Sounders celebrate 50th anniversary with 2-0 shutout of Minnesota United

In their eight years of existence as a MLS franchise, Minnesota United has never won a game in Seattle — in fact, they’ve never even grabbed a point inside Lumen Field.

For all of the struggles that the Sounders have endured this season, that’s still the truth. Faced with mounting concerns over their form, Seattle summoned a two-goal display. The renewed vigor in front of goal, paired with a first shutout in ten all-competition games, brought them a second home victory of the season on the night of their 50th anniversary celebration.

Elisabeth Adams / FUTWRK

The match was barely underway, though, when Alex Roldan was part of a collision with Loons defender Devin Padelford on the Sounders’ right wing. The Seattle right back, who has 14 starts for the club this season, exited just under a minute in. He was replaced by Paul Rothrock, who sat on the right wing whilst Cristian Roldan slid into defense.

Seattle would struggle without Roldan able to tuck inside the midfield. Instead, they would bypass João Paulo and Obed Vargas and choose balls into Léo Chú or Jordan Morris. The connection there wasn’t evident, either. Both Nouhou and Albert Rusnák seemed to be on a different page from Chú, and multiple times he would make a run that ended with outstretched arms and the ball across the pitch.

But there is always the great equalizer: set pieces.

After Seattle won a free kick on the right wing, Rusnák summoned a strong delivery that landed on Morris’ head. The Mercer Island native nodded towards the side netting, and the Sounders were ahead. It was their first shot on target of the game, nearly half an hour into the match.

Earving Marquez / Area Sports Network

“They're a good team,” he said, “and they play an interesting style — really compact — so for us to get a goal early on, I think it helped open up the game a little bit.”

Morris has scored four in the last five matches, and while his creative potential was on show in this one, it was his reborn finishing ability that Seattle has lacked. His strike partner, Ruidíaz, has rarely been in form at the same time. Without a goal since the Sounders’ 2-1 win in Portland on May 12, the Peruvian was left on the bench on Saturday.

“The decision not to play Raúl was an interesting one,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “Against three big center backs, I just thought Jordan was the right fit.”

2024, though, has been defined by the Sounders’ inability to defend one-goal leads. After an opener, they rarely opt to keep their foot on the gas, instead shrinking into a shell. Minnesota welcomed attacks in front of its back line of five, but the danger wouldn’t return until the final five minutes of the half, when Seattle managed two shots.

Neither found the net, but it’s that pressure that kept the Loons away from Seattle’s net. Minnesota didn’t offer a shot after Morris put the Sounders ahead in the 28th minute. It’s pressure that opened the second half, too, when Morris dashed down the right wing on the kickoff, and handed Rothrock a golden, 0.51xG opportunity that could only slide wide of Irwin’s left-hand post.

He’d make good on his mistake within 12 minutes.

Chú, who had shifted to the right wing with Rothrock’s early substitution, created a moment of magic with Obed Vargas. The two evaded pursuing Loons until Chú could play a neat ball across the box. This time, Rothrock made no mistake. The midfielder slotted it in from just a few feet out, and Seattle never looked back.

“Paul, ever since he's been at this club has been hard working. Honest. Great guy in the locker room [and] smart,” Schmetzer said. " Is he the best player on our squad? No. But tonight he was the most important and he did that because his training the last couple of weeks has been way up here. He's been the best guy in training, attitude, work rate, times weren't going well. And he was sniffing for an opportunity because he understood the team wasn't playing well.”

Elisabeth Adams / FUTWRK

The goal, his first of the MLS season after scoring against Louisville City FC in the US Open Cup, was cathartic.

“I got that first chance in the second half with Jordan,” he said, “he played a great ball across and I didn’t quite get on the end of it, and I was just thinking to myself, ‘If it comes again, I'm putting that in the back of the net’.”

The chances kept flowing, and Seattle probably should’ve had a third. It didn’t matter. The win is their first shutout since holding LA Galaxy scoreless on May 5, and just their second home win of the year after beating CF Montréal on April 6.

“When you close out the game with 59% possession and some of the ability to just take the sting out of the game, having possession in their half of the field,” Schmetzer said, “I think that was the best that we've closed [a game] out.”

Morris and the Sounders move on to face the Dynamo for the first time this season in Houston on Wednesday before returning home for a rematch with FC Dallas. The Texas pair sit seventh and 12th, respectively, in the Western Conference, but Seattle was held to a 0-0 draw in Dallas earlier this year, and Houston are just two points above Seattle in the Western Conference standings. With the win on Saturday, the Sounders are back above the playoff line, but it’s likely the stretch of home games in the next month that could keep them there.

Feature photo by Earving Marquez / Area Sports Network