The Seattle Sounders defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-0 at Lumen Field on Sunday night to open the 2026 Major League Soccer season. Albert Rusnák and Paul Rothrock scored on either side of halftime to start the year off with three points.
The first half of the Sounders’ MLS season will likely be the longest of the year. The opening stanza went 61 minutes and featured multiple Video Reviews and injury substitutions.
Seattle was dealt an early blow when Jordan Morris went down with an injury just seven minutes into the match. Rothrock came on his place and in the 15th minute corralled an errant pass on the left flank before whipping in a dangerous cross to the six-yard box that Rusnák headed to the far post past Zack Steffen.
Seattle thought it doubled its lead just two minutes later when Hassani Dotson appeared to have opened his Sounders account by cleaning up a rebound on a shot from Alex Roldan, but the goal was disallowed after Video Review determined that Osaze De Rosario had committed a foul in the buildup.
Referee Malik Badawi issued a red card to the Rapids’ Noah Cobb in the 26th minute, but his offense was lowered to a yellow card after Video Review.
De Rosario unleashed a shot from the top of the box in the third minute of first-half stoppage time that forced Steffen into a dive before skipping just past the post.
Sounders starting goalkeeper Andrew Thomas made his first involvement in the ninth minute of stoppage time when Hamzat Ojediran hit a ho-hum shot from 20 yards out that didn’t trouble Thomas.
Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer was forced into his second injury substitution in the 14th minute of stoppage time when teenager Snyder Brunell came on to replace Dotson, who was forced out of the match with a head injury.
In the opening minute of the second half, Rothrock got to the left end line and clipped a ball to the middle of the box for Jesús Ferreira, whose header was right at Steffen.
Ferreira played provider two minutes later when he put in a perfectly weighted through ball across the box for Rusnák, but the Slovakian missed wide at the near post.
Seattle finally doubled its advantage in the 62nd minute when Ferreira was sprung loose down the right side after a turnover. He drove forward in transition before playing a ball to an onrushing Rothrock on the left side of the box, and the Seattle native made no mistake with a strong, left-footed strike that beat Steffen over his left shoulder.
Thomas made his first huge save of the match in the second minute of second-half stoppage time when he came out to cut off the angle at the near post and deny a shot from Alex Harris with his body.
The Sounders now embark on six consecutive matches away from Seattle, including a Concacaf Champions Cup home match in Spokane, while Lumen Field undergoes renovations ahead of the FIFA World Cup this summer. Seattle is back in action next Saturday in Utah against Real Salt Lake (4:30 p.m. PT; Apple TV).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Paulie Primetime
After coming on the seventh minute for Morris, Rothrock needed just eight minutes to get the Sounders on the scoreboard by tracking down a loose ball and firing a pinpoint cross to Rusnák in front of goal. Rothrock got on the score sheet himself in the second half to put an exclamation point on his performance and the Sounders’ victory.
Keeping a zero
The Sounders posted a well-earned clean sheet on Sunday after making a point in preseason to shore up some of their defensive efforts from last year. Thomas recorded a clean sheet with four saves, while Seattle kept 58% possession.
Arriola returns
For the first time since tearing his ACL last March in CCC play, Paul Arriola returned to the field for a three-minute cameo at the end of the match. The 31-year-old veteran is looking to have a major impact in his second season with the club.
