When Liga MX’s Pumas UNAM visits the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field on Monday (7:30 p.m. PT; MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, FS1, UniMás, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS), they’ll be looking for more than just a place in the 2024 Leagues Cup quarterfinal. Pumas will be out for la revancha. Revenge.
A little more than two years ago, the Sounders defeated Pumas in a two-leg final in the Concacaf Champions League to become the first MLS side to win the title in its modern era. Seattle went to Mexico City in the first leg and came from behind for a 2-2 draw before posting an unforgettable 3-0 result at home in the return leg to be named the region’s best.
“I think they’ll have an edge to them, and they’ll want revenge for Champions League,” said Sounders center back Jackson Ragen. “They’ll come out very fast, so we have to be ready for that and outmatch them.”
Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer also appealed for a huge crowd on Monday, given the scope of the matchup and quality of the opposition.
“If I were a fan, I’d buy my tickets,” Schmetzer said. “I think it’s going to be great. There’s very recent history, Pumas is a good team. I’m looking forward to it.”
Pumas have come out to a flying start in the Liga MX Apertura, taking 10 points from four matches and scoring nine goals. They had a hiccup against 10-man Austin FC in the opening Leagues Cup group stage match before ousting fellow Liga MX club Monterrey in penalties. They enter Seattle on Monday on the heels of taking down a fellow Pacific Northwest side in the Vancouver Whitecaps, who they defeated 2-0 in the Round of 32.
“The team we played a few years ago in Champions League is not the team now,” said Sounders right back Alex Roldan. “But we know that they still have a bad taste in their mouth after coming here and losing Champions League.”
The Sounders are fresh off a resounding performance themselves, one in which they scored three first-half goals to cruise to a 3-1 win over the Western Conference-leading LA Galaxy. Seattle now is hoping it can ride some of that momentum and reach the tournament’s quarterfinal.
“We wanted to make a statement,” Ragen said of the win over LA. “We were playing one of the better teams in the league in a knockout match. We came into it knowing that if we got a good result, it would show that we can really do some damage in this tournament and maybe win it.”
The Sounders know it’s not an easy task. Still alive in the tournament are defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew SC, as well as Mexican gigantes Club América, Cruz Azul and Tigres.
But playing at home, Seattle is eager to replicate its result from two years ago and quash any hopes of Pumas payback.
“We want to be the aggressors,” said Roldan. “We want to come out and show everybody that we’re willing to dig deep.
“We’re going to prepare for a tough game, and if we put in a performance where we’re all together, I think we’ll do well.”
