SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders had to come from behind to do it, but they beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on Thursday night to make it three wins in a row. After Andre Luiz (44’) gave SKC the lead, a pair of goals in the second half from Sebastian Gomez (51’) and Cristian Roldan (90’) were enough to secure all three points to end a 3-0-0 home stand.
The first half started rough for the Sounders as SKC piled on pressure in the opening minutes, forcing a save from Andrew Thomas after a pair of shots in the first 5 minutes. Seattle responded with a few good looks of their own, including a play that saw Jordan Morris put the ball in the back of the net in the 15th minute but the flag went up for offside. Cristian Roldan had played a cutback from the end line and while he lingered there the ball came off of Jackson Ragen and found its way to Roldan who looked to be in an offside position at the moment of contact before playing it across the mouth of the goal where Morris knocked it in.
A few minutes later Alex Roldan saved Thomas’s blushes as the Sounders needed a goal line clearance for the second game in a row when Thomas tried to close down Calvin Harris in the 19th minute and the SKC attacker lofted the ball over the goalkeeper but Roldan was there to block the goal-bound ball and clear it away.
Both sides continued to generate chances but neither team could beat the opposing goalkeeper until a Sounders mistake provided new DP signing Luiz with a golden opportunity in the 44th minute. After a stretch of pretty ineffectual possession in their own end Alex Roldan attempted to play the ball down field from the edge of the box but hit the ball into an SKC player and it deflected right to Luiz in the box. He wasted no time as Ragen attempted to shift over to block him and he blasted his shot into the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead late in the half.
Brian Schmetzer made one change coming out of halftime as he swapped Sebastian Gomez for Danny Musovski, and that change paid dividends just 6 minutes into the second half. Cristian Roldan hit a fantastic ball over the defensive line from deep in his own territory for Jordan Morris — now playing up top — to run onto. Morris brought the ball down with his chest, then held off Jansen Miller as he carried the ball into the box and backed him down towards goal, laying the ball off as he was dragged down for what easily could have been a penalty. The layoff went to the feet of Gomez who came running into the box and punched the ball past Stefan Cleveland to tie the game in the 51st minute!
With the game level the Sounders had the bit between their teeth, clearly seeing the opportunity for more as they racked up five unanswered shots over the next 10 minutes. The two sides continued to exchange blows until the 90th minute when Seattle had a pair of big saves on both ends of the field. First Thomas came out and got an arm to a dangerous cross from Zorhan Bassong, deflecting it away from Shapi Suleymanov who was crashing the box and Taylor Calheira who was lurking at the edge of the 6-yard box. SKC regained possession and recycled the ball a couple of times until eventually Cristian Roldan won the ball and headed it to Albert Rusnák at the edge of his own box. Rusnák found Morris in midfield, and he proceeded to carry it down field with Mark Bronnik running ahead of him. As the defense continued to drop Morris persisted in not playing the ball to Bronnik who seemed to have space with just one defender shading to his side, and instead opted to split two defenders with a pass for Roldan who had run the full length of the field to get into the box. Defender Wyatt Meyer attempted to tackle the ball away, getting a touch to it but his attempted clearance went off of Roldan and into the back of the net to give Seattle the lead going into stoppage!
Andrew Thomas made one last big save in the 5th minute of a minimum of 4 minutes of stoppage time, catching a shot from Jacob Bartlett from distance and falling on it after Seattle had struggled to clear the ball out of their own end. But after Thomas took a second to get up then booted the ball down field, referee Jair Marrufo blew the whistle for full time.
The win concludes a perfect three-game home stand, pushing the Sounders into 7th place in the West as they extended their winning streak to three games and their unbeaten streak to eight. They’ll now turn their eyes to a two-game road trip that starts with a match away against New England Revolution on Saturday, October 10.
Lineups
Two changes for the Sounders following the win over Minnesota United. Paul Arriola earns the start on the left wing ahead of Caden Clark, and Peter Kingston lines up next to Cristian Roldan with Hassani Dotson unavailable due to yellow-card accumulation. Mark Bronnik is available on the bench on a short-term loan.
Tonight's Delta Starting XI ⚡️ #SEAvSKC | 📖: sndrs.com/35mbqjl7
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) October 1, 2026 at 5:41 PM
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Key moments
4' - Shot. SKC win a free kick and Ragen heads away the initial service, but Karić has a shot off of the clearance that is hit into the crowd.
5’ - Shot. Harris lets one rip from just outside the area, but Thomas is able to get down to his right and stop it.
9’ - Shot. Rusnák carries into the box and hits a low shot for the far post that’s deflected out for a corner.
10’ - Tip! Seattle work a corner around outside the area until Rusnák finds Kingston at the top of the box. Kingston finds a shot and it’s tipped over by Cleveland.
15’ - Offside. Morris puts the ball in the back of the net after a the ball bounces around in front of goal, but the offside flag comes up to take it off the board.
19’ - Whiff! Thomas comes out to close down Harris driving at goal but whiffs as he tries to block the chip. Fortunately A. Roldan is there to clear the ball off the line.
22’ - Block! Harris has another dangerous shot from outside the box, but Thomas dives and makes the save pushing it out for a corner.
27’ - Block! Luiz goes on a run and dribbles through defenders, but his final shot from inside the box is right into the chest of a defender!
36’ - Chance. Morris runs onto a ball from A. Roldan and plays it across the box where Rusnák has a scuffed shot that’s caught by Cleveland.
37’ - Shot. Musovski tries a volley off of the corner and gets good contact, but puts it just wide of the top corner.
40’ - Shot! Morris tries his luck from the top of the box after a throw-in, but his shot is hit right at Cleveland.
42’ - Save! Thomas makes a fantastic save, diving to his left to push Afrifa’s shot wide for a corner!
44’ - Goal, SKC. A. Roldan attempts to clear the ball from the right side but it’s deflected right to Luiz and he smashes his shot past Thomas. 1-0, SKC
HT - Sub. Seattle makes the first change, swapping Sebastian Gomez for Danny Musovski to start the half.
51’ - GOAL! Morris rides a challenge as he brings down a ball over the top from C. Roldan, then drops it back to Gomez who smashes home! 1-1
SEBAGOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL 🤩
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) October 1, 2026 at 7:54 PM
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56’ - Crack! Arriola lays the ball off to Kingston after his own shot is blocked and Kingston laces one at goal that Cleveland manages to push wide for a corner.
60’ - Shot. Arriola pulls from deep after winning the ball in midfield, but he can’t put it on frame.
60’ - Chance. Morris has a good look after driving into the box, but Cleveland saves the shot to the far post.
63’ - Subs. Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Caden Clark enter the game, replacing Stuart Hawkins and Paul Arriola for the Sounders.
66’ - Corner. C. Roldan loses the ball in midfield and SKC come back down the field, setting up a shot for Luiz that’s blocked out for a corner.
68’ - Chance! Morris lays the ball off for Gomez and he cuts inside and hits a good shot, but it’s blocked just wide of the post for a corner.
72’ - Shot! Clark drives to the edge of the box and takes a well-struck left-footed shot that goes just outside Cleveland’s near post.
76’ - Subs. SKC makes a triple sub, bringing on Zorhan Bassong, Seymour Reid, and Shapi Suleymanov for Calvin Harris, Andre Luiz, and Stephen Afrifa.
77’ - Save! Thomas makes a big catch following the corner when Cahleira makes good contact on a point-blank header.
79’ - Sub. Lasse Berg Johnsen leaves the game, replaced by Jacob Bartlett for SKC.
76’ - Chance. The Roldans both do well to fight off challenges and win the ball following an attacking free kick, but in the end C. Roldan hits a low cross that goes through the box to no one.
89’ - Sub. Mark Bronnik comes on for Peter Kingston as Seattle makes an injury sub. It’s Bronnik’s MLS debut.
90’ - Save. Thomas comes up big once again to deny a look from close range.
90’ - GOAL! Morris plays a through ball for Cristian Roldan as Seattle gets out on a break and as a sliding defender gets a touch it goes off of Roldan and into the back of the net! 2-1, Sounders!
THEY ALL COUNT THE SAME 🙂↕️
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) October 1, 2026 at 8:30 PM
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90’ +3 - Sub. Seattle’s final change sees Albert Rusnák replaced by Yeimar.
90’ +5 - Stop. Seattle struggles to clear their end as Ragen hits a clearance to an SKC player, but Thomas falls on the ensuing shot and the whistle blows as he kicks the ball down field.
Quick thoughts
Jordan Morrissaince: Jordan Morris has had an extremely rough go of things since being made a Designated Player. In an injury-limited season last year he still managed to produce when he was on the field, but in the last two seasons his ability to be on the field has been particularly limited. Even when he’d been on the field for much of this season, he just didn’t look quite like himself. If he still had the higher gears in open space that had made him so dangerous in the past, muscle injuries seemed to have made him at least hesitant to try to engage the afterburners. He looked wary of physical contact, and just wasn’t as dangerous on or off the ball as we’ve all come to expect. That all seems to be in the past. He now has three goal contributions in his last 5 appearances with his assist tonight, but he undeniably created both of the goals and especially after moving up top he was a serious headache for the SKC back line. Morris is back to something like his best, and that’s a huge boost to the Sounders as they head into the business end of the season.
In search of solidity: It’s great to bend but not break, something the Sounders have demonstrated during this 8-game unbeaten run and especially in these 3 wins. But there’s been an awful lot of seemingly unnecessary bending during those games, particularly in transition. For a variety of reasons, even in Seattle’s best games during this run, when they don’t have the ball they’ve been far too easy to play through and that’s never truer than in transition. Every decision on the field has a cost, a risk. Pushing numbers forward in attack or build-up leaves fewer in position to defend if the ball is lost. Predictable ball movement and backwards or lateral passes in possession might generally help keep hold of the ball, but they also create clear pressing triggers and quick transition opportunities when the ball turns over. Put the two together, and it can be deadly. Bad decisions and poor execution compound those risks, and we’ve seen the Sounders hurt by that exact thing time and time again this season. The Sounders either need to clean up their execution and decision making, or they need to better account for the inherent risks in their approach.
Earning trust: Brian Schmetzer is no stranger to the #PlayYourKids movement, but he’s not handing out minutes just to do it. Those opportunities have to be earned. Sebastian Gomez started the season on a supplemental roster spot that came with a season-long loan to Tacoma Defiance after signing an MLS contract in January. For him to play with the first team, he had to be on short-term loan. As the season wore on and injuries stacked up, though, he started getting bench appearances, bench appearances turned into brief subs, and then he started and had a goal and an assist in Leagues Cup against Queretaro. Since then he’s continued to earn opportunities, making the most of absences throughout the squad. His goal after coming on as a halftime sub was an affirmation of the work he’s put in and rewarded the trust Schmetzer has put in him to make an impact when he enters a game. The goal gives him a goal and 2 assists in 629 minutes, an impressive haul for the 20 year-old, with plenty of season still to go.
Notable quote
Brian Schmetzer on bringing in Sebastian Gomez at halftime: “I was pissed at halftime, so I needed a sub. ... I could have made 3 or 4, but I made 1 because I’m a little conservative ... but the team didn’t play well in the first half and a sub needed to be made.”
Player spotlight
Andrew Thomas may not have gotten a clean sheet, but he racked up 9 saves and registered 1.31 goals prevented, and completed 35/41 passes.
