Wet, wild and let down: Sounders settle for tie

SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders opened their MLS season with a 2-2 home draw against Charlotte FC. Seattle twice took the lead, and twice they gave up an equalizer. Jordan Morris scored both of the Sounders’ goals – first in the 19th minute and making it a brace in the 49th – bringing him level with Raúl Ruidíaz for the club’s top scorer in all competitions with 86 goals.

The first half started well for the Sounders. Albert Rusnák sent in a nice free kick in the 7th minute that reached Jackson Ragen at the back post and bounced around a little before Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina was able to gather it. 12 minutes later Seattle opened the scoring. Obed Vargas swung the ball out to Georgi Minoungou on the right wing and he whipped in a cross to the near post where Jordan Morris was able to swing it home and take a lead in the 19th minute.

Charlotte found their answer in the 35th minute on a corner kick. Pep Biel sent in a hard-hit corner and Adilson Malanda powered through the box to put a bullet header into the back of the net, tying the game 1-1. Alex Roldan had the best look of the rest of the half, pulling up to shoot from distance that Kahlina had to push away with a diving save in the 43rd minute. Then in the 5th minute of stoppage time Paul Rothrock put in a great defensive effort to stop a potentially dangerous attack, and won a goal kick to help reach halftime even.

Morris popped up with a goal again four minutes after the second half kicked off, this time getting on the end of a great pass from Rusnák that split three defenders. Morris timed his run perfectly as he beat the back line before getting a shot off from just inside the box that Kahlina was able to get a touch on but it wasn’t enough to keep the ball out as it bounced into the back of the net, giving the Sounders a 2-1 lead in the 49th minute.

Charlotte applied some pressure, but Seattle seemed to be firmly in control throughout regulation time. Unfortunately, despite a handful of substitutions, that control produced some dangerous moments but no additional goals and instead seemed to lead to a slight loss of concentration. That apparent lapse turned into a Charlotte equalizer in the 2nd minute of stoppage time. Some Sounders players seemed to be upset that a throw-in was called in Charlotte’s favor, but that throw resulted in some passing around the back and eventually a long ball from Kahlina that Jackson Ragen allowed to bounce before trying to head it to Cristian Roldan. Instead of finding a teammate the ball bounced off of Idan Gurno and fell back to Ragen, at which point he tried to play the ball back to Frei but whiffed and Gurno was off down the side line. Ragen gave chase but couldn’t prevent a cross, which Yeimar attempted to cut out and instead he put it past Frei and into the back of the net.

The Sounders tried to find a third goal, but as the minutes wound down they were unable to get the winner they were looking for. The team had to settle for a draw as they quickly turn their attention to the home leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup tie with Antigua GFC on Wednesday night.

Key moments

7 - Free kick! Albert Rusnák sends in a cross from a free kick earned by Obed Vargas that finds Jackson Ragen at the back post, but Kristijan Kahlina collects.

19 - GOAL! Georgi Minoungou whips in a cross from the right side and Jordan Morris provides the finish to take a lead! 1-0 Sounders

35 - Goal, Charlotte. Pep Biel sends in a corner kick and Adilson Malanda runs right through to put a head on it and smash home the equalizer. 1-1

43 - Shot! Alex Roldan takes a rip from downtown that forces Kahlina into a diving save to push away from danger.

45+5 - Tackle! Paul Rothrock makes a fantastic recovery run to put in a challenge on Kerwin Vargas, winning the ball with a tackle and earning a goal kick.

49 - GOAL! Jordan Morris makes it two! Albert Rusnák hits a through ball for Morris who makes a perfectly timed run and takes his shot from the top of the box that Kahlina gets a touch to, but can’t keep it out. 2-1 Sounders

51 - Miss! Charlotte get a quick chance to find a response, but Kerwin Vargas’ shot from the top of the box doesn’t trouble Stef Frei.

61 - Skills! Minoungou lines up at the edge of the box before dribbling through a crowd of defenders and hitting a shot that gets blocked and cleared.

67 - Shot! A clever flick from Morris plays Rusnák into space on the left; Rusnák drives into the box and cuts centrally before taking a shot that Kahlina catches.

90 + 2 - Goal, Charlotte. Jackson Ragen gives the ball away in Seattle’s end and chases the player but can’t prevent the ball into the box, which Yeimar kicks into the goal as he tries to clear. 2-2

Quick thoughts

Deserved DP contracts: Much has been made over the last few weeks and months about how deserving Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnák were of Designated Player deals. Morris was the clear standout on the night with his brace, coming off of a pair of well-taken goals, but he and Rusnák both made very strong cases in support of their compensation packages. Morris now sits tied with Ruidíaz atop the Sounders all-competitions scoring chart with 86 career goals, and could conceivably clear 100 all-comps goals this season. Rusnák provided the assist with a piece of brilliance for Morris’s second goal, but his outing was much more than that one moment. He created five chances on the night, went 40/43 passing, won both of his duels and took vive shots while never being dispossessed. His numbers may have been somewhat inflated last season, but he’s clearly still a fantastic player for the Sounders.

Frustrating flashbacks: If you’re having a little bit of a flashback to the painful start to last season, you’re not alone. Dropped points as a result of otherwise uncharacteristic individual errors were a hallmark of the first 10 games or so of 2024, and Jackson Ragen’s series of mistakes along with Yeimar’s final touch on the equalizing own-goal could easily live alongside the more frustrating moments from last year. As Brian Schmetzer emphasized during his press conference, those two players were among the best centerbacks in the league last year, and a couple of mistakes won’t change that. Still, it’s an incredibly frustrating moment and a frustrating way to drop points in a game that seemed to be firmly in hand. They have a chance to bounce back in just a few days, but the road doesn’t exactly get easier from there, so the team will need to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from this and then leave it in the past so quickly.

Jolting Georgi Minoungou: Having only played 79 minutes in MLS so far, Georgi Minoungou has already tied his assist output from last season. With his assist in CCC play he’s tied his all-competitions assists for the Sounders from 2024 in the space of a week. It’s a particularly limited sample size, but watching him play it’s clear to see that Minoungou has taken a step forward from where he was at the end of last year. He’s more decisive and cleaner with his movement, his passing and crosses in the final third are consistently reaching more dangerous spots, and he’s giving opposing defenders fits. Lined up against USMNT and Premier League veteran Tim Ream, Minoungou was regularly able to beat his man and get into the box. It’s possible that it’s just a flash in the pan, but it seems more likely that the league had better get ready to learn Georgi.

Notable quote

Brian Schmetzer on the result: “Well, two points dropped, it’s a loss ... it’s sloppy play by the top two centerbacks in the league... individual mistakes happen, they’ve won us a lot of games, but they could have done better in that moment."

Player spotlight

Jordan Morris – An obvious choice isn’t necessarily a wrong choice. Morris had two goals on three shots, clinically taking advantage of the few opportunities he had to go along with continuing to put in the selfless work that opens up space for his teammates.