7/19/2025
By Adam Race
The Seattle Sounders have made a habit of playing palpitation-inducing soccer over the last few weeks. Saturday’s 3-2 home win over San Jose, which included 39 total shots, brought no end to a streak of high-scoring nail-biters for Seattle.
A tame match was always going to be a tall task facing off against a San Jose team that has scored the second most goals in MLS while conceding the fourth most. Seattle has now seen a combined 16 goals scored over their last three games.
Seattle would suffer an early blow when a collision between Jordan Morris and San Jose goalkeeper Daniel forced Morris out of the game, replaced by Danny Musovski. Head Coach Brian Schmetzer informed the press postgame that Morris had suffered an injury to the AC joint in his shoulder. He will undergo surgery on Tuesday.
The cracks in a highly rotated Sounders defense showed up as the match progressed, leading to the opener for the visitors. In the 26th minute, Jamar Ricketts beat Kalani Kossa-Rienze off the dribble and delivered a low cross to the near post, where Sounders center back Jon Bell allowed San Jose’s Preston Judd to drift inside and poke it past goalkeeper Andrew Thomas to make it 1-0.
The Sounders would react quickly through substitute Danny Musovski. In the 28th minute, pressure from the striker forced some errant distribution from Daniel, with Seattle quickly moving down the left to Albert Rusnak, who delivered a picture-perfect ball curled cross to Musovski, who headed home the immediate response, 1-1.
Despite a frenetic pace, the match wouldn’t see another goal until the 56th minute. That breakthrough came courtesy of some technical excellence from Pedro De La Vega, who received a ball over the top before driving towards goal and curling a trivela pass across the box to Musovski, who finished off his brace and gave the Sounders their first lead of the match.
San Jose would keep the pressure on, and would get their own equalizer in the 64th. A Cristian Espinoza free kick to the top of the six was headed on net by Preston Judd, initially being denied by Andrew Thomas, who pushed it against the woodwork but right into the path of Cristian Arango, who fired in the equalizer.
It was another piece of De La Vega brilliance that put Seattle back in front in the 69th minute. The Argentinian DP was given space at the top of the box for a shot, which he was able to bend inside the far post to make it 3-2. The Lumen Field crowd was treated to Pedro De La Vega as he was always meant to be: a creative talisman with the ability and freedom to manufacture goals.
Despite a couple of tense late moments, Andrew Thomas came up big, denying a pair of last-minute chances. Thomas tipped an errant deflection over the bar in extra time before denying a last-gasp from Paul Marie, who found himself on the end of a Cristian Arango whipped cross, directing on net only for Thomas to calmly save and hold the attempt, sealing the come-from-behind win.
“I’m very happy with the group, they responded very well,” said Schmetzer postgame. “It shows the character of the team to go down a goal and not panic.”
While the goals continued to fly in for Seattle, posting their third-straight three-goal performance, the Sounders have also now conceded seven over their last three. Over that stretch, Schmetzer has started eight different players on the back line.
Through this revolving door of defenders emerged a young outside-back pairing of Reed Baker-Whiting and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, who had the tall task of trying to neutralize a San Jose offense which came into Saturday averaging just shy of two goals per game.
The youthful fullbacks were tested often by San Jose, with mixed results. Head Coach Brian Schmetzer talked about the performance of Baker-Whiting and Kossa-Rienzi post game. “It was good. Good and bad… It’s all seasoning, they’ve got to get more games, more experience… Those are young players that are learning… The senior players have highs and lows, but they’re a little more smooth. Younger players have spikes, and they are trying to even those out.”
On the attacking end, De La Vega looked excellent in a rare left-sided start, putting in a man-of-the-match performance. “I feel comfortable on the left,” said De La Vega postgame. “I can adapt to what is needed from me, today I happened to be on the left and was able to play well.”
Danny Musovski bagged his first MLS brace in another efficient performance, bringing his season tally to eight. The king of right-place, right-time is averaging a goal every 40 touches this season, a rate only bested by Jordan Morris.
Seattle will face Atlanta United on the road Saturday before starting their 2025 Leagues Cup campaign with matches against Mexican sides Cruz Azul, Santos Laguna and Tijuana.
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