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Sounders' Furious Concacaf Comeback Comes Up Short

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Seattle Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnak strikers the ball during a Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal match at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Mike Fiechtner / Sounders FC Communications) [/caption]

The Seattle Sounders had a mind for a comeback heading back to a FIFA World Cup grass-ified Lumen Field for the first time since February 22.

Seattle lost 2-0 to Mexican side Tigres UANL in Monterrey last Wednesday in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals. With the tournament adhering to an away-goal tiebreaker, Seattle needed to avoid a Tigres goal to ensure its best chance to make up the multi-goal disadvantage.

The Sounders started strong on a stormy night, benefitting from a renewed Albert Rusnák, who scored in the 11th and 82nd minutes to break a cold streak in the scoring department with Cristian Roldan assisting on both.

Ultimately, a rally wasn’t meant to be as the Sounders won the match 3-1, but lost the 3-3 series on the tiebreaker, courtesy of a late first-half goal from Tigres.

“It was a very exciting game, and the intensity, desire and never-quit — all of the things that make this Sounders franchise such a good franchise — that was on display tonight,” Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer said postgame.

Sounders Fight Tooth and Nail for a Result

Danny Musovski came on to start the second half after a goal from Tigres' Joaquim gave the Mexican squad a 3-1 aggregate advantage and the away-goal tiebreaker in the case of a draw after 90 minutes.

"That wasn't a goal we wanted to give up," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said of Joaquim's header postgame. "We talked about keeping a clean sheet in this game… obviously disappointing to give up that goal, but our guys fought back, got ourselves back in the game and had numerous chances to score the fourth goal."

Musovski responded, burying a shot through a save attempt on service from his double-striker partner in Jordan Morris as Seattle played, in effect, still down two goals.

In the 72nd, Rusnák had a golden opportunity to bring Seattle closer with the ball in the box, but hesitated looking for a bigger window. While some may have condemned an already struggling Rusnák after the offense, he showed no shortage of courage in the 82nd.

Rusnák’s brace brings it all even on aggregate! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TOzjMzKCt4— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) April 16, 2026

The Slovak designated player worked his way open on the left side outside of the box to deliver a frozen rope of a shot past star keeper Nahuel Guzmán to hit the right post and bounce in, tying the aggregate 3-3.

While it was a pure golazo, Seattle still needed another goal to overcome its missed chances in Monterrey.

Tigres hunkered down, refusing to concede another good look on a night where Seattle generated two expected goals on 20 shots.

Moving Forward

The Seattle Sounders, with their never-ending trophy cabinet, always feel a crushing weight when they are eliminated from a chance to add more silverware to their resume.

This one was there to be had in Monterrey when Tigres missed a penalty, and Paul Rothrock missed out on two chances. It was there to be had when Rusnák, who is plenty worthy of praise after his night, fumbled in the 72nd.

While it isn't much of a consolation, Seattle has been known to turn moral victories into real success.

See last year's Club World Cup.

"We weren't playing Paris Saint-Germain or Botafogo or Atletico (Madrid), but Tigres is up there," Schmetzer said. "That is a tremendous team… You can use that momentum similarly, the way we did last year."

While Tigres certainly isn't a European semifinalist like PSG or Atletico Madrid, Seattle did well to exorcise some demons in the loss.

“We can be proud of our performance,” Rusnák said postgame. “It’s gonna hurt that we went out… it is what it is.”

Rusnák, Sounders Offense is Back?

Albert Rusnák is one of MLS' best-kept secrets.

He's consistently a top goal contributor in Seattle and earns his DP spot practically every day with his visionary playmaking and smooth finishing. That's why his start to 2026 has been puzzling, as the 31-year-old had just one goal in nine games when he could have had five on account of some poor touches in close.

The fact that Rusnák decided to call his own number with the Sounders' hopes riding on him and scored a career highlight of a goal in the 82nd minute was just another example of the consummate pro Seattle has at the 10.

Still, seeing two shots go in is huge and could translate as early as Saturday night, when Seattle hosts St. Louis to get back to MLS play (where Seattle resides in fifth place out west at 4-1-1).

As for the Sounders offense as a whole, this could be a jumping-off point.

Seattle has managed six clean sheets in 10 games, but the offense has lacked final quality at times. Wednesday night's three goals equaled Seattle's largest total of the season, and a few points stood out.

First, the ability of wingbacks, especially Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, to get north and south and open up a Tigres side playing defensively changed the game. Kossa-Rienzi powered Seattle early, showing some real quality on early crosses to make the away team sweat.

Once Morris was moved to the wing after Musovski came on, he started to show real flashes of playmaking — further prompting questions of why Schmetzer didn't start with Musovski at the striker spot with Morris as the substitute. Meanwhile, reserve striker Osaze De Rosario has effectively played his way out of being a selection in big games, as the young nine has yet to add a goal contribution despite a wealth of early minutes this season.

"We have some heavy decisions to make as a coaching staff," Schmetzer said of the striker spot. "There'll have to be some changes, but I like what I saw."

As for Rothrock on the left wing, it was an uncharacteristic two-game series.

The 27-year-old has brought final quality when no one else has in moments for Seattle this season en route to five goals in nine games, but missed on two real scoring chances in the first leg.

In this second leg, Rothrock had a chance with Guzman out of position, but overcooked a shot over the post. While Rothrock had a picture-perfect header in the 44th minute that Guzman somehow saved in the bottom left corner, Rothrock let his frustration show throughout this game.

After being bloodied up near his mouth earlier in the game on a collision, Rothrock committed a questionable foul in the 22nd minute as Seattle had all but won a corner. He showed a few more frustration fouls throughout the game to bog Seattle down, as he looked far from the optimistic winger he typically is.

Even if those were the biggest two games Seattle has played this season, they're still just two games at the end of the day. The positive is that Seattle looks just as good at home as it has over the past two seasons, where it has lost just once.

The negative is a missed chance to win a trophy before the June World Cup break.