> ## 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 Equalize Late, Survive San Diego with Draw Despite Missed Chances - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-sounders-equalize-late-survive-san-diego-draw-missed-chances/ - Published: 2026-05-10T17:41:04.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:14:50.000Z - Author: Qasim Ali - Tags: News, Analysis, Sounders, Brian Schmetzer, Danny Musovski, Cristian Roldan, Jordan Morris, Jesus Ferreira, Andrew Thomas \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2047"\] ![ Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris fights for the ball during a game against San Diego FC on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Jane Gershovich / Sounders FC Communications) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/55260229559_eeac7a1762_k-format-original.jpg) Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris fights for the ball during a game against San Diego FC on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Jane Gershovich / Sounders FC Communications) \[/caption\] SEATTLE, Wash. - It's becoming a theme, and the Seattle Sounders don't seem thrilled with it. For the second straight game, the Sounders have taken a 1-1 draw in a game where they generated far more than one goal's worth of opportunities. Last time came at a struggling Sporting Kansas City squad, and this time was against a floundering San Diego FC squad (3-5-4, 11th in Western Conference), trying to pick up the pieces after a slow start. In all, Seattle (6-1-3, fourth in Western Conference) took 25 shots, just four on frame, and generated 3.6 expected goals. To create all of that, the Sounders forced eight corner kicks, crossed the ball into scoring chances 11 times, had seven of their shots blocked, and touched the ball 52 times in San Diego's box after doing the same over 40 times against KC. But after all those chances that ended in poor decisions or a lack of quality in bringing them to fruition, the Sounders finally broke through in the 80th. They had trailed nearly all night thanks to an 18th-minute goal from San Diego's Marcus Ingvartsen as Nouhou failed to mark the Danish national in a run-of-play goal. > Danny Musovski with the finish and [@SoundersFC](https://twitter.com/SoundersFC?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) equalize late 😤 [pic.twitter.com/aKvkfTqMbv](https://t.co/aKvkfTqMbv?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)— Major League Soccer (@MLS) [May 10, 2026](https://twitter.com/MLS/status/2053330443794108480?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) After multiple chances ended in a Seattle corner, though, Albert Rusnák found Cristian Roldan at the near post, who flicked the ball back to Danny Musovski through a sea of bodies in the box. Musovski did what he does best, tapping it in with precision just moments after hitting the crossbar on one of many frustrating opportunities on the night. Though Seattle remains fourth in MLS with 9-1-2 San Jose set to visit town on Wednesday, Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer has been less than thrilled with his team's last two draws. "It feels like the last two games we've, you know, dropped points," Schmetzer said, his team having stayed undefeated in its last 21 home matches dating back to last June. "That's why you have that funny feeling in your stomach of 'the job's not quite finished yet.'" ### A Supercut of the Disappointment In the first minute of the game, Jordan Morris, who moved back to the striker spot to allow for Jesús Ferreira to occupy his spot on the right wing with star Albert Rusnák healthy at the attacking midfielder spot, slipped through San Diego's ranks. But the typical jitters and unevenness of the opening of a game kicked in, as Ferreira's through ball to Morris was mishandled. In the third minute, Morris put pressure on 19-year-old keeper Duran Ferree (three saves) with a shot on target that had to be deflected. Not bad. In the eighth, Nouhou got on his horse from his left-back spot for Seattle and ran into the box with the ball in transition. As he started to look for the goal rolling right, he was tripped up from behind and lay on the ground as San Diego started to go the other way with it. No call. Nouhou stayed on the newly installed grass surface at Lumen Field for around 30 seconds as the local boos rained down on referee Armando Villareal. 10 minutes later, Nouhou made Seattle's only glaring defensive error of the game. San Diego worked the ball back and forth in Seattle's territory on Nouhou's side, as the Cameroonian defender stayed with Ingvartsen. But he was caught ball-watching when Onni Valakari delivered a slick through ball past him. Ingvartsen leveraged a strong strike past Seattle's star keeper in Andrew Thomas to make it 1-0. "Nouhou's gotta reconnect there," Schmetzer said postgame. "He can't let that pass go through." In the 22nd, San Diego almost doubled the advantage with a header from Amahl Pellegrino that forced Thomas to dive back to his right while rolling left, as the 27-year-old continues to earn his national acclaim in goal. In the 31st, Morris and Ferreira found their groove, as Ferreira put a solid through ball in for Morris down the middle of the field. Morris was decisive, launching a shot left past Ferree for a goal — only for the offside flag to come up as the veteran was just a foot or so past the backline. Five minutes later, Paul Rothrock skied a shot in close range as Seattle's press started to wear on San Diego. In the 42nd, Snyder Brunell, making another start alongside Cristian Roldan in the midfield, put a perfect cross in for Morris up top. But as was the case all night, Morris' header was off and wasn't goal-dangerous in the slightest. In the 56th, Ferreira’s most puzzling decision of the night occurred as Seattle ran a transition chance down the right side with numbers in the box. Instead of lofting one of his quality crosses to one of the waiting Sounders, Ferreira left the ball toward the top of the box. No Sounder was remotely close to finding his service. Chance over. The frustration mounted as Cristian Roldan gave the ball away at midfield and had to leverage a yellow-worthy tackle to keep the damage to a minimum. The wildest sequence of the game came from the 76th through the 86th, as the Sounders headed the ball back and forth in San Diego’s box before forcing a corner. The setpiece resulted in reserve center back Antino Lopez taking a shot from distance, which was blocked by the sea of San Diego players crowding the box. Moments later, Seattle regained control as substitute Peter Kingston delivered a curving cross in to Musovski. Musovski kicked it back out to Ferreira atop the box, who put it past Musovski to Morris. Morris then left it back for Musovski with a great look at goal from about 10 yards out. After all the elaborate work, Musovski’s shot dinged off the right post. Somehow, Seattle managed another chance in the 80th, as Musovski found himself in a 1-on-1 with the keeper on a deflected shot. The rebound went to Ferreira, who headed it back in only for it to be saved off the line by 19-year-old defender Luca Bambino for a corner. Following all the heartbreak, sweat, pure confusion and frustration, Musovski’s set-piece goal to equalize didn’t seem real. Rusnak’s corner perfectly found Cristian Roldan, whose next pass off the first touch found Musovski for a tap-in. Ferreira did the dirty work in keeping a few SDFC defenders pinned to the end line and away from the action. “We had communicated, me and (Rusnak), (Ferreira) as well, about blocking and trying to get me open, because we felt like first-post was the priority,” Roldan said. To Seattle’s credit, it pushed hard for three points from that point on. Musovski ran a fastbreak in the 87th and zipped one back for Kingston at the top of the 18\. As the 24-year-old has done at other clubs across Seattle, Kingston delivered a beautiful curving strike to the top-left corner. It missed by mere feet. From there, Thomas was forced into action in the fifth and final minute of stoppage, making a save on SDFC star Anders Dreyer’s shot in close. Off the rebound, Ingvartsen had a chance for his ninth goal of the season and a heartbreaking game-winner on the road. Luckily for Seattle, Lopez positioned himself in front of the shooter as Ingvartsen skied the shot with Thomas out of the equation. Full time. Phew. ### A Frustrating Slump > [#Sounders](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sounders?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) skipper Brian Schmetzer reacts to the 1-1 draw with [#SanDiegoFC](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SanDiegoFC?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) as Seattle heavily underperforms its xG mark for the second straight game. > > Challenging his players to have someone “get hot” with San Jose coming to town on Wednesday.[@EmeraldSpectrum](https://twitter.com/EmeraldSpectrum?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) | [#MLS](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLS?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) [pic.twitter.com/0UKrtiKWCG](https://t.co/0UKrtiKWCG?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)— Qasim Ali (@qasimasports) [May 10, 2026](https://twitter.com/qasimasports/status/2053353960518582533?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) "We gotta get someone to get hot, and we gotta get someone to put the ball in the back of the net," Schmetzer said as he recounted a game full of chances. Though Schmetzer was clear in his relief that Musovski finally got on the board in the regular season, none of Seattle's strikers in Osaze De Rosario, Musovski and Morris have exactly been keeping opposing coaches up at night — they've combined for three goals in 10 MLS games. In fact, Morris has looked stronger at the right wing in creating chances instead of finishing them. At any rate, Musovski said postgame that the pressure is always on, and that, "Schmetzer saying that isn't going to motivate me more." Still, it brings to memory the hot summer Musovski put together last year in his team-high 14-MLS-goal campaign. This team doesn't need bicycle kicks or really any creation from their striker, just clean finishes like Musovski can bring when he's at his best. Some may call them tap-ins, but Seattle went 11 games undefeated in a row last season while Musovski made sure no unmarked moment from the opponent went unpunished. As a whole, there's still a large feeling of disappointment around how the last two weeks have played out. Rothrock was outspoken about how it felt like Seattle had lost two key points in Kansas City last week. When Cristian Roldan was asked if it feels like Seattle has gained two points or dropped four in these past two contests, he didn't hesitate in taking the latter. Still, the veteran USMNT hopeful stayed nuanced in his reaction. "It's a huge positive that we're generating a lot of chances, especially inside the box," Roldan said. "We can also look at it as a negative. I mean, we scored one goal in both of those games, and so if we can put another goal in, it gives us a lot of comfort knowing we can finish games off." One major negative in this one was the lack of quality from Ferreira. Once a straight scorer in Dallas, Ferreira has transformed into a visionary playmaker in Seattle over this past season and change. He often sees passes that most players wouldn't dare try, and converts them for big payoffs — hence his three assists this season. But he was simply off on Saturday night, putting the ball in danger and killing chances singlehandedly by crossing the ball into areas that were engulfed by blue jerseys. The Sounders, evidently, wore green shirts in this one. While Seattle can hang its hat on a pretty xG number, this game was marred not only by a lack of quality in the final touches, but also in the second-to-last balls to even set scoring chances up. From Ferreira's misses, to failed tries by Morris to redirect headers he should have put on target to teammates instead, Seattle managing just four shots on target despite over 50 touches in San Diego's 18 was a result of an off-night in playmaking. Sure, San Diego dropped into a low block after the early goal, forsaking the open style fans are accustomed to seeing the 2025 No. 1 seed out west playing. But Seattle has to be better against the low block, plain and simple. Apprehension and hesitation cost Seattle two points for the second straight week, and with a league-leading San Jose Earthquakes squad hungry for revenge just days away, the Sounders will need to trust their quality to get out of this lossless slump soon.