6-yard box and the rebound falls to Rusnák, but his redirect is intended for Morris who is offside and it goes out for a goal kick.
HT - Sub. Sebastian Gomez enters the game for Seattle, replacing Peter Kingston.
46’ - Spin. Morris and Joveljić play a give-and-go that puts Morris on the ball in the box, but as he attempts to spin around a defender his foot is caught and he goes down but no foul is called.
49’ - GOAL! On a free kick earned by Cristian Roldan, Rusnák sends a ball in from just outside the box and Roldan rises up to get a touch and send his redirected header into the far post to level the score! 1-1
56’ - Goal, Rapids. Thomas makes a save on the initial effort from a corner, but the rebound falls to Phillip who Nouhou makes no effort to defend and he roofs it. 2-1, Rapids
58’ - Woodwork. Nouhou lets Whittaker have an open header at the back post, but he puts it off the crossbar.
60’ - Subs. Hassani Dotson and Stuart Hawkins leave the game as Snyder Brunell and Jackson Ragen replace them for Seattle.
63’ - Sub. Darren Yapi replaces Sayed Abu Farkhi for Colorado.
65’ - Save. Frederick cuts inside and glides through the Sounders area, but his shot is saved by Thomas.
71’ - Sub. Paul Arriola comes on as Nouhou leaves the game for Seattle.
72’ - Subs. Josh Atencio and Georgi Minoungou enter the game for Colorado with Wayne Frederick and Donavan Phillip making way.
75’ - Wide. Arriola sends in a cross from the top corner of the box that Morris gets a head on, but his effort drifts just wide.
76’ - Goal, Rapids. Whittaker receives the ball near the top of the box from Aaronson, takes a touch and smashes his shot in off the underside of the bar. 3-1, Rapids
79’ - GOAL! Joveljić pulls one back with a blast from the top of the box! 3-2, Rapids
What a SENSATIONAL strike from Deki 😱
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) September 19, 2026 at 9:14 PM
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83’ - Nearly. Brunell sends in a cross to the far post that just misses connecting with Arriola as he slides in.
83’ - Sub. Caden Clark makes his debut as Jordan Morris leaves the game after apparently getting injured on a corner.
84’ - Sub. Colorado takes off Paxten Aaronson, replacing him with Noah Cobb.
85’ - Shot. Gomez cuts inside and takes a hard shot that forces Hansen into a tough save, conceding a corner.
90’ +3 - GOAL! Caden Clark opens his account! Rusnák plays a simple pass to him and Clark buries his low shot in the far corner from 25 yards out! 3-3
WELCOME TO THE CLUB, CADEN 🤩
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) September 19, 2026 at 9:28 PM
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Quick thoughts
A draw still isn’t a win: While a draw certainly beats a loss, especially a draw where the team scores 3 goals and all of the attackers look dangerous, it’s still not a win. Seattle’s winless streak now stretches to 13 games, and while they’ve got the next three matches at home against beatable opponents they’ll at least be playing without Dejan Joveljić who has been called up by Serbia for the international window. The result and the nature of it may provide some momentum, especially with Caden Clark making an impressive debut with his goal, but the fact still remains that the team hasn’t won a league game since May and the games aren’t necessarily getting easier. They needed a win tonight, and poor defense left them without one.
Getting the attack rolling: It’s not all bad, though. A set piece goal, a pair of assists for Albert Rusnák, goals from both summer signings, and 3 goals in a league game for the first time since that last league win when the Sounders beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-2 back on May 13: that’s all good. On top of that, Sebastian Gomez looked like a problem for the Rapids defense and gets credit for his second MLS assist on Joveljić’s goal. Morris looked dangerous and had a shout for an assist, but once again there’s a worry about an injury after a seemingly shocking amount of physicality was allowed on corners. Still, the attack is building some confidence and that’s a good thing.
Defensive distress: The Rapids found it far too easy on each of their goals, but the first two feel particularly noteworthy. While Cristian Roldan deserves credit for his attacking set piece work on Seattle’s first goal, his inability to adequately mark Whittaker on Colorado’s opener ultimately proved the difference on that play. I’ve outlined above Nouhou’s failing leading up to that particular moment, a particular sort of seeming brain fart that has now hurt the Sounders a couple of times, but his failure to engage in any meaningful way directly resulted in Colorado’s second goal. While he’s ‘marking’ Phillip on the corner, as soon as the ball comes in he’s completely disengaged and makes no effort to make a play for the rebound or defend Phillip as he is first to it. Scoring three goals does precious little good if you’re also gifting your opponents those kinds of opportunities.
Notable quote
Brian Schmetzer on what was missing for the Sounders, resulting in a draw rather than a win: “Defending. And possession in the first half. Those two things. We talked about possession in the first half, but watch their first goal. It didn’t come off the defending, it came off we didn’t establish possession for the 10 minutes prior."
Player spotlight
Caden Clark has had a tough go of things in his professional career despite clearly being a talented player. In his debut tonight he showed exactly what that talent can produce with his spectacular goal. Hopefully the first of many such moments.
