Three goals, three points: Sounders smash Nashville SC

SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders played their first home game in over a month as they welcomed Nashville SC to Lumen Field on Saturday evening. Thanks to first half goals from Danny Musovski, Pedro de la Vega and Paul Rothrock the Sounders made it a 3-0 win, making that two consecutive wins and clean sheets.

Nashville came out of the gates hot as they controlled most of the action during the opening 15 minutes, but frustration seemed to lead to indiscipline for the visitors as their control failed to produce even a single shot. After the first 15 minutes the Sounders started to find their footing, and – although it took a trip to the monitor for referee Ricardo Fierro to confirm it following an initial offside decision – Danny Musovski gave Seattle the lead in the 19th minute. Purposeful possession from the Sounders lead to a cross from Paul Rothrock in to Jesus Ferreira. Ferreira hit a first-time shot that looked likely to be saved, Musovski swooped in to put the ball away with a little flick. The AR raised the offside flag, but replays showed that Andy Najar had clearly kept Musovski onside and the goal ultimately counted.

With the scent of goals in the air the Sounders kept pushing for more as Nashville left themselves open looking for a breakthrough of their own. Cristian Roldan had a pair of good looks from outside the area in the 23rd and 24th minute, then in the 30th minute Pedro de la Vega hammered home an Angry Goal that left waves of catharsis rippling through the net and out of the stadium. Roldan won the ball in Nashville’s defensive end and played a penetrating pass for Obed Vargas to run onto; Vargas took the ball to the end line and cut it back towards the penalty area where de la Vega was first to run onto it and put all his pent up emotions from the last year and change to notch his first home goal in MLS play and make it 2-0 for the Sounders.

It would only stay 2-0 for a few minutes, though. In the 34th minute de la Vega found Ferreira running into the area and Ferreira in turn picked out Rothrock on the left. Rothrock took a touch inside the area and then wrapped a shot around Joe Willis and into the back of the net to round out the scoring. Sam Surridge had a pair of dangerous looks in the final minutes of the half, but Stefan Frei came up with the necessary save on both accounts to preserve the shutout going into halftime.

Seattle kept pushing to add to their tally, but despite Jordan Morris, Albert Rusnak and debutant Ryan Kent Rusnák into the attack as second half subs they couldn’t find a fourth goal. The best chances of the second half involved those subs, as Kent nearly played Ferreira in with a slick little interchange and Morris had a pair of looks that forced Willis into quality saves. Alex Roldan also entered the game as a second half sub, marking significant strides on the health front for Seattle.

The Sounders will next head out on the road to face the Colorado Rapids on April 26.

Key moments

8 - Block! Vargas and Nouhou chase down Mukhtar and Vargas ends up blocking a pass, keeping it from going out and wins a goal kick.

19 - GOAL! Danny Musovski with goals in back-to-back weeks! Ferreira puts in a shot that Musovski slides in to put away! Initially ruled offside, the goal is awarded after review. 1-0 Sounders

23 - Shot! Cristian Roldan runs up on a loose ball and smashes a low shot from outside of the box that Joe Willis has to dive to keep out.

24 - Shot! Musovski runs at goal with the ball and a pair of defenders for company before cutting it back for de la Vega whose shot is blocked. Roldan picks up the loose ball and has another shot from distance that goes just over the bar.

30 - GOAL! De la Vega makes it two with authority! Roldan wins the ball and finds Vargas who takes it to the end line and cuts it back toward the penalty spot where de la Vega hammers it home! 2-0 Sounders

33 - Save! Najar finds Qasem with a great cross and Qasem gets a good header that Frei does well to dive and catch at the near post.

34 - GOAL! Ferreira receives a ball in the box from de la Vega, takes a second and finds Rothrock on the opposite side of the area with a pass. Rothrock takes a touch and beats Willis with a right-footed shot! 3-0 Sounders

45 - Save! Surridge gets on the end of a free kick and puts in a threatening header from close range, but Frei is able to close the window and save the shot.

45+4 - Save! Surridge again, this time running at goal with the ball at his feet, but Frei gets low again to deny a dangerous look at goal.

HT - Subs. Nashville make a triple-change as Gaston Brugman, Alex Muyl and Ahmed Qasem are replaced by Josh Bauer, Jacob Shaffelburg and Edvard Tagseth.

50 - Shot! Ferreira sends in a free kick that is headed back towards the penalty spot and Kim Kee-Hee lines up a side-footed volley that’s blocked out for a corner.

62 - Subs. Danny Musovski and Pedro de la Vega make way for Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnák.

65 - Corner! Rusnák plays Rothrock down the left and Rothrock sends in a cross for Morris on the doorstep, but it’s blocked out for a corner.

81 - Sub. Another change for Nashville as Jeisson Palacios goes off and Christopher Applewhite comes on.

83 - Save! Mukhtar tries his luck from outs the area, but Frei calmly catches the shot.

84 - Sub. Ryan Kent makes his Sounders debut, replacing Paul Rothrock.

85 - Shot! Morris has Ryan Kent open to his left, but opts for a shot of his own that’s saved and sent out for a throw-in.

86 - Sub. Nashville make their final sub, swapping Jonathan Perez for Sam Surridge.

92 - Close! Ferreira and Kent play a little give-and-go and Kent slides a ball through the defense for Ferreira, but he just can’t get on the end of it as Willis comes out to collect.

95 - Chance! Morris gets played in on goal by Nouhou and puts his shot on goal, but Willis is just able to push it wide for the final act of the game.

Quick thoughts

Putting on a show for the home fans: During the Sounders’ 17 regular season home games in 2024 the team only managed to score a total of 25 goals. That’s a thin hair shy of 1.5 goals per game. In four home games so far the Sounders have scored 2+ goals in three of those games with 10 goals in total, highlighted by today’s three-goal outpouring. With the team rounding into form, getting players healthy and integrating Ryan Kent, there’s plenty of reason to hope that this kind of production can be kept up. This win could have pretty easily been an even bigger scoreline with slightly different finishing or decision-making, and those things will come with time. For now we’ll just enjoy today’s performance, though.

Jesús comes to life: Jesús Ferreira has had his mark on a few goals this season, but had only provided one assist in league play going into this game. He had two assists tonight, providing crucial contributions on the opening goal and the third, and nearly had a chance for a goal of his own at the end of the game but couldn’t quite get on the end of a Ryan Kent pass before Joe Willis collected it. He’s still waiting on his first official goal in Rave Green, but Ferreira is starting to really find his footing with the Sounders and the players around him are reaping the rewards. He’s found a better fit with greater freedom when he doesn’t have to lead the line, but instead has guys like Morris or Musovski operating as a fixed point that he can work around.

Getting more from the midfield: The double-pivot is a crucial part of how the Sounders play. Pedro de la Vega in his post-game availability suggested that when those players play well, the team plays well, and vice-versa. The role and responsibility is huge, as they’re key parts of how the Sounders defend as well as possessing the ball, and are also expected to contribute more in attack than they have in recent seasons. That attacking contribution is starting to come through, as Obed Vargas provided the assist on Seattle’s second goal with a great run and pass, and Cristian Roldan provided defensive contributions that directly resulted in Seattle goals. Roldan has also come close on shots from range multiple times in the last two games as the Sounders look to add genuine threats from outside the box to the team’s toolbox. It’s no surprise that as the performances in midfield have improved in recent weeks, so too have the team’s results.

Notable quote

Brian Schmetzer – “I want our players at home ... to drive the tempo ... doing everything we can to win games, of course because that’s our job ... that’s what we want to do: entertain the fans."

Player spotlight

Pedro de la Vega – Score your first open play goal AND your first home goal in league play, you’re getting the spotlight. You could feel the emotion in his goal from Olympia as he absolutely kicked the shit out of that ball.