There was definitely some salt to the injury in the Sounders ‘ Concacaf Champions Round of 16 second-leg defeat to Cruz Azul. The only pain the home side inflicted on the visiting Sounders was its ability to strike on the counter-attack with precision, pace, and lethal finishing. More disappointing for the Sounders was the loss of Paul Arriola and Jordan Morris.
GOOD EARLY CHANCE
The Sounders started on the front foot with two early chances. Jordan Morris was active and tested the Azul defense. In the fourth minute, Morris just missed connecting on a brilliant pass from Jesus Freirra. It would have been interesting had Mercer Island been able to connect. Well, he did not, and the near chance seemed to be a wake-up call for the home side and a deflating momentum killer for the Sounders.
BUNKERED IN THE BACK
For some unexplainable reason, the Sounders retreated to a 5-4-1 formation, which forced them to bunker down—the Sounders’ inability to clear the ball out of their half made matters worse. As a result, Azul had the majority of the possession and took advantage of the space given to them in the Sounders’ defensive half. After four near chances in which Azul hit the bar, side netting a, corner of the bar and the roof the netting, Azul midfielder Carlos Rodríguez found a perfect pocket in the Sounders defense and gave the homeside a 1-0 lead with a perfect snap header pass Stefan Frei in the 43rd minute
DEVASTATING INJURY
With two minutes into four minutes of the first half stoppage time, Arriola became the first of the Sounders’ two costly injuries. Arriola suffered a knee injury and never returned as the half ended while he was receiving treatment. The injury was severe enough that the Sounders’ offseason acquisition was taken off in a stretcher and straight into an ambulance.
CAGY STARTS TO THE SECOND HALF
The two sides played cat and mouse for the first 15 minutes of the second half, with the Sounders’ best scoring chance coming in the 58th minute. Paul Rothrock started the second half for the injured Arriola, found space down the left flank, and then laid a perfect pass into the goal box for Ferreria, who skied the pass over the Azul goal. Danny Leyva replaced Ferreria, who had played a good match with his movement but could not get on the scoreline. Two minutes after the Leyva substitution, things went from bad to worse when Jordan Morris attempted to chase down a pass to space by Alex Roldan and pulled up after a full sprint and injured his hamstring. Danny Masvoski replaced him.
BAD CHOICE
Barely hanging on a thread, the Sounders broke out of their shell and searched for the equalizer. More sloppy play by the Sounders saw the homeside double its lead when Rothrock conceded a penalty in the 69th minute.
Azul striker Ángel Sepúlveda blasted the spot kick past the sprawling Frei for the 2-0 lead. The Sounders showed some bite back when Musovski booted a loose ball into the back of the Azul net after a scramble in front of the Azul goal to bring the Sounders within one goal at 2-1.
TIRED LEGS
With weary legs from chasing the ball and playing defense all night, Azul could smell blood in the water and widened its lead in the 84th to 3-1 on a classic counter attack.
Azul left back Carlos Rotondin corralled a loose ball in the Seattle midfield, dashed down the left flank, and laid off a perfect pass to Luka Romero, who got enough of a touch to get the ball past Frei. The fourth goal for the homeside was an exact duplicate of the third. A sloppy possession by the Sounders turned into a counterattack by Azul, which ended in a goal by Jorge Sánchez. The goal was the last of the game as the Azul advanced with the 4-1 win.
NOT THE BEST PERFORMANCE
In soccer, like in other sports, every game comes down to several plays. The team that executes in those moments wins the contest more times than not. Had the Sounders connected on their early chances, who knows how a 1-0 lead might have affected the homeside. On the other end of the truth spectrum, the Sounders played a poor game.
“ I don’t think my team played as well as it could have tonight, I think there was some, you know, some performances that I know we could do better, “said Brian Schemtzer after the game. “
The will was there, but lacking was execution, off-ball movements, and the physicality required in a winner-take-all match. When asked about the injuries to Morris and Arriola Schmetzer was unable to give a definite answer on either player. Schmetzer said the two players were undergoing MIR’s with results pending.
POST MATCH NOTES
- With the result, Seattle is eliminated from the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. 2025 marks the eighth time Sounders FC has competed in the tournament, and remains the only MLS team to win the continental competition (2022).
- Seattle is 22-16-12 all-time in Concacaf Champions Cup action. Tonight’s result ends its 13-match unbeaten streak, the longest of any MLS team in the tournament’s history. Liga MX side Pumas UNAM holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak of any team at 23 matches from 1980-1992.
- Cristian Roldan appeared in his 352nd match in all competitions tonight, tying Zach Scott for the most all-competition appearances by a field player in any era of club history.
- Danny Musovski scored for Seattle in the 75th minute, his first goal in all competitions for the Rave Green this year. He scored two goals for Sounders FC in all competitions last year.
- Brian Schmetzer rotated his lineup from Saturday’s match against LAFC, with Stefan Frei, Nouhou, Alex Roldan, Obed Vargas, Cristian Roldan, Paul Arriola, Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnák replacing Andrew Thomas, Jonathan Bell, Danny Leyva, João Paulo, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Pedro de la Vega, Danny Musovski and Paul Rothrock.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – Cruz Azul 4
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Venue: Estadio Olimpico Universitario
Referees: Oshane Nation
Assistants: Caleb Wales, Ojay Duhaney
Fourth Official: Steffon Dewar
VAR: Jesus Montero
Weather: 73 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
CAZ – Carlos Rodriguez (Gonzalo Piovi) 33’
CAZ – Angel Sepulveda (penalty) 71’
SEA – Danny Musovski 75’
CAZ – Luka Bezzana (Carlos Rotondi) 85’
CAZ – Jorge Sanchez (Mateusz Bogusz) 88’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CAZ – Carlos Rotondi (caution) 38’
CAZ – Carlos Rodriguez (caution) 45’+4’
SEA – Obed Vargas (caution) 50’
CAZ – Mateusz Bogusz (caution) 80’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Yeimar, Jackson Ragen, Nouhou (Georgi Minoungou 79’); Alex Roldan (Kalani Kossa-Rienzi 79’), Obed Vargas, Cristian Roldan, Paul Arriola (Paul Rothrock 46’), Jesús Ferreira (Danny Leyva 64’), Albert Rusnák; Jordan Morris (Danny Musovski 66’)
Substitutes not used: Andrew Thomas, Jacob Castro, Jonathan Bell, Stuart Hawkins, Cody Baker, João Paulo
Total shots: 5
Shots on goal: 1
Fouls: 5
Offside: 2
Corner-Kicks: 1
Saves: 1
Cruz Azul – Kevin Mier; Jorge Sanchez, Willer Ditta, Gonzalo Piovi, Carlos Rotondi; Lorenzo Faravelli (Luka Bezzana 66’), Ignacio Rivero (Luis Gutierrez 75’), Carlos Rodriguez, Erik Lira, Mateusz Bogusz (Gabriel Fernandez 86’); Angel Sepulveda (Jesus Orozco 86’)
Substitutes not used: Andres Gudino, Emmanuel Ochoa, Amaury Garcia, Carlos Vargas, Camilo Vargas, Amaury Morales, Bryan Gamboa
Total shots: 22
Shots on goal: 5
Fouls: 8
Offside: 3
Corner-kicks: 3
Saves: 0
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