The Seattle Sounders defeated Real Salt Lake 2-0 at Lumen Field on Wednesday night behind two second-half goals from Danny Musovski and Albert Rusnák.
Paul Arriola had a 1-v-1 chance on the left side of the box in the 15th minute, but his effort missed wide at the near post.
Seattle had a bona fide chance in the 17th minute when a ball popped loose at the penalty area for Arriola, but his shot was deflected by DeAndre Yedlin.
After a first half bereft of a shot on goal for either side, the second half started with a bang. RSL should have taken the lead in the 47th minute when Sergi Solans dispossessed Jackson Ragen and was in on a breakaway, but Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas made a massive stop by diving to his right to punch away the ball as Solans was trying to dribble around him.
Seattle made RSL pay one minute later when Musovski received the ball from 20 yards out and fired a shot that beat goalkeeper Rafael Cabral inside the near post.
Solans nearly made amends in the 50th minute when he fired another attempt from the left side of the box, but Thomas did well to react and parry it away for a corner.
Cabral did well in the 64th minute to drive and prevent a Jordan Morris cross from finding Sebastian Gomez on the left flank, or the Sounders would have doubled their lead.
Seattle was inches away from finding its second goal in the 67th minute when Philip Quinton misplayed a ball in his penalty area. Arriola jumped on the loose ball, but Quinton was just able to recover in time and force a corner.
Rusnák iced the match in the 73rd minute when he attacked the heart of RSL’s defensive third before unleashing a low, seeing-eye shot that tucked inside the left side of the goal. The tally was the fourth of the season for the former RSL Designated Player and his first in MLS play since May 13.
Nouhou almost added a dramatic third goal in the 89th minute when he whipped in a free kick from 20 yards out that forced Cabral into a diving save to keep it out.
The Sounders end the evening 10th in the Western Conference with 32 points from 25 matches (8-9-8). Seattle is tied on points with the Portland Timbers for the West’s final postseason spot, but the Sounders have a match in hand on their Cascadia rivals.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Winless streak snapped
The Sounders ended their 13-match winless streak in MLS play, grabbing their first victory since a May 13 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. After five consecutive draws, Seattle is now unbeaten in its last six league matches.
Musovski back on the board
The Sounders got a much-needed tally from their North Macedonian international forward, who recorded his second goal of the MLS season and first since May 9.
Ragen returns to XI
Seattle’s defense got a much-needed boost when Ragen got the nod in the Starting XI for the first time since Aug. 19. The 2026 MLS All-Star, who had been dealing with a knee injury, helped the Sounders keep the clean sheet and allowed just 0.5 xG on two total shots on goal.
