FULLTIME: Albert Rusnák had the game-winning goal and added an assist as the Sounders beat Minnesota United 3-2 on Saturday. Jordan Morris and Jackson Ragen also scored goals as the Sounders at least temporarily moved into fifth in the Western Conference.

MINNESOTA 2, SOUNDERS 3: Albert Rusnák scores from about 24 yards out, faking out one defender and then firing a shot that beats the goalkeeper to the near post.

Albert Rusnak with a wonderful strike to give @SoundersFC the lead again!

We have a back and forth battle in Minnesota. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pmOB3B1e1e
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 25, 2024

MINNESOTA 2, SOUNDERS 2: Kelvin Yeboah gets behind the defense and chips Stefan Frei.

MINNESOTA 1, SOUNDERS 2: Jackson Ragen got his third goal of the season, heading in a perfect cross from Albert Rusnák.

WHAT A HEADER JACKSON RAGEN! 😱

The center back climbs the ladder to reclaim the lead for @SoundersFC pic.twitter.com/0Zmacsmqbw
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 24, 2024

MINNESOTA 1, SOUNDERS 1: Kelvin Yeboah converted a penalty after drawing the foul on Yeimar Gomez Andrade.

MINNESOTA 0, SOUNDERS 1: Jordan Morris puts away a 1v1 chance after Obed Vargas plays him in.

Who else but Jordan Morris?!@SoundersFC main man gives them the lead. 🔥

📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/kgEzEyhiHS pic.twitter.com/SEvOGAYO1c
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 24, 2024

LINEUPS: The Sounders are rolling out the same starting lineup for a second straight game and are using the same 10 field players as they did in their previous three games.

The Seattle Sounders will return to league play today with a road game against Minnesota United. This is the second time in about a month and the third time this year the Sounders and Loons have faced off. The Sounders won each of the previous meetings 2-0, although those games were played in Seattle.

The Sounders have historically dominated this rivalry, although not quite as thoroughly in Minnesota. The Sounders have gone 2-1-2 in their previous five visits to Allianz Field. They also won their only meeting at what is now known as Huntington Stadium.

Minnesota comes into this game having not played a competitive match in more than three weeks, after getting bounced from Leagues Cup in the group stage, where they went 1-1-0. They’ve been in a bit of a free-fall in league play, going nine straight without a win at one point. That slide ended when they beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 in their final match before the Leagues Cup break.

The Sounders, meanwhile, have been among the hottest teams in the league over roughly the same stretch. They advanced to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals and before that had gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 MLS matches.

Notes

Jordan Morris and Paul Rothrock each had a goal and an assist in both of the matches against Minnesota earlier this year.
With his next goal, Morris will pass Fredy Montero on the Sounders’ all-time scoring list. He currently has 79 goals across all competitions. Raúl Ruidíaz leads the Sounders with 86 all-time goals.
Stefan Frei will likely become the sixth player in MLS history to register 400 career starts today. He’s also just one shutout away from moving into second on the all-time list for MLS shutouts. He has 112.
The Sounders have only allowed eight goals to Minnesota in 14 all-time meetings. That’s tied for the fewest goals any team has allowed an opponent in their first 14 meetings. No team has allowed fewer than nine goals in their first 15 meetings.