Sounders Overcome Tough Calls, Injuries in 2-0 Season-Opening Win
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Albert Rusnák (left) and Paul Rothrock (right) celebrate their goal during a Seattle Sounders game against the Colorado Rapids on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Mike Fiechtner / Sounders FC Communications) [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. - In one of the clunkier games of soccer ever played under the lights of Lumen Field, the hometown Sounders emerged with a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids to open the 2026 season.
Paul Rothrock took over early for an injured Jordan Morris, picking up a hustle-driven assist and a second-half goal to add to his local legend. Keeper Andrew Thomas wasn't tested much, but logged a clean sheet in his first game after being named the starter.
All in all, the Sounders were in another weight class from a younger Colorado squad, winning practically every moment of the game.
Rothrock Showcases His Signature Scrap
After spending much of last season injured, Seattle's all-time leading scorer in Jordan Morris played a tad too conservatively for a striker when he was on the pitch. With his mind for playmaking, skipper Brian Schmetzer slid his club legend to the left wing for Sunday's action.
But just eight minutes in, Morris went down without any fanfare. The Mercer Island native suffered a quad injury, per the club, and was able to limp off the field after slamming the turf in frustration.
Enter Paul Rothrock.
Rothrock had seemingly been lost to free agency before the season as the fan favorite, known for his high work rate and ties to Seattle, looked to cash in a solid 2025 season on the open market. When he found his way back to the Sounders on an extension, he brought hustle and X-factor to Schmetzer's attack, which will be missing designated player Pedro de la Vega until the summer.
He showed every ounce of it in the 15th minute, as a stray pass zipped to the left corner. He sprinted after it, somehow keeping it on the right side of the line to thunderous cheers from his hometown supporters. Many players on the pitch seemed to think the ball would go out, judging by their body language. Rothrock was on a similar wavelength.
"Honestly, no," said Rothrock, when asked whether he thought he'd make it to the ball. "I was surprised when I turned around and the ball was still in play. But hey, good surprise."
His ensuing cross may have been more impressive, as he put it directly in the path of Albert Rusnák, who headed it past keeper Zack Steffan to get Seattle on the board. The Sounders were up in 2026, and their hero had put them there.
With his extension secured before the season, Rothrock could use a new form of motivation. He summoned some of the Olympic kind on the pitch before the game, as he listened to American gold medalist Alysa Liu’s soundtrack to her winning free skate — MacArthur Park by Donna Summer. Liu, of course, has captured the hearts of fans worldwide for her carefree return to competitive figure skating and her prioritization of enjoying the sport she has mastered.
“Shoutout to (Liu) ‘cause I was actually pretty inspired by her attitude going into the Olympics. And I was trying to play on that for a little bit today of just going in free and going in for the joy of it,” Rothrock said.
Add the fact that he had some caffeine-rich Mate courtesy of Pedro de la Vega before the game, and he was in the right state to deliver a gem off the bench.
Questionable Call Costs Dotson First Seattle Goal
With Seattle well in control, Rusnák launched a free kick into the box. It found the head of Osaze De Rosario, who earned the starting striker spot after a strong preseason with two braces in two friendlies. De Rosario's deflection found Alex Roldan, manning the right back spot, who launched it at Steffan for a weak parry.
Waiting on the rebound was Minnesota United signee Hassani Dotson, who tapped it in for an 18th-minute goal for his first score in his first game wearing the hometown green.
But, and in this game, there always turned out to be a but, there was suddenly a scoring review on account of contact made on that first header from De Rosario. After a few minutes in front of the review screen, referee Malik Badawi announced that number nine on the Sounders committed a foul before the goal.
Number nine, of course, was a very confused-looking Jesús Ferreira, who was outside of the box when the foul would have been called. Presuming the foul was on De Rosario, who emerged from a scrum full of contact to win the ball, it was a tough call to cost Seattle an early 2-0 lead.
Schmetzer didn't love the call postgame.
"I congratulated Hassani Dotson on his first Sounder goal, because it was a goal," Schmetzer said, pausing to look around at the room. "There was no foul on that, I have no idea why that was called back."
All Hell Breaks Loose
Opposite a Seattle team that has been there, done that, was a young Colorado squad with a new coach in former Tottenham assistant Matt Wells.
The Rapids looked every bit inexperienced, as they were a step behind the Sounders all night. Colorado racked up 17 fouls and four yellow-card cautions on the night, the worst of which was a 26th-minute blindside hit from 20-year-old defender Noah Cobb on Paul Rothrock.
Cobb's elbow was involved in the hit, as he contested Rothrock late, prompting a swift sending off from Badawi. As Cobb waited outside the tunnel for a final decision on his fate, Badawi initiated a review on whether it warranted a red card.
Cobb was spared, as it appeared to be a genuine attempt at the ball, but the boos rained down regardless. Seattle had a clear chance going the other way when Badawi blew the whistle, and now the Sounders weren't even playing a man up after the review.
By the end of the first 45, Badawi put down 12 minutes of stoppage time. After Dotson was involved in a head-to-head collision, which removed him from the game to be checked for a concussion, the teams played a whopping 61 minutes of first-half action.
"We started off on fire, it should have been two-nothing, then the red card, not the red card, the goal, not the goal," Schmetzer said. "It was hard for our guys, I think we did a good job of getting them to calm down at halftime … the second half was a little better."
Rothrock and the guys on the field had to stay locked in despite all the interruptions.
"That was one of the longest first halves that I ever played," Rothrock said. "As a player and as a team, it's hard to keep momentum in those moments…
"It resulted in a disjointed half for both teams."
Still, Seattle held 74% possession and was up 1-0 going into the back 45.
Rothrock Slams the Door
The Sounders pushed to an 11-2 shot advantage early in the second half, punishing sloppy passing from Colorado with their high press.
In the 62nd, Yeimar, ever the opportunist in the backline, picked the ball away from Paxten Aaronson, leading to De Rosario putting a ball ahead for a sprinting Ferreira. Ferreira ran the fast break with Rothrock opposite, playing a ball forward for the fellow winger.
Rothrock put in a decisive strike from his left side with his left foot, punctuating a dream opener for "Paulie Primetime."
A Satisfactory Tune-up
Seattle was light-years ahead of the Rapids on Sunday.
One might look at 17 fouls and think a team became frustrated or started to play dirty. While Colorado showed some frustration away from the ball at times, a majority of the fouls came on late contests.
The Sounders were simply a step ahead of a team trying to redefine its identity.
It was a good look for a team that is adjusting to a new piece in Dotson in the midfield, and moving Morris and Ferreira to the wings. As usual, having Ferreira and Rusnák on the field at the same time made for a dynamic Sounders attack thanks to decisive and intelligent passing.
At the end of last year, questionable decisions led to "cheap goals" that cost the Sounders results. There were no glaring mistakes of the sort on Sunday, even as younger players like Snyder Brunell came on in the second half.
Schmetzer is optimistic about his team building on the landmark offensive year his team put together last season.
"This year it's a positive start because we scored three," Schmetzer said, refusing to disallow Dotson's would-be goal in his mind. “We're going to keep things moving, and it's just again testament to the good coaching the guys get and their application of the coaches' ideas."
On the defensive end, a clean sheet for Thomas was a strong start to his time as the man in the net. As any Sounder knows, however, no spot is safe.
"As (Schmetzer) said, we've got two number ones on the squad," Thomas said, referring to club legend Stefan Frei, who he beat out for the first spot. "I'm still trying to play the same way and try and keep my name on the team sheet."
Jackson Ragen was a huge part of keeping Thomas clean, as he made multiple high-level slide tackles to kill rare Rapids chances from behind.
While the Sounders have plenty to prove and more to learn, this was a solid tune-up. Seattle should have won this game convincingly, and it did despite the odd circumstances.
Seattle needed to get a result in this one, as the Sounders will be road warriors while Lumen Field gets grass installed for the World Cup. The Sounders will be on the road against Real Salt Lake next Saturday to start a five-game MLS road trip, broken up by a March 18 Concacaf game in Spokane.
They'll be back in Seattle on April 12 against Real Salt Lake.
