The Seattle Sounders defeated the LA Galaxy 4-0 on Sunday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., in a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Championship. An own goal from Julian Aude, a brace from Danny Musovski and a late tally from Snyder Brunell helped secure three points on the road.
Jesús Ferreira had the first real look on goal in the 19th minute when Pedro de la Vega was released down the left flank and played a ball across the box, but Ferreira’s effort trickled just wide of the far post.
The Sounders found the breakthrough in the 25th minute when de la Vega whipped in a beautiful cross to the far post. Paul Rothrock stormed to the back side and beat Aude to the ball then redirected it off Aude and into the net.
Seattle doubled its advantage in the 37th minute when Rothrock played a lovely through ball in behind the defense into the run of Musovski. The Sounders forward took his shot first time, but it was initially saved by goalkeeper Novak Mićović before Musovski cleaned up the rebound.
Ferreira had a great opportunity in the 44th minute when he was played in over the top. He took a touch around his defender but couldn’t make quality contact and his shot was corralled by Mićović.
LA’s first bona fide look at goal came in the 48th minute when Matheus Nascimento was played through in the center of goal, but his effort was denied by Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas.
Gabriel Pec had another chance in the 50th minute when he ripped a hard shot from an acute angle at the near post, but Thomas kept it out yet again.
The Sounders put the match to bed in the 54th minute when de la Vega played a deft ball in behind for Ferreira, whose shot forced Mićović into a kick save. Musovski was there to tap home the rebound from a yard out.
Rothrock almost added a fourth in the 74th minute when his shot from 12 yards out beat Mićović but hit the crossbar and went over the net.
Seattle made it 4-0 in the 85th minute when Kalani Kossa-Rienzi slipped in Alex Roldan to the right end line where he dropped a pass to the center of the box. Brunell arrived with a late run and beat Mićović with a first-time finish.
The Sounders end the weekend fourth in the Western Conference table with 41 points from 25 matches. They extended their undefeated run to 10 matches (7-0-3) in all competitions dating back to their exit from the FIFA Club World Cup this summer. Seattle has 29 goals scored in that span.
Seattle will head on the road again next Saturday when it heads to Saint Paul to take on Minnesota United (5:30 p.m. PT; FS1, FOX Deportes, Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV) before returning to Leagues Cup action on Wednesday, Aug. 20, when it hosts Liga MX’s Club Puebla in the Quarterfinals (8 p.m. PT; FS1, UniMás, Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Musovski stays hot
The resurgent year for Musovski continues, as he’s now up to a career-high 10 goals in MLS play and 12 in all competitions. He’s tied with Albert Rusnák for the team-lead in league goals this year.
Brunell marks debut with goal
After signing a First Team contract with the Sounders on July 29, Brunell made his initial First Team appearance in the Sounders’ 7-0 Leagues Cup win over Cruz Azul on July 31. He made his MLS debut on Sunday when he checked in for Ferreira in the 73rd minute before opening his First Team account with a goal in the 85th minute to cap a tremendous team display.
Mr. 300
Cristian Roldan earned his 300th career MLS regular season appearance becoming just the second Sounder, and first field player, to reach that mark. He joins teammate Stefan Frei (343) as the only members of the 300 Club.
