Sounders Earn First MLS Win in Four Months; Returners Shine
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From left to right: Seattle Sounders Nouhou, Paul Arriola, Sebastian Gomez and Caden Clark celebrate a win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Jane Gershovich / Sounders FC Communications) [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash — Keeper Andrew Thomas could only watch as center back Jackson Ragen let a clear Real Salt Lake ball find striker Sergi Solans' feet on a sudden breakaway chance for the visitors.
Offensive chances had come few and far between for the Seattle Sounders and their visitors on Wednesday night, with the game still scoreless in the 47th minute. As Solans, scorer of nine goals this season, strode past Ragen, Thomas loaded his legs and prepared to try and stop the striker. Solans chose to go left late, opting to dribble around the star keeper.
Not this time.
Thomas dove to poke the ball away successfully and save Seattle from falling behind in a grudge match without their starting striker Dejan Joveljić (international duty with Serbia). Moments later, Joveljić's backup and Wednesday night starter, Danny Musovski, picked out the bottom-right corner on his longest shot attempt of the season to put Seattle ahead 1-0.
Saw it the whole way 🎯
What a shot from Moose to open the scoring! pic.twitter.com/AS8jrPk1dW— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) September 24, 2026
Albert Rusnák fired a transition laser in the 73rd to double the lead, as Seattle won 2-0 for its first MLS win since May 13.
"That's what we need," Musovski, who welcomed a baby daughter just six days ago, said of the pivotal save and goal. "Tough stretches like this, you need players to make big plays and Andrew made a huge play there, 'cause for us to have gone down there, that would've been very tough to come back from… the rest of us kind of stepped up after that.”
Seattle, now 8-9-8, moved up from 13th to 10th in the MLS Western Conference, tied with the ninth-place Portland Timbers with a game in hand and nine games to play. They overtook RSL in the process, which fell to 13th.
More importantly, perhaps, the Sounders snapped a 13-game winless streak dating back to May 13 with the victory.
Seattle had lost eight straight games throughout the summer, falling out of the playoff picture after a 7-1-3 start, before stringing together five straight draws leading up to Wednesday. The Sounders constantly reiterated the need for a win after each one-point result, making Wednesday that much more meaningful.
For Schmetzer, who has won MLS Cup twice, he was reminded multiple times to savor Wednesday's result a little more.
He took that advice.
"I told the guys in (the locker room) to enjoy the moment," Schmetzer said. "There were some fans right behind the bench, and they were saying, 'Congratulations, Brian…' This really gives (the team) a lot of belief, and that's what we discussed before the game, about believing we could win."
Gotta feel good for the #Sounders to celebrate with their fans tonight, first league win in over 4 months.@EmeraldSpectrum | #MLS pic.twitter.com/Q1mZzz50SW— Qasim Ali (@qasimasports) September 24, 2026
Stepping Up When It Counts
Thomas finished the night with just two saves, but had his usual decisive intervention to keep RSL from finishing sloppy looks.
But the reserves, by Schmetzer's account, changed this game.
"We're missing (Joveljić), but (Musovski) steps up. You got subs that are coming on, you got (Sebastian) Gomez that's playing good, you get Paul (Arriola), a veteran guy that steps up," Schmetzer said. "The whole squad is stepping up to help us win games."
To that effect, Gomez (right wing) and Arriola (left wing) hadn't been paired in the XI once this season and were forced into service by long-term injuries to both Paul Rothrock and Jesús Ferreira.
With neither Rothrock nor Ferreira close to returning, Gomez completed two dribbles (per FotMob) while Arriola assisted on both goals.
Peter Kingston also continued to display his versatility at wing back, and with starting defending midfielder Snyder Brunell set to leave the team for a few games after Saturday's game against Minnesota to join the U.S. U20 team, keeping Kingston trending positively is a good sign.
Striker Jordan Morris and defending midfielder Hassani Dotson each came on in the 63rd to spell Musovski and Brunell, respectively, and each had valuable contributions.
Morris put a shot on target right after coming on, which nearly prompted a rebound goal from Gomez. Dotson jumped a pass in the 63rd, putting it ahead for Arriola.
The boys are lettin' it fly 🫡 pic.twitter.com/N5S99QFXK7— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) September 24, 2026
Arriola found Rusnák down the middle on a transition moment a few seconds later, as the designated player who has taken criticism for not being aggressive enough at times in this rough stretch nailed a shot from 20 yards out.
After long-range goals from Joveljić and transfer Caden Clark against Colorado last time out, Seattle netting two more goals from outside the box on Wednesday could be the start of a shot-selection revitalization.
"We have messaged trying to score goals from all different angles, possibilities, tactics… we're not going to shy away from any situation that can generate goal-scoring chances or goals," Schmetzer said.
A Key Reunion
Cristian Roldan and Jackson Ragen made the starting lineup together for the first time since May on Wednesday night. Roldan, of course, dealt with a quad injury he picked up with the USMNT at the World Cup, while Ragen was dealt a knee injury a month ago that he has been slowly returning from.
While Ragen had the slip-up in the 47th that Thomas turned into a key tipped ball, the 6-foot-6 center back distributed the ball well and had a tackle on Solans in the 38th minute to stop the star scorer from getting a 1-on-1 with Thomas earlier in the match.
As for Roldan, he consistently brought the subtle things that elevate the Sounders' ceiling, including level-headed dribbling through pressure and a few link-up passes to generate some chances the Sounders haven't been getting with younger players like Kingston and Brunell filling in all summer.
Schmetzer downplayed the impact of the two players returning to play together, but Seattle is simply more effective with those veteran pieces enforcing their identity.
To that effect, Cristian Roldan had a casual tackle on Solans in Seattle's box in the 59th, and switched the ball across the field a few times throughout the game to open the offensive field up — something the more inexperienced Sounders have struggled with this year.
When Joveljić returns, the Sounders will have a chance to fully unlock him by having their best distributors at the second and third levels present; Wednesday was a good omen in that regard. It’s also worth noting that Yeimar, Ragen’s center back partner who has been dealt an injury-riddled 2026, was available off the bench on Wednesday, though he didn’t end up getting any minutes. While key offensive pieces remain out, the players that help Seattle win in the margins are returning one by one with a playoff push at hand.
Up Next
The Sounders will host another struggling Western Conference team on Saturday night in Minnesota United, which is coming off four straight losses. With that game in hand over Portland and Seattle just four points behind seventh-place Colorado, another three-point result against a team in a free-fall would build this positive momentum as Seattle hunts a bid at MLS Cup despite a rocky season.
