> ## 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 Hopes Dashed by Late LAFC Winner Before World Cup Break - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-sounders-hopes-dashed-lafc-before-world-cup-break/ - Published: 2026-05-25T08:08:50.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:14:39.000Z - Author: Qasim Ali - Tags: News, Analysis, Sounders, Brian Schmetzer, Jordan Morris, Albert Rusnak, Jesus Ferreira, Paul Rothrock, Jackson Ragen, Andrew Thomas, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Nouhou \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1617"\] ![ Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris battles LAFC defender Aaron Long for the ball during a match on Sunday, May 24, 2026 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. (Sounders FC Communications) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/55291671819_104766a509_k-format-original.jpg) Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris battles LAFC defender Aaron Long for the ball during a match on Sunday, May 24, 2026 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. (Sounders FC Communications) \[/caption\] It was all going to plan for the Seattle Sounders through eight games. Sitting at 6-1-1 with the best defense in the league, head coach Brian Schmetzer’s squad looked to insert itself into the top of the Supporters Shield Race with a road game against flailing Sporting Kansas City and a three-match homestand coming. Instead of thriving on the schedule, Seattle went 1-1-2 heading into a key road date with a struggling LAFC squad (7-5-3), fresh off three losses, on the final Sunday before the June World Cup Break. Seattle managed to play a scoreless game through 85 minutes, bringing on offensive subs late to try and steal three points. But it was the home team that notched the win, as midfielder Timothy Tillman came out of nowhere late to slam a cross-goal service past Andrew Thomas for the win. Seattle dropped to 7-3-3 and into sixth place out west with nearly two months to go before its return to play against Portland on July 16. “There’s a little part of me that wants to say again, ‘stay calm, we’re a good team,’” Schmetzer said of processing the loss. “This hurts.” ### What Did Seattle Do Well? 85 scoreless minutes against stars like elite scorer Denis Bouanga on the left wing, dynamic dribbler David Martinez on the right wing and South Korean captain Son Heung-Min up top isn't something to scoff at. Though Son has eight assists this season, he hasn't managed a goal yet. He tried his best to rectify that, taking the most shots in this contest with seven (per [FotMob.com](http://fotmob.com/?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)). After a solid shot from Albert Rusnák that went wide in the first minute, Son found himself working against center backs Jackson Ragen and Kim Kee-hee, the latter of whom started for his first action of the season. He let a laser go from the top of the box, only for it to be blocked immediately by Ragen. Ragen made three blocks by the game's end as LAFC managed 1.8 expected goals on 15 shots. Four minutes later, Cristian Roldan stuck a leg out to block another Son shot. LAFC's wingers got more involved in the 15th as Bouanga faced a double of Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Jesús Ferreira. The former Ligue 1 man, who's scored 20 or more goals in all three of his recent seasons with LAFC, split the two with ease. But Kee-hee stepped in immediately to block him from reaching Andrew Thomas, as the 36-year-old showed why Schmetzer still has loads of confidence in him. The wealth of bodies Bouanga and Martinez faced all night was no coincidence. "Those are the danger guys," Schmetzer said of Bouanga and Martinez. "We wanted to make sure we double-teamed them, wanted to make sure that when the ball changed the point of attack, we would shift over quickly enough to provide support. But look, there were plenty of times where Kalani was on his own there against Bouanga and he did great." Left alone on the right was none other than Nouhou to face Martinez. He forced the 20-year-old into a tough shot in the 17th, but was blown by three minutes later as Paul Rothrock tackled the winger mere inches outside of the penalty box for a dangerous free kick. Son played the free kick into a waiting Rusnák, as the Sounders made defending set pieces well a staple in this one. They saw seven corners, but none truly threatened Thomas, as Seattle came out in set-piece-specific formations to take away LAFC attackers up high at times. The 24th was just about Son's best chance to score, as Martinez flashed up the middle of the field and delivered an unbelievable through ball to the international superstar's feet with only Thomas left to defend. But Son, perhaps thinking of his scoreless streak yips, fumbled the ball away to save Seattle some stress. Six minutes later, Seattle got its best chance to score as Cristian Roldan sprung Jordan Morris free with reserve LAFC keeper Thomas Hasal sprinting off his line. Hasal won the battle, tackling Morris while grabbing the ball. Coming out of the half, the Sounders were clearly thinking about stealing three points. Jordan Morris forced Hasal to the ground on a 47th-minute shot before Rothrock chipped a ball over LAFC's line in the 49th to Ragen all alone on the far post. Unfortunately for Ragen, he slipped trying to get to the ball and was only able to kick it straight up with a solid look at goal. In the 61st, Roldan just couldn't get behind his shot from outside the box enough as Hasal made an easy save. "In that second-half performance, I needed one of those senior players, veteran players… money guys to step up and make a play," Schmetzer said of his post-game frustrations. Instead, Schmetzer brought on a young, offensive-minded Snyder Brunell in the 63rd for Hassani Dotson. After a solid back heel block from Ragen, Brunell got everything he could out of a shot from 20 yards, but it was right at Hasal for another routine save. The Sounders got another great chance in the 77th when Morris worked in behind LAFC's left side to deliver a ball back to Danny Musovski, but the striker hit the crossbar, sending the home team sprinting the other way. Son took a deceptively fast rolling shot from 17 yards out, only for it to be ushered away from the bottom left corner by an outstretched Thomas. Antino Lopez, who came on for Kee-hee in the second half, barely tipped the ball to take some of the zip off it. Seattle had generated more than enough chances to win this game and had defended akin to its 1-0 win over San Jose in March, by standing up to a high volume of opponent chances. It wasn’t enough. ### The Winner The game crept past the 80th-minute mark with Seattle looking like it would split the points heading into the break. In the 86th, LAFC hit the jackpot. > What a finish from Timothy Tillman! 💪[@LAFC](https://twitter.com/LAFC?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) takes a lead late against Seattle. [pic.twitter.com/JbFXQHAGTA](https://t.co/JbFXQHAGTA?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)— Major League Soccer (@MLS) [May 25, 2026](https://twitter.com/MLS/status/2058748028970770642?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) Marco Delgado played a subtle ball through to Tyler Boyd on the right wing to earn him some hard-to-come-by space from Nouhou, allowing him to cross from the right end line to the far post. Kossa-Rienzi, who had been so solid in keeping Bouanga in check all night, allowed Tillman, who hadn't scored a goal all season, to fly by him unmarked. With the ball just six yards away from the net, all it took was a sliding strike to house the winner past Thomas. "It's a disappointing goal," Schmetzer said, pointing to Seattle's inability to get the ball back up the field to allow for LAFC to strike in semi-transition. Schmetzer threw in desperation subs like Osaze De Rosario and Peter Kingston late, but the damage was done. ### Where Is Seattle Now? "Where I am going to focus some of my energy is why, after such a good second half, we couldn't score the first goal," Schmetzer said. "We need to score for us to win games, simple as that." It was Seattle's second straight game held scoreless (both with over 1.4 xG) as the Sounders also managed 1.8 xG on five shots on frame. Musovski's quality just wasn't there as Schmetzer clearly brought him on in the 69th to hunt for the winner. Outside of the first-minute miss, Rusnák wasn't very involved in his 90-minute showing, taking two shots and getting one blocked. Morris put both of his shots on target, but his volume left much to be desired. Two shots for a designated player playing striker for most of the game isn't going to get it done most nights. Again, he was much more dynamic when Musovski came in to move Morris to the left wing. Roldan had the ball at his feet for much of this game, breaking the 100-pass mark and linking things up well while taking his lone shot from outside the box. But Ferreira (one shot) and Rothrock (zero shots) simply had no direct impact on goal scoring. Rothrock created some chances, but he told media on Friday that despite scoring six goals in all competitions this season, he hasn’t been satisfied. “I haven’t come away from a game feeling like I’ve had a great game yet,” Rothrock said on Friday. Long story short, in a game that has historically had offensive fireworks galore, Rothrock and Ferreira have to insert themselves directly at some point into the fray. Especially with Schmetzer's challenge to his high-paid players, one wonders whether Seattle will finally pull the trigger and spend some of the money they have stockpiled with recent deals on a new young attacker. Seattle is sixth out west after this result, looking up at Vancouver, San Jose in their conference and Nashville and Inter Miami out east. All four of those teams have a definitive star with over nine MLS goals right now that they can turn to in big moments. This isn't to say Seattle needs a Lionel Messi or a Sam Surridge, but Schmetzer has talked about needing someone to "get hot" right about now. Musovski's 16-goal campaign last season comes to mind. Ferreira flashed with an assist and goal vs. San Jose, including the best individual goal in recent Sounders history. That comes to mind as well. The Sounders scored the most goals in a single season of their history last year without a Golden Boot-type player, but someone needs to galvanize this offense when it slumps it has for two games now. If not, results like Sunday, where the exceptional defense can only hold on for so long, will become more common. ### Up.. Next? The Sounders, with the exception of reported USMNT call-up Cristian Roldan, are off for the next 18 days to ruminate on these disappointing results. Schmetzer has said the team will have a mini-preseason to get the squad back on track before it resumes play. While some time away could do the team some good, they'll need to stay on top of conditioning as the long-awaited grudge match with nemesis Portland looms on July 16. "If the guys aren't up for that, then I'm doing something wrong," Schmetzer said.