Same rival, same result. Seattle Sounders FC had another performance to remember against Pumas as they once again beat them at Lumen field this time by a score of 4-0, to advance to the Leagues Cup quarter-finals.
The last time these two clubs met it was in the 2022 Concacaf Champions League in the second leg of the final, also played in Seattle and with a final score of 3-0 in favor of the MLS team to capture the tournament title. This time, the home team reaches one step closer to playing for the only trophy that is missing on their list.
Pumas looked for revenge but it was not their night. They tried to create damage early on with long range shots by Ruben Duarte and Jose Caicedo but goalkeeper Andrew Thomas was on point on every play. The Auriazules had a goal taken off the scoreboard after a Piero Quispe shot, but VAR confirmed an offside and from that point on it was all Sounders.
Albert Rusnák delivered a cross from the right side and a Paul Rothrock header to the far post opened up the scoring in the 32th minute to put Seattle Sounders FC in front 1-0. The dominance was something that the Mexican squad could not stop and in the second half it was more of the same.
Jordan Morris got his first goal of the game after a throw-in from the right that bounced off defenders and ended in Morris’ chest for him to finish with his left foot inside the box to put the ball in the back of the net in the 58th minute.
The festival of goals continued in the 71th minute when Lisandro Magallan committed a penalty over Obed Vargas and Rusnák took the shot right down the middle to put the score 3-0. The cherry on top was another penalty committed by Magallan as he saw a red card after a tackle over Morris; this time he was the one who took the shot from 12 yards away to score the fourth goal of the game in stoppage time for the 4-0 final.
Even with a lopsided win, Sounders head coach, Brian Schmetzer, recognized the effort from their rival. “That’s a good team, this was an exciting game, they came out, their players they are good, they have talented players, we had to fight for things,” he said, underlining that he was proud about what his team did. “That was a statement by that group, that (they say) ´you know what, we are gonna do good things this year´.”
“This is about goals,” said Pumas head coach, Gustavo Lema, disappointed about the end result. “They are a very strong team at home that handles set pieces very well in their favor and we could not hurt them on set pieces (we had).”
Once again, Seattle Sounders FC had their way with Pumas and this time it was to advance to the quarter-finals of the Leagues Cup, as they await the winner of the LAFC vs San Jose Earthquakes matchup for a spot in the semifinals.
