It took a few minutes for the Sounders to find their footing, and once they did, off to the races they went. A visiting Nashville SC used the classic strategy of taking the fight to the home team. It’s not that the Sounders were caught off guard, it’s a strategy they have used to perfection in being one of the better road teams in MLS. Expecting something and being able to do something about are two different things. For the first ten minutes of Saturday’s contest, the Sounders were chasing shadows. In their pursuit, the Sounders kept their shape defensively and were able to keep the visitors at bay.
ROOM TO ROAM
With all three banks maintaining their shape, it was only a matter of time before the Rave Green found its foothold in the game and simply overwhelmed its opponents.
“ I mean, how fun was that first half? I mean, it was pretty good. I mean, well, actually, the first like eight, nine minutes, maybe was the. but once we got our feet under us, I think we played well,” said an elated Brian Schmetzer.
With a foothold in the game, Paul Rothrock and Kalan Kossa-Rienzi stayed wide when they entered the primary assist zone. Striker Danny Musovski made runs at and behind Nashville center backs Jack Maher and Jeisson Palacios. The runs by the trio created space in the midfield for Jesus Ferreira and Pedo de la Vega to roam in the vacated areas. With extra space in the midfield, Obed Vargas pushed up and became a dangerous pivot in the team’s attack.
THREE GOALS BEFORE THE BREAK
With all players moving into space and good decisions by ball handlers, the Sounders took the early 1-0 lead on an exquisite goal by Musovski in the 19th minute. The Sounders continued their free-flowing, crowd-pleasing play and doubled their lead in the 30th minute. Vargas made a courageous run with the ball into the Nashville goal box and fed a charging De la Vega, who blasted the ball into the back of the net. Four minutes later, Ferreria continued to show his deft passing ability when he laid a perfect pass to Rothrock, who was wide open on the left side of the goal box. The inform winger curled the ball into the back of the net.
“The objective for this game, the message to the group, this training week was to make sure that when the referee blew the whistle, we want to come out on the front foot, we want to put Nashville under pressure because they’re a good team. it’s a good job, but we wanted to come out and really outwork them, outsmart them, out think them, and the reward for the guys that played in Dallas, I think they appreciated it, so they played hard, said Schmetzer in his post game interview.
SEVERAL PLAYERS GET TO STRETCH THEIR LEGS
The luxury of the three-goal cushion at the break allowed Schmetzer to liberally substitute some of his former starters who were returning to full health without any pressure. In the 62nd minute, Jordan Morris was inserted for Musovski and Albert Rusnák for De la Vega. In the 77th minute, Schmetzer inserted Joao Paulo for Vargas and Alex Roldan for Kosa-Rienzi. Schmetzer’s final substitution was in the 84th minute, when Ryan Kent made his Sounders debut, being subbed in for Paul Rothrock.
THE BIG TAKE
This was a big win for the Sounders on several fronts. The team was able to build on last week’s 1-0 win over FC Dallas. Both wins were shutouts, which is a positive sign for a defense that had early struggles. A healthy squad should lead to more competitive training sessions, which in turn should result in more wins. But those are a lot of assumptions, and it will be up to the players and coaches to develop chemistry through competition.
“I think the team has been together. I mean, there’s been a couple of changes. Jesus has now been with us for a couple of months. That’s a new one, Kent. Obviously, we’ll incorporate it. But the rest of the group knows each other. I mean, it’s going to be pretty easy. We’ve got a bunch of talented soccer players, so they’ll figure it out, is what I’m saying. Well, the game starts in training, though. I mean, if they train together, they should know their tendencies when they get in front of a crowd. I think it all starts with having good training weeks leading into games and then letting the players do their thing.”
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POST GAME NOTES
MATCH NOTES
- With the result, Seattle currently sits in eighth place in the Western Conference with 12 points (3-3-3) at the time of writing.
- Saturday’s contest marks the Rave Green’s first-ever win against Nashville, who joined MLS in 2020. Seattle is now 1-2-1 in all-time series between the two sides.
- Danny Musovski’s goal in the 19th minute was his second tally in two matches. The forward also scored the game-winning goal against FC Dallas in last weekend’s 1-0 victory.
- Pedro de la Vega’s goal was his first in MLS play this year and his fourth in all competitions. The Argentine international scored three goals in the two legs against Antigua GFC in Concacaf Champions Cup play.
- Paul Rothrock scored his second goal of the season in the 34th minute. He also scored in Seattle’s 5-2 win over LAFC on March 8.
- Jesús Ferreira recorded his third and fourth assists of the MLS campaign – leading the team – on Musovksi’s and Rothrock’s goals. Ferreira also recorded two assists in Concacaf Champions play, giving him six on the season in all competitions.
- Obed Vargas tallied his first MLS assist on de la Vega’s goal. He also recorded three assists against Antigua GFC in Concacaf Champions Cup play on February 19, giving him four in all competitions this season.
- Midfielder Cristian Roldan also added an assist on de la Vega’s strike, his fourth of the 2025 MLS campaign.
- Today’s match marked the first time that Seattle recorded three goals in a first half since April 20, 2024 against Philadelphia (the match was postponed on March 9 and restarted on April 20). It was also the first time that Sounders FC has scored three goals in the first half at home since October 3, 2021 against Colorado.
- Sounders FC had not scored three goals in the first 35 minutes of a match since September 10, 2020 when the club scored five goals in that same timeframe against San Jose in a 7-1 win at Lumen Field.
- Today’s 3-0 win over Nashville was Seattle’s 151st home victory in the regular season since 2009, the most of any team in that span.
- With the result, the Rave Green now have 264 points all-time against Eastern Conference sides, the most points gained by any Western Conference club against the East since the team entered MLS in 2009.
- With the shutout, Stefan Frei now has 119 in his career in MLS regular-season action, ranking second in league history (Nick Rimando, 154).
- Ryan Kent made his Sounders FC debut as a substitute in the 84th minute. The English winger signed with Seattle on March 31 after 10 professional seasons in Europe.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 3 – Nashville SC 0
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Venue: Emerald Queen Casino Pitch at Lumen Field
Referee: Ricardo Fierro
Assistants: Jeffrey Greeson, Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth Official: Victor Rivas
VAR: David Barrie
Attendance: 31,867
Weather: 58 degrees and cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Danny Musovski (Jesús Ferreira, Paul Rothrock) 19’
SEA – Pedro de la Vega (Obed Vargas, Cristian Roldan) 30’
SEA – Paul Rothrock (Pedro de la Vega, Jesús Ferreira) 34’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Obed Vargas (caution) 37’
SEA – Kalani Kossa-Rienzi (caution) 51’
SEA – Kim Kee-hee (caution) 56’
SEA – João Paulo (caution) 82’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei – Captain; Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Kim Kee-hee, Nouhou; Kalani Kossa-Rienzi (Alex Roldan 77), Obed Vargas (João Paulo 77’), Cristian Roldan, Paul Rothrock (Ryan Kent 84’); Pedro de la Vega (Albert Rusnák 62’), Danny Musovski (Jordan Morris 62’), Jesús Ferreira
Substitutes not used: Andrew Thomas, Jonathan Bell, Reed Baker-Whiting, Danny Leyva
Total shots: 13
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 18
Offside: 0
Corner-Kicks: 2
Saves: 8
Nashville SC – Joe Willis; Daniel Lovitz, Jack Maher, Jeisson Palacios (Christopher Applewhite 81’), Andy Najar; Alex Muyl (Jacob Shaffelburg HT), Gastón Brugman (Edvard Tagseth HT), Patrick Yazbek; Ahmed Qasem (Josh Bauer HT), Sam Surridge (Jonathan Pérez 86’), Hany Mukhtar
Substitutes not used: Taylor Washington, Teal Bunbury, Matthew Corcoran, Brian Schwake
Total shots: 13
Shots on goal: 8
Fouls: 15
Offside: 1
Corner-kicks: 7
Saves: 4
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