> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Sounders Hush Leagues Cup Questions, Crush Cruz Azul 7-0 in Opener - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-sounders-crush-cruz-azul-7-0-in-opener/ - Published: 2025-08-01T08:38:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:19:00.000Z - Author: Qasim Ali - Tags: News, Sounders, Jesus Ferreira, Nouhou, Pedro de la Vega, Yeimar, Osaze De Rosario, Obed Vargas \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2048"\] ![ Jesus Ferreira (9) throws a heart sign to the crowed while Nouhou (5) runs behind him during a Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul on July 31, 2025 at Lumen Field. (Maddy Grassy / Sounders FC Communications) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/54692453668_c8f5459353_k-format-original.jpg) Jesus Ferreira (9) throws a heart sign to the crowed while Nouhou (5) runs behind him during a Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul on July 31, 2025 at Lumen Field. (Maddy Grassy / Sounders FC Communications) \[/caption\] SEATTLE, Wash. - The Seattle Sounders handled business in their first Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul on Thursday night, demolishing the Liga MX side 7-0 at home. Yes, you’re reading that right. 7-0. All of Seattle's goals came in the second half, six of which came from different players. Pedro de la Vega's late brace made him the only multi-goal scorer of the match. The win comes as questions of fatigue and competitiveness in the non-MLS matchups followed the Sounders around as Seattle had lost its CONCACAF matchup with Cruz Azul in the spring. Head coach Brian Schmetzer couldn't help but emphasize what a victory in this moment meant for his squad. "It was such a tremendous win for the club. In this club's history, it ranks right up there with all the big wins we've ever had," Schmetzer said after the match, acknowledging it wasn't as sweet as a trophy-clinching win. "After the Club World Cup, we told the group, we said, 'Hey, you guys have set a standard here.'" With two more Leagues Cup games to play and the rest of the MLS struggling a bit so far, Seattle is in position early to be one of four teams to advance in the 36-team tournament. ### Missed Opportunities Early The Sounders had plenty of opportunities in the early going to get on the board. A lobbed pass for Danny Musovski found his front foot in the eighth minute, but he was called offside before he could make anything of the chance. Cristian Roldan weaved through the Cruz Azul backline a minute later to deliver a shot to the bottom right that went wide right as the Sounders got out to 72 percent possession in the first 12 minutes of the game. By the end of the first half, Seattle had a 65 percent possession rate, but Cruz Azul had limited meaningful opportunities for the Rave Green. ### Cruz Azul Responds The 2025 CONCACAF champs took exception to the Sounders’ hot start. Cruz Azul worked to outshoot Seattle 4-3 by the 37th minute, as Seattle's high possession rate didn't result in as many real chances. Cruz Azul hit the post in the 19th minute and missed a promising header in the 29th as Seattle's possession advantage began to wane. The competition swelled into animosity in the 32nd minute when Cruz Azul's Willer Ditta and Seattle's Danny Musovski went head to head in a shouting match after Musovski was tackled in the box with no call. The scene resulted in yellows for both players ### The Sounders Go Unconscious It's obvious that things took a turn in the second half, but a mixture of factors pushed the Sounders to their explosion of scoring. One was Cruz Azul's tardiness. The Mexican side was a few minutes late to exit the tunnel before the second half, leaving Seattle waiting on the field. Sounders All-Star Obed Vargas' team took exception to that moment. "A little bit of mind games there. Maybe they were trying to make us feel desperate. Maybe they were trying to make us feel (like we were playing) away," Vargas said. "It fueled us, it sparked us at the end of the day." Indeed, this game was split into everything that happened in the first 48 minutes and the last 42. In the 48th, Yeimar Gómez scored on a rare set-piece goal, heading in a corner from Albert Rusnak. Two minutes later, Vargas got on the board by deflecting a shot by hitting a defender to clear Cruz Azul's keeper. Eight minutes later, Jesús Ferreira made up for an offside call by scoring off a deflection from another Rusnak corner to continue the flurry of goals. That onslaught to make it 3-0 in just about 10 minutes wasn't planned, and how could it be? But Schmetzer was glad to see the opportunities flow in the second half. After all, the Sounders had struggled to translate possession to chances in the first half. Schmetzer made a few tactical changes going into the final 45, including putting Nouhou in a "support" role while pushing Ryan Kent into an "advanced position." In the end, it was about making the most of opportunities. "I didn't change much at halftime, we talked about reinforcing the things we were already doing well in the first half," Schmetzer said. From there, Osaze De Rosario scored his second MLS goal and second goal in as many weeks on an assist from Ryan Kent after subbing on minutes prior. With that score, the body language on Cruz Azul was noticeably worse. That deflation may have been to blame for what was to come. With a 4-0 lead in the 71st minute, Pedro De la Vega entered the game on the left wing. The Argentine scored his third goal in three weeks, seven minutes into his stint on the field, to push it to a biblical 5-0 lead. As fans started to wrap their hands around an all-time win, Nouhou even joined the party with a tap-in goal following a wonderfully saved free kick. With a 6-0 lead on the board in the 91st, Alex Roldan had the gall to launch a perfect cross to de la Vega on the left side of the box. The forward didn't even let the ball bounce, redirecting a volley into a perfect shot to the right side of the net for one of the prettier goals you'll see. "That was an unbelievably technically challenging finish, and he made it look easy," Schmetzer said, putting it up there with some of the best goals he’s seen. De la Vega knew his role would be to just maintain possession and nurse the lead, but the Argentine was calling for the ball on the wing before he scored. "When it's 4-0, your mentality is no longer to keep chasing more goals, but to keep the ball. Still, the situations kept building up … so I'm happy that the situations and opportunities kept happening," de la Vega said through an interpreter. The overwhelming sentiment postgame was how together this team feels. De la Vega was dogpiled by his teammates after his incredible final goal and said a highlight of the game was celebrating his teammates scoring. “(The players) are driving us. That group in there is completely together, motivated - they know they’re a good team,” Schmetzer said. “If you guys can’t see it, then there’s something wrong.” ### The Aftermath Who knows if fans left Lumen Field knowing they had just seen the largest win in Leagues Cup history. All that matters is that the Sounders, with their +7 differential, are on top of the Leagues Cup standings. With that differential heading into Sunday night's clash with Santos Laguna, Seattle is poised to make an extended run in this tournament. New signee Snyder Brunell played the final 10 minutes of the contest, making his debut for the club as Schmetzer hinted at the potential of starting the Tacoma product on Sunday. For Thursday night, however, Schmetzer earned himself a respite from criticism. At least in his eyes. “I don’t think there’s one person in this room that can write anything negative about this result. I don’t think there is,” Schmetzer said in the postgame presser. He’s not wrong.