The Sounders knew they were in trouble 80 seconds into their debut match at Snapdragon Stadium. And it only got worse.
San Diego FC, the MLS’s newest club, pelted Seattle with three goals in the opening half of an eventual 3-0 win on Saturday. It’s the first time the Sounders have lost the initial meeting with an expansion team since a 1-0 loss against Los Angeles FC in 2018.
LAFC swelled to become a problem for the Sounders and California may have birthed another. SDFC (4-1-2) is second in Western Conference standings to start its inaugural season. The Sounders (1-3-3) are 12th.
SDFC midfielder Jeppe Tverskov unleashed the scoring with a goal off a set piece in the 2nd minute. Mexican international Chucky Lozano had the assist on the left-footed shot in the box.
MLS newcomer Anders Dreyer helped push the lead to 2-0 in the 41st minute. The Danish winger received a pass from Lozano in transition and cut it back to Aníbal Godoy for the deft, left-footed goal in the box.
Saturday was Lozano’s first start since suffering a hamstring injury in early March. Although his new club didn’t struggle without him — San Diego pocketed three goals in a 3-2 win against LAFC on March 29 — he displayed his value against Seattle.
After overshooting an attempt one minute into stoppage time, Lozano slipped behind Seattle’s defense to beat Sounders keeper Stefan Frei for the score. As the Snapdragon crowd celebrated, heads dropped as the Sounders headed into the break down 3-0.
Saturday was marked as the return of Sounders designated player Pedro de la Vega. He’s been out since March 8 with a quad injury.
The Argentine subbed on in the 61st minute along with forward Danny Musovski as Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer scoured the bench for answers.
Schmetzer had to sub off right back Alex Roldan for Kalani Kossa-Rienzi due to an apparent injury in the 34th minute. At the break, designated player Albert Rusnák was pulled for Danny Leyva.
But the in-game changes didn’t work. And neither did a new starting lineup.
Sounders winger Georgi Minoungou received his third nod of the season. He replaced defensive midfielder João Paulo as the technical staff looked to generate more offense with forward Jordan Morris out due to a hamstring injury.
Schmetzer intimated after the team’s draw against San Jose on March 29 that he wanted to start Musovski up top instead of Jesús Ferreira, who tends to drift into the pockets. But Musovski suffered a minor back injury against the Quakes and was limited at training until Friday.
De la Vega subbed on for Minoungou and Musovski replaced Ferreira.
Seattle has scored one goal since Morris suffered his injury during a CONCACAF Champions Cup loss on March 11. The Sounders have been shutout three times during the four-game winless streak.
The Sounders will close out their three-game road stretch against FC Dallas next week. It’ll be a homecoming for Ferreira, who began his career through the club’s youth program and was traded from the first-team to Seattle in January.