Moosan al Gaib

The Moosiah.

That’s the word Brian Schmetzer revealed in the postgame presser after this one.

“That’s coming from him [Schmetzer] mainly, but some guys are having fun with it,” Musovski said after the game. “But I’m good with Moose.”

I’ve got more. Moosan al Gaib. Moose-ad’Dib. Moosatz Haderach. And those are just the Dune references.

But really, it was a massive team effort on Wednesday that sealed the win for Seattle and made the Sounders the only team to get all nine points out of the three Leagues Cup group stage matches. Cristian overcame a shaky first half and carried the team on his back in the second. Andrew Thomas was elite in net for the Sounders (countering a similarly stellar performance from Tijuana keeper Salim Hernández). And Osaze de Rosario continued his strong run of play with a goal of his own.

Missed Opportunities in First Half

The Sounders struggled early in the game with getting good touches on the ball – and this tendency wasn’t helped by a brief injury absence from Obed – but they did control possession for much of the match.

Their possession was countered by strong back line play from Club Tijuana, but the Sounders did themselves no favors with a lack of precision and quality on the ball. Passes flew around without much planning or foresight and touches were made haphazardly that ended up in Tijuana’s hold. The home crew were fortunate that the visitors gave the ball back a lot.

Seattle created two excellent chances in the 16^th minute. Osaze got the ball up top and passed under pressure to an open Albert, who whacked a curling blow towards the net – and Salim Hernández whacked it away with a diving punch. The following corner went in and Yeimar headed the ball towards the goal, but it flew into the crossbar, bounced around the mouth of the net, and Tijuana cleared.

Andrew Thomas kept the game scoreless five minutes later with some incredible saves. The Sounders had lost the ball in midfield and Tijuana charged forward, overworking Cristian Roldan to give Kevin Castañeda a shot on goal. Thomas batted it away. Tijuana’s Adonis Preciado fired once more and Thomas held it to his chest for the save.

Déjà vu for those who watched a lot of games in 2023 and 2024 – lots of bringing the ball up into the final third, not a lot of good execution once they got there. In the last minute of first half regulation, a break went their way. Reed Baker-Whiting had a shot on goal that Hernández deflected, but the corner reception was marked by the most obvious handball in history on the part of Tijuana right back Aarón Mejía.

Did they take advantage? Uhh… no. Albert’s penalty hit the left post and Obed’s follow up was offline. Talk about wasted opportunity.

You know who did score in the first half? Club Tijuana. They got the ball up into the final third and the Sounders tripped over themselves trying to clear it away. Midfielder Domingo Blanco tapped it to an open Kevin Castañeda, whose only touch on the ball was a slicing shot fired towards the upper right corner. Andrew Thomas had a snowball’s chance in hell of catching it.

Sounders down 1-0 after a half filled with bad luck.

“A lot of teams would have folded [in that situation],” Coach Schmetzer said. “But our team doesn't fold. Our team doesn't quit. Our team can overcome adversity and persevere.”

Ryan Kent Wakes Up

During the first half of Wednesday’s match, Ryan Kent was essentially a non-factor.

Kent improved a lot in the second half. Early into the back 45, he sent off a pretty good pass to Osaze that ended up deflected up top. This came on the heels of an extremely creative play where he let the ball travel under him to try trick Tijuana, although the eventual shot didn’t score.

It was in the 57^th that Kent finally made his mark on this game. During a Sounders attack, he went up with the ball on the left side and then crossed over to Osaze. The ball could not have been more perfectly placed. Osaze leapt up over Mejía and headed the ball past Hernández.

Kent and Osaze both came off in the 82^nd minute and Pedro and Moose came on to replace them. But the two of them had combined for an absolutely essential equalizer.

And who would get the game-winner? None other than The Chosen One. Daniel Musovski. Moose-ad’Dib.

It was off a corner kick in the late 87^th minute. Now, that corner should not have happened: the previous play involved a perfectly set offsides trap by Tijuana that resulted in about four Sounders being very, very offsides. But nothing was called.

Ferreira took the corner and it went to Cristian on the outside. Cristian headed it immaculately to Musovski. Moose knocked it in.

Tijuana weren’t anywhere close to done. They immediately started knocking on the door and hard. But in their frenzy, they left themselves open to the counterattack. An excellent clearance from Jackson Ragen became an incredible threat from Pedro, but he tried passing the ball once he got under pressure in the box rather than attempting a longer shot – and Hernández made an excellent save on a shot by Paul Rothrock. Usually, that would make sense, but it’s Pedro “Goal of the Season” de la Vega we’re talking about here. Another breakaway also created a good chance, but the third goal never came. Not that it mattered.

Keeper Battle

It cannot be overstated how much of a keystone Andrew Thomas was to the Sounders in this match. Not only did he completely shut down Tijuana’s prime 21^st minute chance, but he kept the score tied with an immaculate save more than halfway through the second half.

The unlucky shooter was striker Shamar Nicholson. He had the ball on a breakaway that looked like almost a sure second goal. The Sounders backs haphazardly descended on Nicholson and put just enough pressure to force a shot where Thomas had a chance. Still, it took an incredible effort to deflect the ball away.

I have to mention Salim Hernández’ performance in there, too. He made a couple brilliant saves of his own that nearly prevented the eventual Sounders win. It’s pretty rare when there are ten shots on target and just two goals. But those two goals ended up being enough.

Albert, Ryan Leave with Injury

Around a minute after scoring a golazo that got taken back for an earlier offsides, Albert was involved with a collision and had to leave with injury in the 64^th. Paul Rothrock came on to replace him while Schmetzer brought in Alex for Kalani.

Ryan Kent’s exit was also due to injury. Schmetz said that both of them had some sort of hamstring injury but that the MRIs will come back on Friday. So, it’s a game of hurry up and wait. But visually, it did seem like Albert’s was worse.

Cristian Roldan Surges

A tale of two halves from Cristian. Luckily, his incredible second half more than outweighed his down fist half.

It’s a rare day when Cristian Roldan is having issues. But for much of the game, he wasn’t as surgical as we’re used to seeing from him. He airmailed a good-range chance in the 26^th, but the real issues were in open play, where Tijuana players worked around him on their attacks and his touches in the field lacked direction. He was clearly exhausted, taking time to rest his hands on his knees after brief stoppages in play. This wore down his ability to make extraordinary plays.

A potentially amazing ball to Ferreira in the 42^nd ended up being intercepted by the Tijuana back line. This was an incredible play from Cristian, but as often happens when you’re struggling, it seems the odds get slanted against you and an opponent comes in with an even better play.

He had a much better handle on things in the second half. He was way more on top of things in general, with better pressing and more clinical touches, while shutting Kevin Castañeda down in the back 45 to prevent the chances that Tijuana had in the first half. Alex joined him on the pitch and the Brothers Roldan were complete, creating a corner opportunity with a precise pass in the 75^th.

Cristian sent off a screaming curler of a shot in the 77^th minute that was once again beautifully saved by a diving Hernández. But it showcased how much more of a clinical touch he had in the later portion of the match.

And of course, his header to Moose was the definition of beauty. No-look, curls around three defenders right to Musovski, I mean … Chef’s kiss.

Nine for Nine

The Seattle Sounders got all nine possible points in the group stage. They’re the only team in this year’s Leagues Cup that can boast that feat, MLS or Liga MX.

And the win was what they needed. When eighteen sides come in and four advance, every point matters. Even one point from the match would have made things go down to differential (though the Sounders would have won that tiebreaker due to the Maquina Massacre). A loss would have resulted in the Sounders bouncing out entirely.