It’s remarkable just how quickly perceptions can change. Last Wednesday, forward Danny Musovski was sent off in the Seattle Sounders’ Leagues Cup Quarterfinals match against Club Puebla for dissent, taking an unnecessary red card and leaving his team down a man for the final 15 minutes in a tightly contested match.
Four days later, Musovski returned to Lumen Field and recorded his first career MLS hat trick, helping lead Seattle to an emphatic 5-2 drubbing of Sporting Kansas City.
“I’m definitely disappointed about what happened in the last game, so for sure I wanted to come out with a lot of energy [on Sunday],” said Musovski. “I know I didn’t make up for it, but the least I could do was the best I can for this one…I just wanted to work really hard and I felt like if I did that, it was going to be a good game.”
Musovski gave the Sounders a 2-1 lead in first half stoppage time on a header on a cross from Reed Baker-Whiting. Musovski earned his brace just five minutes into the second half when he rose for another header on a Danny Leyva corner kick. He then capped his hat trick from the penalty spot in the 75th minute to put the ribbon on what was already a dominant team performance.
“Anytime you can score and help the team win, it feels really good,” said Musovski. “Everyone played really well tonight. There was great service on both of my goals [from open play]."
Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer made eight changes to his starting lineup on Sunday as the team juggles Leagues Cup play and fixture congestion. Seattle will head to Carson, Calif., on Wednesday for a colossal Leagues Cup Semifinals match against the LA Galaxy (7:45 p.m. PT; Watch on Univision or MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Musovski was one of only a handful of nominal starters in the formation, and he knew that carried an extra responsibility.
“Given what our starting lineup was, I was one of the guys with the most experience,” said Musovski. “I felt like I needed to lead the charge, especially with the press, and at times cover for people when I needed to and work really hard and lead by example.”
Sunday’s outburst was more than a flash in a pan. It was emblematic of Musovski’s season at large, one that is already the best in his career. He has 13 goals in MLS play, including 15 in all competitions, and has joined some elite company in goalscoring this season.
Musovski is tied on goals with big-money Designated Player forward Kévin Denkey of FC Cincinnati and MLS MVP hopeful Anders Dreyer of San Diego FC. He’s also just one goal behind prolific goalscorers Hany Mukhtar of Nashville, Brian White of Vancouver and Denis Bouanga of LAFC, all while playing significantly fewer minutes.
Musovski has 13 goals in just 1,328 minutes (0.88 goals/90 minutes). That ratio is third in MLS among players who have recorded at least 1,000 minutes behind only Philadelphia’s Tai Baribo (0.89) and Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi (1.06).
“As a striker, you’re always going to go through so many highs and lows in a season, but the biggest thing is persistence,” said Musovski. “It’s been a really good year so far, and we still have a lot to play…I’m definitely happy. I’m satisfied. I think I’m doing well, but also as a collective we’re all doing really well.”
