Ruidiaz’s first-half brace leads Sounders to first win of the season

Two early goals by Raul Ruidiaz in the first 25 minutes of the game saw the Sounders take a 2-0 halftime lead and secure their first win with another three in the second half.

NEAR PERFECT START

    The Sounders played a near-flawless first half. The one blemish to the Rave Green’s first half was another injury. Left fullback   Nouhou suffered a noncontact injury 11 minutes into the game and was replaced by Cody Baker. After a shaky start, Baker settled into the position.   The key to the Sounder’s two-half-half-first goals was the play of Albert Rusnack , who saw his second consecutive start of the season. After Cristian Roldan earned a free kick for the Sounders  Rusnak crossed the ball to Jackson Ragen who headed it to an on-rushing Ruidiaz who hit an exquisite left-footed shot into the back of the Montreal goal.

HAVE A HIT 🥵 pic.twitter.com/fsABqtKQ79

— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) April 7, 2024

 Seven minutes later Rusnak earned a penalty when he was fouled inside the Montreal goal box. Alex Roldan’s pass intended for Jordan Morris was knocked toward the on-rushing Rusnak. Ruidiaz slotted the spot kick to give the Sounders their first two-goal lead of the season.

SECOND HALF SCORING P SPREE

 The Rave Green’s free-flowing soccer continued in the second half and had the Montreal defense on skates.  Cristian Roldan continued his run down the Sounders right side and Rusnak continued to find space behind Ruidiaz.  Five minutes into the second half Roldan galloped down the right flank,  beat two Montreal defenders, and deftly crossed the ball across the goal box to an onrushing  Jordan Morris. A between-the-legs cheeky shot saw Morris score his first goal of the season and exorcise his non-scoring demons.

Jordan Morris with a clean finish for his first goal of the season! pic.twitter.com/M57MD8YYEs

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 7, 2024

Things went from bad to worst in the 53^rd minute when Montreal midfield Nathan Saliba received his second yellow card and the visitors were down to ten men.  With a three-goal lead and a man up  the only suspense for the Rave Green Nation was when Joao Paulo would enter the game.  The answer was the 78^th minute. Paulo entered the game to rousing applause.

 It was his first action of the  MSL season.  Xavier Arrega replaced  Jackson Rage, and Danny  Musovski was inserted for  Jordan Morris. The Sounders continued their goal-scoring spree in the 80^th minute when  Rusnak made another run towards Montreal and found Alex Roldan wide open on the right side of the  Montreal goal mouth.  Roldan slotted the ball into the back of the net for his first goal of the season.

We see you @Alex_Roldan8! https://t.co/A4glCOk3Eb

— Seattle U Men's Soccer (@SeattleUMSoccer) April 7, 2024

A stoppage-time goal by Dylan Teves made it 5-0, and the Sounders emphatically earned their first win of the season.

• Mariners complete strong road trip but Matt Brash causes concern
• Key Takeaways from Seattle Storm’s Thrilling Preseason Match
• FIFA Empowers Afghan Women Footballers with Historic Regulation Change
• Seahawks 2026 Draft: Analysis of Key Picks and Strategies
• Key Stats from Seattle Storm vs Golden State Valkyries Preseason Clash

POSTGAME NOTES

MATCH NOTES

• Sounders FC earns its first win of the season, jumping to 12^th in the Western Conference with five points (1-3-2). The club snapped a five-match winless streak, tied for the longest run in team history to begin a season without a win.

• Ruidíaz scored his third and fourth goals of the season with his first-half brace, first on the team in scoring this season and one shy of his total from last year. It marked Ruidíaz’s 16^th multi-goal game across all competitions for Seattle (13 regular-season goals, two MLS Cup Playoffs goals, one Concacaf Champions Cup goal). His 82 career goals for Sounders FC across all competitions are a club record.

• With 15 multi-goal games in MLS play (including postseason), Ruidíaz is tied for fourth among active players.

• Jordan Morris scored his first goal of the season with his second-half strike, giving him 67 across all competitions in his career with Sounders FC, third in club history.

• Alex Roldan scored his first goal of the season and fourth career strike in MLS regular-season play.

• With his late strike, Dylan Teves tallied his first goal of the season and second career MLS strike with his late tally. 

• Stefan Frei recorded his first shutout of the 2024 season and 106^th in his career (MLS regular season), third in league history and six shy of Kevin Hartman for second.  

• Albert Rusnák recorded his first two assists of the season, recording helpers on Ruidíaz’s first strike and Alex Roldan’s goal.

• Jackson Ragen recorded his first assist of the season on Ruidíaz first goal, the fifth in his career after recording four last season.

• With the assist on Morris’ strike, Cristian Roldan has 52 helpers across all competitions for Sounders FC, tying Fredy Montero for second in club history.

• Danny Musovski recorded his first assist for Sounders FC on Teves’ late goal.  

• João Paulo made his first appearance of the 2024 season, coming on as a substitute in the 78^th minute. The Brazilian had missed the first five games of the season with a left hip injury.