Sounders 2 LA Galaxy 2 Sounders doomed by a lack of awareness and finishing

A lack of awareness by the  Seattle Sounders cost them an easy two points in their 2-2 draw with the LA Galaxy.   Head coach Brian  Schmetzer shuffled his lineup from the one that won the Leagues Cup.  Stefan Frei replaced Andrew Thomas in goal. The back line remained the same, with Reed Baker-Whiting on the left, Yeimar Gomez, and Jackson Ragen in the middle, and Alex Roldan on the right.  Kalani Kossa-Rienze started on the right with Cristian Roldan and Obed Vargas as the holding midfielder. Paul Rothrock was wide left, with Jesus Ferreira in the middle, and Danny Musoviski up top.

DREAM START

The Sounders started on the front foot and scored within the first five minutes of the game. Alex and Cristan Roldan forced a turnover, which Alex collected, and found a streaking  Musvosk, who then laid a slide rule pass to  Ferreira for the dream start. The Sounders continued to push the issue, utilizing the speed of Rothrock and pushing Alex Roldan into the right flank. The Sounders had two golden chances to double their lead, but Galaxy keeper Novak  Micovic denied  Musovski and  Rothrock from point-blank range.

GALAXY GAINS A FOOTHOLD IN THE  GAME

  Sloppy play by the Sounders when in possession allowed the Galaxy to get a foothold in the game. Galaxy center midfield  Diego Fagundez was able to find wingers  Joseph Painstall on the left and Harbo  Miller on the right with short passes, which then opened up space for striker Migue l Berry.  The Sounders’ defense stayed resolute and kept the Galaxy at bay when defending the visitors’ intricate corner kicks.

TWO GOAL CUSHION

 Despite being sloppy in possession, the Sounders were lethal in their counterattack and doubled their lead in the 41^st minute when Musovski turned scorer, receiving a cut across pass from Rothrock for the 2-0 lead.  Lack of awareness on defense saw the Galaxy narrow the Sounders’ lead to 2-1 in the 44^th minute. Fagundez’s pass from the left side of the box found an unmarked  Maya Yoshida.   The halftime whistle blew with the 2-1 scoreline.

SOUNDERS  PUSH FOR   A THIRD

Much like the first half, the Sounders had some early chances to widen their lead. Sensing sloppy play and tired legs, Schmetzer inserted  Albert Rusnak for Kossa-Reinzi and Nouhou Tolo for Baker-Whiting, who was on a yellow card. The substitutions energized the Sounders’ attack.

 Rothrock’s apparent goal in the 61^st minute was deemed offside, and Alex Roldan’s left-footed shot in the 70th minute from the middle of the goal box was saved by  Micovic.  With his team on the front foot but unable to score, Schemtzer went to his bench for more firepower. Georgi Minoungou replaced Rothrock, and  Jordan Morris replaced  Musovski in the 80^th  minute.

PLAN BACKFIRES

While the intent was to score a third goal to seal the game, the main reason for the substitutions was to maintain sustained possession. A lack of strategic awareness cost the  Sounders the win.  A well-executed Galaxy throw-in saw the ball land into the Sounders’ goal box and eventually end up in the back of the net for a 2-2 draw.  An agitated Schmetzer took part of the blame for the game-tying goal.

“I can shoulder a lot of the blame for this because the set piece goal, the set piececes that they started. Obviously, the team wasn’t prepared. 
And so that’s on me. That goal came from a throw-in in our setup on that throw-in. Anybody can see it was all wrong. We had to bet on the wrong side of the ball. 
Albert is on the wrong side of the ball. Center forward on the wrong side of the ball. Jesus is on the wrong side of the ball. Christian goes up and challenges. 
There’s a gaping hole on top of the box. Yeimar’s got to step out. Nouhou is out of position. 
Nobody wins the duels in there. And then the sequence of, yeah, the ball bouncing around the boxes, then you can start to pick that apart, but the mistake happened way up here, or out by the touchline. And I don’t knew who could have kept the ball in or not or whatever,’ said Schemtzer in his post game interview .” 
I don’t know, I didn’t see that far in advance. But that’s a terrible goal. That is an absolute, terrible, terrible, terrible goal to give up. 
So, that won’t happen again
So we will be prepared for the remainder of the year, because I understand the importance of set pieces and throwings are actually a set piece, you know, and we’ll make sure we’re better.”

THE BIG TAKE

Schmetzer can blame himself from a strategic perspective, but in the end, the players have to make plays.  A great team understands the importance of having a killer instinct in both goal boxes. Your own when defending and the opponents when you have a chance to score. To a man, the Sounders admitted that they did not play well. That is a start. Up next is Tuesday’s rematch with an Inter Miami looking for some revenge from the 3-0 Leagues Cup humiliation by the Sounders.

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POST GAME MATCH

MATCH NOTES

• With the result, Seattle now sits in fourth place in the Western Conference with 45 points (12-7-9).

• Saturday’s contest concluded the regular-season series between Seattle and LA, including Seattle’s 4-0 defeat of the Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on August 10. Sounders FC also beat LA 2-0 in the Leagues Cup 2025 Semifinals on August 27.

• Jesús Ferreira scored the 57^th regular-season goal of his career in the fifth minute, setting the record for most regular-season goals before the age of 25 by any player in MLS history, breaking a tie with Landon Donovan. It was also his fifth goal in all competitions this year and fourth in MLS play.
  
• Danny Musovski scored his team-leading 16^th goal in all competitions in the 41^st minute, three shy of the single-season record set by Obafemi Martins in 2014 and Raul Ruidíaz in 2021.

• Musovski and Alex Roldan both recorded assists on Ferreira’s goal, their third and eighth in all competitions, respectfully.

• Paul Rothrock and Obed Vargas tallied helpers on Musovski’s goal, their eighth and seventh in all competitions, respectfully.

• Albert Rusnák made a substitute appearance in the 59^th minute, his first appearance since injuring his hamstring against Club Tijuana on August 6.

• Jordan Morris also subbed into the match in the 80^th minute, returning to play for the first time since injuring his shoulder against the San Jose Earthquakes on July 19.

• Since participating in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, Seattle has lost only one match in all competitions, compiling a 10-1-5 record.

• Brian Schmetzer made three changes to the lineup from the Leagues Cup 2025 Final on August 31, with Stefan Frei, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Danny Musovski replacing Andrew Thomas, Pedro de la Vega and Osaze De Rosario, respectfully.

• Seattle now hits the road to face Inter Miami CF in a rematch of the Leagues Cup 2025 Final on Tuesday, September 16 at Chase Stadium (4:30 p.m. PT / Apple TV, iHeartMedia Seattle, El Rey 1360 AM).

MATCH SUMMARY

Seattle Sounders FC 2 – LA Galaxy 2

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Venue: Lumen Field

Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

Assistants: Cory Richardson, Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho

Fourth Official: Ricardo Fierro

VAR: Ismail Elfath

Attendance: 31,952

Weather: 73 degrees and sunny

SCORING SUMMARY

SEA – Jesús Ferreira (Danny Musovski, Alex Roldan) 5’

SEA – Danny Musovski (Paul Rothrock, Obed Vargas) 41’

LAG – Maya Yoshida (Diego Fagúndez, Joseph Paintsil) 44’

LAG – Miki Yamane 87’

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

SEA – Jackson Ragen (caution) 6’

SEA – Reed Baker-Whiting (caution) 36’

LINEUPS & STATS

Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei – captain; Alex Roldan, Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Jackson Ragen, Reed Baker-Whiting (Nouhou 59’); Obed Vargas, Cristian Roldan; Kalani Kossa-Rienzi (Albert Rusnák 59’), Jesús Ferreira (Osaze De Rosario 89’), Paul Rothrock (Georgi Minoungou 79’); Danny Musovski (Jordan Morris 80’)

Substitutes not used: Andrew Thomas, Kim Kee-hee, Danny Leyva, Snyder Brunell

Total shots: 19

Shots on goal: 9

Fouls: 11

Offside: 3

Corner-Kicks: 8

Saves: 4

LA Galaxy – Novak Micovic; John Nelson (Nicklaus Sullivan 86’), Christopher Rindov, Maya Yoshida, Miki Yamane; Elijah Wynder (Isaiah Parente 83’), Diego Fagúndez (Eriq Zavaleta 84’), Edwin Cerrillo; Joseph Paintsil, Miguel Berry (Tucker Lepley 70’), Harbor Miller (Mauricio Cuevas 70’)

Substitutes not used: JT Marcinkowski, Rubén Ramos Jr.

Total shots: 15

Shots on goal: 6

Fouls: 6

Offside: 0

Corner-kicks: 10

Saves: 7