MATCH RECAP: Sounders FC Captures Three Points in San Jose With 1-0 Road Win Over Earthquakes

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – Sounders FC (3-1-0, 9 points) earned a 1-0 road victory over the San Jose Earthquakes (3-1-0, 9 points) on Sunday evening at PayPal Park. Paul Rothrock scored the lone goal of the match for his team-leading third of the season in all competitions, courtesy of Jesús Ferreira’s team-leading fifth all-competitions assist of 2026. Andrew Thomas recorded his third shutout of the season, as the Rave Green withstood constant pressure from the home side in the second half, with the Earthquakes out-shooting Seattle 24-7 and holding a 17-0 advantage on corner kicks.

MATCH NOTES

• With the result, Seattle sits in fifth place in the Western Conference with nine points (3-1-0), three points behind conference leaders Vancouver and LAFC.

• Tonight marked Seattle’s 43^rd regular-season contest against San Jose, making the Earthquakes Seattle’s most-played opponent in the regular season. The Rave Green hold a 17-15-11 record against San Jose in the series.

• Paul Rothrock scored his team-leading third goal of the season (all competitions) in the 20^th minute. This marks the second consecutive match with a strike for Rothrock, who found the net on Thursday against Vancouver in 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup action.

• Jesús Ferreira and Danny Musovski assisted Rothrock’s strike. It was Ferreira’s team-leading fifth assist in five matches (all competitions) and Musovski’s first of the season.

• Tacoma Defiance defender Antino Lopez and midfielder Peter Kingston were both in the starting XI tonight via Short-Term Agreements.

• Brian Schmetzer heavily rotated his lineup from Seattle’s 3-0 win on Thursday over Vancouver in 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup play, with Andrew Thomas, Cody Baker, Lopez, Kingston, Nikola Petković, Rothrock, Georgi Minoungou and Danny Musovski replacing Stefan Frei, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Alex Roldan, Cristian Roldan, Snyder Brunell, Albert Rusnák, Paul Arriola and Osaze De Rosario.

• It was the first start of the season for Baker, Lopez, Kingston, Petković, Minoungou and Musovski, and first career starts for Lopez and Kingston.

• 10 of the 16 players who saw the field this evening for Seattle came up through Tacoma Defiance, the club’s MLS NEXT Pro affiliate (Thomas, Baker, Lopez, Jackson Ragen, Nouhou, Kingston, Brunell, Rothrock, Minougou, De Rosario).

• Nouhou wore the captain’s armband for Sounders FC this evening. 

• Following tonight’s match, Seattle resumes 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup action with its leg two matchup against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Wednesday, March 18 at ONE Spokane Stadium (8:00 p.m. PT / FS2, TUDN, Concacaf.com). The match is being played in Spokane due to Lumen Field undergoing preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The club then resumes league play when it travels to Minnesota United FC on Sunday, March 22 at Allianz Field (11:30 a.m. PT / Apple TV, 950 KJR FM, El Rey 1360 AM).

MATCH SUMMARY

Seattle Sounders FC 1 – San Jose Earthquakes 0

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Venue: PayPal Park

Referee: Victor Rivas

Assistants: Corey Rockwell, Kali Smith

Fourth Official: Nabil Bensalah

VAR: Lukasz Szpala

Attendance: 18,251

Weather: 49 degrees and clear

SCORING SUMMARY

SEA – Paul Rothrock (Jesús Ferreira, Danny Musovski) 20’

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

SEA – Nouhou (caution) 10’

SEA – Nikola Petković (caution) 46’

SEA – Danny Musovski (caution) 56’

SEA – Peter Kingston (caution) 59’

SJ – Nick Tsakiris (caution) 86’

LINEUPS & STATS

Seattle Sounders FC – Andrew Thomas; Cody Baker, Antino Lopez, Jackson Ragen, Nouhou – captain; Peter Kingston (Snyder Brunell 86’), Nikola Petković (Alex Roldan 65’); Paul Rothrock, Jesús Ferreira (Albert Rusnák 46’), Georgi Minoungou (Cristian Roldan 65’); Danny Musovski (Osaze De Rosario 65’)

Substitutes not used: Stefan Frei, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Sebastian Gomez, Paul Arriola

Total shots: 7

Shots on goal: 4

Fouls: 11

Offside: 1

Corner-kicks: 0

Saves: 7

San Jose Earthquakes – Daniel De Sousa; Nick Tsakiris, Daniel Munie, Rodrigues Vieira, Benjamin Kikanovic (Paul Marie 90+1’); Beau Leroux (Niko Fernandez 77’), Robert Roberts; Preston Judd, Ousseni Bouda (Jack Skahan 77’), Timo Werner; DeJuan Jones (Vitor Costa 57’)

Substitutes not used: Jonathan González, Dave Romney, Eriq Edwards Jr., Ian Harkes, Jacob Ricketts

Total shots: 24

Shots on goal: 8

Fouls: 6

Offside: 0

Corner-kicks: 17

Saves: 3