In his build-up to his team’s match with Sporting Kansas City, head coach Brian Schmetzer said the keys to a win for his team were clean football, scoring a goal, staying compact, and coming home on a happy note. Well, the Sounders scored three goals and were unable to keep a clean sheet, but returned home on a happy note just the same.
STARTED ON THE FRONT FOOT
The message to play clean football and score a goal was received loud and clear for the first half anyway. With Jordan Morris back in the nine position, creating space for Paul Rothrock, Jesus Ferreira, Obed Vargas, and Albert Rusnak, the Sounders were in attack mode from the beginning. With space to roam, Rothrock attacked Sporting KC’s right side. His pace was just with and without the ball, overwhelming right back Khiry Shelton and midfielder Memo Rodrigue.
After two unsuccessful attempts to score on the Sporting KC goal box, Rothrock made good on his third attempt. After another run down the right side, Rothrock laid a perfect pass to Morris, who made a cutting run through the belly of the Sporting KC defense for the 1-0 lead.
SOUNDERS CONTINUE THE PRESSURE
The Sounders continued to put pressure on the Sporting KC mid and lower defensive block and nearly doubled their lead three minutes later. A Rothrock pass to Rusnâk was cleared off the line after the midfielder’s shot had beaten Sporting KC goalkeeper John Pulskamp. The goal clearance was a reprieve. The Sounders doubled their lead in the 25th minute on a converted penalty kick by Rusnâk.
The home side was able to get a foothold in the game and exerted some pressure on the Sounders, who looked gassed and tired. Looks can be deceiving. The further up Sporting KC pushed up, the more susceptible they became to the counterattack.
CLASSIC COUNTERATTACK
In the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time, Cristian Roldan stole the ball from Sporting KC midfielder Shapi Suleymanov when he attempted to slalom through the Sounders’ goal box. Roldan’s deft pass from the back found a sprinting Ferreria, who executed a perfect give-and-go with Rusnák for the Sounders’ third goal of the half and Ferreria’s third of the season. The Sounders entered the halftime break with a comfortable 3-0 lead.
FIGHT BACK FROM THE HOME SIDE
Morris reached his pitch count and was replaced by Danny Musovski to start the second half. With nothing to lose, the homeside threw caution to the wind and pressed the Sounders, looking to change the complexion of the game. The strategy worked. The Sounders stayed bunkered in their half, unable to find an outlet to play from the back.
“ We did not have options when we were playing out of our half, and it played to their advantage,” said Rusnâk.
The sustained pressure wore down the Sounders, who became heavy-footed and slow to react when defending. With his side gasping for air, heavy-legged Schmetzer inserted Ryan Kent for Rothrock and Pedro de la Vega for Ferreira in the 63rd minute.
BAD TO WORSE
On paper, the substitutions looked good, but on the field, not so much. The Sounders continued to stay bunkered down, and things went from bad to worse. Sporting KC forward Dejan Joveljic was fouled in the box by Musovski and was awarded a penalty. The converted PK gave the home side hope with a 3-1 scoreline in the 67th minute. Thomas made several saves, and it looked as if the Sounders would see the game through.
NEAR TRAGIC END
Reed Baker-Whiting replaced Alex Roldan due to a knock to his lower body in the 78th minute. Danny Leyva replaced Rusnâk in the 80th minute, and all hell broke loose for the Sounders. Unable to gain any meaningful possession, the Sounders were chasing shadows as Sporting KC moved the ball up and down the pitch. The homeside was given a major lifeline when the Sounders called for their second penalty of the game in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Santiago Munoz converted the PK for a 3-2 scoreline. To add insult to injury, Nouhou was issued a straight red card, and the Sounders were down to ten men. The teams played for another six minutes, and the Sounders prevailed despite playing with ten men.
BIG TAKE
Sometimes you can learn more from a win than a loss. This was one of those times. In his post-game press conference, Schmetzer was happy with how his team played in the first half. The challenge for Schmetzer and his staff is to find a way to have his team play a complete game with the new tactics of having Alex Roldan as the third pivot, play out of the back when teams are pressing and stop ball watching on defense.
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MATCH NOTES
- With the result, Seattle is now 14-12-4 against Sporting Kansas City since the Seattle joined MLS in 2009, with a 7-6-2 record at Children’s Mercy Park.
- With today’s win, Sounders FC now sits in fourth place in the Western Conference with 33 points (9-6-6).
- Jordan Morris made his first start since March 5 against Liga MX side Cruz Azul in Concacaf Champions Cup action. The forward has been dealing with injury for the majority of the season, appearing in only eight MLS matches in 2025. Morris set a career MLS single-season record with 13 goals last year.
- With his fourth goal of the season in the 15th minute, Morris reached 100 regular-season goal contributions (70 goals / 30 assists) since he signed with the team prior to the 2016 season. The Mercer Island native is only the third player to reach that mark in club history, joining Nico Lodeiro (40 goals / 81 assists) and Fredy Montero (59 goals / 43 assists).
- Morris’ goal was his ninth against Sporting Kansas City in MLS play, most among active players.
- Morris’ goal was also his 88th in all competitions, growing his lead as the Seattle’s all-time leading scorer. He joins Raúl Ruidíaz as the only players in club history to tally 70 or more regular-season goals. Morris also becomes the 10th active player in MLS to reach 70 regular-season goals.
- Paul Rothrock delivered the cross on Morris’ goal, earning him his fourth assist of the season, tied for third-most on the team this year.
- Albert Rusnák’s penalty kick earned him his 10th goal in all competitions and eighth in MLS play in 2025, the most on the team in both categories.
- Ferreira’s strike in first-half stoppage time was the 24-year-old’s 56th goal in regular-season play since joining the league in 2017, tying Landon Donovan for most goals before the age of 25. He now has three goals in 2025, all in MLS play, to go along with his team-leading eight all-competition assists.
- Brian Schmetzer made three changes to the starting lineup from last weekend’s match against Columbus, with Andrew Thomas, Jonathan Bell and Jordan Morris replacing Stefan Frei, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Danny Musovski, respectively.
- Andrew Thomas made his third start in goal for Seattle tonight with Frei recovering from a head injury he suffered last weekend against Columbus. Thomas made seven saves in the contest.
- Sounders FC now returns to Seattle for a pair of home matches against the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, July 16 (7:00 p.m. PT / Apple TV, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360 AM) and the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, July 19 (5:30 p.m. PT / Apple TV, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360 AM). Both fixtures will be played on the Emerald Queen Casino Pitch at Lumen Field and are part of Sounders FC’s Throwback Week, featuring a new third kit as part of the MLS Archive Collection.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 3 – Sporting Kansas City 2
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Venue: Children’s Mercy Park
Referee: Elijio Arreguin
Assistants: Corey Rockwell, Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Sergii Boiko
VAR: Michael Radchuk
Attendance: 16,717
Weather: 83 degrees and cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Jordan Morris (Paul Rothrock) 15’
SEA – Albert Rusnák (penalty) 27’
SEA – Jesús Ferreira 45’+8’
SKC – Dejan Joveljic (penalty) 67’
SKC – Santiago Muñóz (penalty) 90’+6’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SKC – Shapi Suleymanov (caution) 36’
SEA – Jonathan Bell (caution) 40’
SEA – Cristian Roldan (caution) 45’+6’
SKC – Manu García (penalty) 78’
SEA – Obed Vargas (caution) 81’
SEA – Albert Rusnák (caution) 82’
SEA – Nouhou (ejection) 90’+5’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Andrew Thomas; Alex Roldan (Reed Baker-Whiting 78’), Jackson Ragen, Jonathan Bell, Nouhou; Obed Vargas, Cristian Roldan – Captain; Jesús Ferreira (Pedro de la Vega 63’), Albert Rusnák (Danny Leyva 82’), Paul Rothrock (Ryan Kent 62’); Jordan Morris (Danny Musovski HT)
Substitutes not used: Jacob Castro, Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Cody Baker, Georgi Minoungou
Total shots: 13
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 16
Offside: 1
Corner-Kicks: 4
Saves: 7
Sporting Kansas City – John Pulskamp; Khiry Shelton (Andrew Brody 84’), Jansen Miller, Joaquín Fernández, Logan Ndenbe (Nemanja Radoja 80’); Memo Rodríguez (Jake Davis HT), Manu García, Zorhan Bassong; Shapi Suleymanov (Santiago Muñóz HT), Dejan Joveljic, Dániel Sallói (Mason Toye 79’)
Substitutes not used: Tim Leibold, Stephen Afrifa, Ryan Schewe, Ian James
Total shots: 21
Shots on goal: 9
Fouls: 14
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 7
Saves: 3
– SOUNDERS FC –
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