The Sounders’ 1-1 draw with FC Montreal left the Sounders faithful and the coaching staff with perplexing questions. A lackluster first half left fans angry, bitter, and disheartened. A good but not great second half by the Sounders left the fan base in a state of bewilderment.
A TEAM THAT WAS PLAYING FOR PRIDE
On paper, Saturday night’s game looked like a walk in the park for the Sounders. Montreal sat dead last in the Eastern Conference and were coming off their worst loss of the season. A 3-0 home loss to Atlanta United. A possible distraction for the visitors was their upcoming Canadian Championship Final against Forge FC. A side that competes in the Canadian Premier League. The prevailing thought was that Montreal would focus on Wednesday’s final, their only real chance to win a trophy. Give interim head coach Philippe Euallafroy credit. He coached up his team, and they rolled into Lumen Field playing for Pride. Teams playing for pride are focused, unwavering, and able to play carefree soccer. Montreal was hungry and took the game to the sleepwalking Seattle players.
SOUNDERS WERE THE EXACT OPPOSITE
After their nine-game unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end just four days ago in Frisco, Texas, at the hands of FC Dallas, one might have assumed the Sounders were back home and ready to show their pride and resolve in what looked like a get-right game. In the first half against Montreal, little went right for the Sounders. Head coach Brian Schmetzer had to make a game-time rotation at center back. Ryan Sailor started at center back. Starter Jackson Ragen came down with the flu, and his backup, Stuart Hawkins, had tightness in his hamstring. The rest of the line was laden with first-team starters, except Caden Clark, who started at right wing.
The starting eleven left much to be desired. The play was slow to build, and the defense was atrocious. The visitors pressed the Sounders with Chilean national Alexis Sanchez up top. In the twilight of his career, the global icon has lost a step in pace but still has the magic touch to impact the game. Fabian Herbers played behind Sanchez, and the German international ran enough interference in attack and defense so Sanchez could roam.
Sounders’ sloppy passing let Montreal’s Hennadii Synchuk steal the ball, flick it to Hassani Dotson, and Dotson pass to a streaking Noah Streit on the left side. Streit galloped down the left side unmarked and stutter-stepped to freeze the Sounders’ scrambling defenders; once he reached the goal box, he deftly laid the ball back to Synchuk, who blasted it past a hapless Andrew Thomas for the dream start. The goal came in the 12th minute.
FRANTICALL Y CHASING THE GAME
The Sounders spent the rest of the first half chasing the game. Passes were rushed, passed to the wrong foot, and there was little off-ball movement, resulting in a chaotic and disjointed attack. The Sounders had just one shot in the first half, while the visitors had five total shots, three on target. As they walked into the locker room for the halftime break, the players were booed and met a restrained but disappointed coach.
At halftime, you know, I’m getting good counsel from our team psychologist, and I didn’t kick things and swear. I tried to be clear and concise,’ said Schmetzer in his post-game interview. “I’m the head coach, and a lot of things revolved around me. But I challenged them on their own standard. Because I think they knew that Montreal came in here and deservedly so was up one nothing.
As for the fans booing the team, Schmetzer understood the fans’ disappointment.
“ So I didn’t like it as I walked off, but I have to accept it. It’s part of sports. Most people pay money. They want to come and be entertained. They want to have their team actually work and fight and do the things that, even if you lose, you can show that they care. So I have to accept it,” said Schmetzer.
HALFTIME CHANGES
While he had no control over the fans’ emotions, Schmetzer controlled player rotations, and he used that control to start the second half. Sebastián Gómez replaced Alex Roldan, and Caden Clark gave way to Kalani Rienzi. The substitutions and Schmetzer’s halftime speech made an immediate impact. The Sounders were lively and positive, moving the ball around the pitch and putting the Montreal back line on its back heels.
The quickened pace by the Sounders allowed them to break Montreal’s press. While they had the energy to break the press and advance all downfield, the Sounders lacked creativity in the final third. As they pushed up, the Sounders left their backline exposed, and Montreal had a chance to double their lead in the 54th minute. Sanchez fed a perfect pass to an unmarked Herbers in front of the Sounders’ goal. Herbers’ point-blank shot went wide of the Sounders’ goal.
THE FINAL PUSH FOR THE EQUALIZER
With his team on the front foot but lacking that finishing touch and a bit exposed between the lines, Schmetzer shuffled the deck one more time. Jesus Ferreira replaced Albert Rusnák, and Ryan Sailor made way for Synder Brunell. Cristian Roldan moved to center back to replace Sailor and allow for more offensive players on the pitch.
With the impetus to push forward, the Sounders pressured Montreal into a costly error. In the 63rd minute, Ferreira stole the ball back after the Sounders lost possession. Ferreira then tried to pass into the penalty box. Still, Montreal midfielder Victor Loturi intercepted it, lunged at the ball, and deflected it to wide-open Sebastian Gomez, who slotted it home for the equalizer.
The goal gave the Sounders the conviction to search for the game-winner. Jordan Morris nearly scored the game-winner in the 70th minute when he streaked down the right side, cut inside, and saw his shot sail inches wide of the left post. Schmezter’s last substitution came in the 87th minute, when Hassani Dotso made way for Paul Arriola.
The game became physical and stretched with both teams getting half chances to bag all three points. Neither team found the coveted game-winner, and the sides split the spoils.
- From Boos to Breakthrough: Sounders Fight Back to Draw Montréal
- Washington wins first conference game against Purdue
- Purdue preview: not your same old Purdue
- Seahawks Lose OT Thriller to Broncos After Costly Darnold Picks
- Sounders FC lack conviction in 1-0 loss to FC Dallas
GAME NOTES
MATCH NOTES
- With the result, Seattle sits in seventh place in the Western Conference at time of writing with 42 points (11-10-9).
- Saturday was the 11th meeting between Seattle and Montréal in the regular season, with the Rave Green trailing the series 3-6-2.
- Cristian Roldan earned his 300th regular-season start for the Rave Green tonight. The midfielder was drafted out of the University of Washington in the First Round of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. He joins Stefan Frei (351) as the only Sounders FC players to reach 300 MLS starts.
- Sebastian Gomez’s goal in the 66th minute was his third of the year in all competitions to go along with four assists.
- Brian Schmetzer’s side next travels to San Diego FC on Saturday, October 24 at Snapdragon Stadium (7:30 p.m. PT / Apple TV, iHeartMedia Seattle, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 – CF Montréal 1
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Venue: Lumen Field
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistants: Felisha Mariscal, Kevin Lock
Fourth Official: Ricardo Fierro
VAR: Ismir Pekmic
Weather: 57 degrees and cloudy
Attendance: 33,007
SCORING SUMMARY
MTL – Hennadii Synchuk (Noah Streit, Alexis Sánchez) 13’
SEA – Sebastian Gomez 66’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Hassani Dotson (caution) 15’
MTL – Alexis Sánchez (caution) 33’
MTL – Victor Loturi (caution) 53’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Andrew Thomas; Alex Roldan (Kalani Kossa-Rienzi HT), Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Ryan Sailor (Snyder Brunell 64’), Nouhou; Hassani Dotson (Paul Arriola 86’), Cristian Roldan – Captain; Caden Clark (Sebastian Gomez HT), Albert Rusnák (Jesús Ferreira 65’), Jordan Morris; Dejan Joveljić
Substitutes not used: Stefan Frei, Antino Lopez, Peter Kingston, Danny Musovski
Total shots: 18
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 10
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 5
Saves: 1
CF Montréal – Sébastian Breza; Viktor Radojević, Brandan Craig, Efraín Morales, Jalen Neal (Dawid Bugaj 64’); Victor Loturi (Dani Pereira 79’), Samuel Piette – Captain (Matty Longstaff 87’); Noah Streit (Wikelman Carmona 80’), Fabian Herbers (Olger Escobar 86’), Hennadii Synchuk; Alexis Sánchez
Substitutes not used: Samsy Keita, Luca Petrasso, Daniel Ríos
Total shots: 9
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 12
Offside: 4
Corner-kicks: 2
Saves: 6
– SOUNDERS FC –
Discover more from Cascadiasports.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
