The Seattle Sounders drew the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-2 at Lumen Field on Saturday in a Cascadia derby. Jackson Ragen and Albert Rusnák scored for the Sounders, while Brian White and Mathias Laborda tallied for the visitors.
The Sounders were dealt two early injury blows when Alex Roldan and Yeimar were forced out in the 11th minute and 18th minute, respectively.
Ali Ahmed forced the game’s first save out of Stefan Frei in the 25th minute when he cut inside on the left side of the box and tried to pick out the near post, but Frei got down quickly to his right to parry it away.
Seattle’s best chance of the half came in the 29th minute when Rusnák whipped in a great cross to the six-yard box for Paul Rothrock, whose header was right at goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.
The Whitecaps took the lead in the 52nd minute when Andrés Cubas forced Snyder Brunell into a turnover in the Sounders’ half. Thomas Müller picked up the loose ball and slipped in White in behind, and Vancouver’s top scorer finished coolly on a one-timed finish.
The Sounders answered just two minutes later when Ragen rose for a header on a corner from Rusnák. The hulking center back redirected the ball to the far post for his first goal of the year.
Rusnák sent Lumen Field into a frenzy just one minute later when he gave the Sounders the lead. Rothrock marauded through the left side of the Whitecaps defense before picking out Jesús Ferreira, who dinked a deflected ball across the face of goal for an onrushing Rusnák, who smashed the ball home from a couple feet away.
Vancouver leveled the contest in the 69th minute when Laborda headed in a corner kick from Sebastian Berhalter.
Berhalter had a chance from a set piece on the edge of the 18-yard box in the first minute of stoppage time, but it was a comfortable save for Frei.
The Sounders had two golden opportunities in the second minute of stoppage time when Georgi Minoungou had a shot from close range that Ralph Priso cleared off the line. Cristian Roldan then had a one-timed half-volley on the rebound that Takaoka deflected out for a corner.
Frei denied Berhalter yet again in the seventh minute of stoppage time as he dove to his left to push aside an effort that looked destined for the far corner.
The Sounders finish the match fifth in the West with 45 points from 30 matches (12-9-9). Seattle returns to Lumen Field next Saturday for a home date with fellow Cascadia rival the Portland Timbers (7:30 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV | TICKETS) in a pivotal matchup for Western Conference positioning.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
MLS Cup Playoffs ticket punched
The Sounders secured their berth in the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs during the match on Saturday night after results from other matches around the league went their way. The Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo each failed to win on Saturday, which sent Seattle to its 16th postseason appearance in 17 MLS seasons.
Early injuries
With the playoffs looming, things took an ominous turn for the Sounders early in the first half when half of their four-man back line was forced out due to injury. Head Coach Brian Schmetzer will hope the extents of Roldan and Yeimar’s injuries won’t keep them sidelined too long.
70/70 Club
With a goal and an assist on Saturday, Rusnák became just the second active player and 13th overall to record 70 goals and 70 assists in his MLS career. He has 29 goals and 31 assists since joining Seattle in 2022.
