The Seattle Sounders claimed their first road win of the regular season in their meeting with FC Dallas. Danny Musovski’s 17th minute goal was the difference in a solid, if at times frustrating, road match.
Seattle started threatening the Dallas goal early with a 2nd minute shot from Pedro de la Vega getting the action going, but the break through ultimately came in the 17th minute when de la Vega cut inside and uncorked an effort from outside the area that Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes dove for but couldn’t reach. The shot came back out off the post, with Musovski there to make sure the effort didn’t go unrewarded as he simply put the ball away to make it 1-0 for the Sounders.
The Sounders continued to push for more while keeping their hosts from putting together much of a real threat. Obed Vargas and Cristian Roldan each nearly had golazos of their own on shots from distance in the 19th minute and 45+1st minute, and Musovski even looked like he’d scored a second goal on another rebound off of the post, but the play was ultimately blown dead for offside.
Unfortunately after an extended delay while players received treatment on both sides at the end of the first half, Seattle had to sub off both Jackson Ragen and de la Vega at halftime. Kim Kee-hee replaced Ragen as he made his debut in his return to the Sounders, while Danny Leyva came on for de la Vega.
Dallas had their best chances of the game in the second half, with a 69th minute free kick from the edge of the box curled just wide of the near post by Lucho Acosta and an Anderson Julio shot from near the penalty spot blocked out by Nouhou for a corner in the 90+1st minute, but they still struggled to generate much of a real threat. During the final 45 minutes of the game Seattle outshot FCD 9-3, with 7 of those coming from inside the box or on the edge of it.
The win marks Seattle’s first league road win of 2025, their second win of any kind of the season, and their second shutout. It also snaps a five-game winless streak across all competitions (four games in MLS), and hopefully provides something to build on as the team had to fight for every inch of this result. The Sounders return to action in one week when they host Nashville SC on Saturday, April 19.
Key moments
9 - Chance! A quickly taken throw from Cristian Roldan near the end line allows Rothrock to play a dangerous ball across the face of goal that just misses Musovski.
13 - Close! Ferreira plays in Kossa-Rienzi with a slip pass and his angled attempt just goes wide of the far post.
17 - GOAL! Musovski has the rebound after a fantastic shot from distance by de la Vega hits the post! 1-0 Sounders
Right place at the right time ✅ Danny Musovski gives us the early lead! 🫎
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) 2025-04-13T01:03:56.456Z
19 - Shot! Vargas nearly makes it 2-0 as he pulls up from outside the area, but his shot sails just beyond the top corner.
28 - Dribble! Rothrock picks up the ball in the defensive third before bobbing and weaving his way through Dallas’s midfield and finding de la Vega with a pass. De la Vega is smashed by two defenders to earn a free kick and draw a yellow card.
45+1 - Rip! Roldan hits a frozen rope from 25 yards out that is destined for the top corner, but Paes gets a hand to it and pushes it away for a corner.
Halftime - Subs. Jackson Ragen and Pedro de la Vega leave the game and are replaced by Kim Kee-hee and Danny Leyva.
69 - Bend. Kossa-Rienzi is called for a handball at the edge of the box and Lucho Acosta attempts to bend in the free kick, but his shot goes just outside the near post.
74 - Subs. Kossa-Rienzi and Musovski both leave the game and are replaced by Cody Baker and Reed Baker-Whiting.
84 - Shot! Slick play from Seattle as Rothrock, Baker-Whiting and Leyva work the ball down the field before Leyva finds Ferreira in the box who gets a shot off that’s easily saved.
86 - Corner! Leyva sends in a great corner that Baker-Whiting gets a clean header on, but the shot hits the post and is saved and cleared off the line.
88 - Sub. Rothrock is subbed out of the game, replaced by Georgi Minoungou.
91 - Block! Anderson Julio with a huge chance as the ball is cut inside, but Nouhou is in position to block the shot out for a corner.
Quick thoughts
Breakthroughs: Danny Musovski gets a lot of criticism, and some of it’s fair. He’s had lots of opportunities in front of goal during his time with the Sounders, but before tonight’s game he hadn’t turned any of them into goals in MLS play (Musovski had a goal in the U.S. Open Cup against Louisville City FC last season, and the consolation goal against Cruz Azul in Concacaf Champions Cup this season). Against Dallas tonight he finally got his first MLS goal as a Sounder and repeatedly got himself into the kinds of spots you want to see your striker. His movement and positioning not only resulted in his goal, but also allowed Jesus Ferreira in particular to focus more on the parts of the game and field where he is most dangerous. If this performance can be a step for Musovski towards the player he’s shown himself to be in stints with Real Salt Lake and LAFC, then Seattle could have a backup striker who not only helps get the most out of his teammates but is also more than capable of providing a second heat to back up Jordan Morris.
The injury gods giveth and taketh away: In a game that saw the return of Pedro de la Vega to the starting lineup— and Jordan Morris to the bench, although the team had decided he wouldn’t play yet — the Sounders were cruelly struck by yet another injury. It’s unclear how long Jackson Ragen will be out, as the severity of his right hamstring injury won’t be determined until the team is back in Seattle, but at least for the second half tonight and some unknown amount of the future the Sounders will be without a player who has been a locked-on starter for years now. The good news is that in his stead the Sounders are able to turn to Kim Kee-hee, fresh from a dominant stint playing in Korea. Hopefully Ragen isn’t seriously injured and is able to return quickly, but KKH is a pretty great player to be able to turn to for depth.
It doesn’t have to be pretty: This game wasn’t exactly aesthetically pleasing. It didn’t flow— thanks in no small part to the fact that the Dallas players seemed to have been constructed by some combination of the first two Little Pigs, easily knocked over with a huff and a puff— and the Sounders seemed pretty comfortable with that fact. They allowed Dallas to have the majority of the ball, but for all their possession they didn’t let the hosts do much with it. Despite controlling 57% of possession, FCD only managed 10 shots to Seattle’s 16. That’s obviously less important in the end than the 1-0 scoreline, but it speaks to the way the Sounders controlled the game both with and without the ball. As the game wore on, Seattle took even greater control, stringing together passes as they looked for a second goal while immediately switching over when they lost the ball and getting everyone back on defense. It was a tough, rugged team performance, and the kind of thing that can help galvanize the side to further results and eventually the beautiful football we want to see (hopefully).
Notable quote
Obed Vargas on the result: “This is huge for us, we needed a win ... but we knew maybe it didn’t have to be as beautiful as we wanted... Sometimes those are the best kind of win."
Player spotlight
Danny Musovski – Score the winning goal, get the spotlight. Musovski was only credited with one shot, but that shot went in the back of the net. He had another shot go in the back of the net that was called back for offside, but throughout the match he was right where his teammates needed him to be giving the defense something to think about.
