It may have taken a little longer than anticipated, but Jordan Morris has opened his 2026 goalscoring account.
The Sounders’ all-time leading goalscorer exited the season-opener in February with a quad injury and missed a month of action before slowly returning to the lineup. In Saturday’s 2-1 home win over FC Dallas, Morris came up huge, assisting Jesús Ferreira on the game’s opening goal before netting the eventual match-winner on a perfectly executed through ball that he deposited into the far corner.
Morris’ goal coincidentally came with him slotting on the right wing instead of up top as a true No. 9, where Danny Musovski got the start.
“As I’ve gone on in my career, and honestly especially this past year with just being out so much, in and out of the team, I just want to play,” said Morris. “I just want to be back on the field helping the team however I can. I’ve told [Head Coach Brian] Schmetzer that wherever he thinks I can be the most dangerous, I really just want to be on the field helping my team win games.”
Morris was as influential as ever against Dallas, wreaking havoc in behind and stretching the back line to create space in the box for guys like Ferreira, Musovski and Paul Rothrock. Morris was a MLS Best XI selection as an out-and-out winger in 2020 and stepped up on Saturday with the team missing key pieces in Pedro de la Vega and Paul Arriola.
“Goals matter, assists matter,” said Schmetzer. “I can never fault Jordan for his effort. He always puts it in. He’s a team guy. It was a good night for him.”
Saturday was Morris’ first start since Feb. 22 against the Colorado Rapids, and he’s working his way back to 90-minute fitness as well as being more clinical in the final third. Both he and the Sounders know they could have seen the game out much easier had they grabbed an insurance goal in the second half.
“Getting that third goal would have put the game away,” said Morris. “And obviously we didn’t get that. We had a couple chances, but I think finding that killer instinct to be a team that puts the game away earlier, it’s something we have to keep working on.”
Following a three-match homestand in which the Sounders went a perfect 3-0-0 and outscored their opponents 9-3, Seattle will head to the Midwest next Saturday for a matinee showdown at Sporting Kansas City (11:30 a.m. PT; FOX, Apple TV) before three more matches inside the friendly confines of Lumen Field. Seattle is in fourth place in a loaded Western Conference and held serve on Saturday as San Jose, Vancouver and LAFC all won as well.
“Last year, we gave a couple games like this away,” said Schmetzer. “The guys did what they needed to do to secure the three points. I’m very proud of them.”
