Sounders head into Wednesday’s Champions Cup match with a big advantage

The Sounders have the advantage headed into the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup match Wednesday.

Albert Rusnák scored in stoppage time to make it a 3-1 road win for Seattle against Guatemalan side Antigua GFC. Now the Panza Verde (Green Bellies) need to score at least three goals to be in contention to move on to the Round of 16.

The Sounders can advance with a win, draw, loss by one goal or 2-0 loss because away goals would be the tiebreaker. If Antigua replicates last week’s score, Wednesday’s match will move to extra time and if still deadlocked, a penalty shootout to determine the winner.

Waiting in the Round of 16 is a two-legged series against Mexican side Cruz Azul.

Here’s a look at the match:

Sounders (1-0-0) vs Antigua (0-1-0)

Time/place: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lumen Field in Seattle

TV: FS2 and ViX

Radio: N/A

Series history: Seattle leads the all-time series 1-0 since 2025.

Storylines

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Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer will field his strongest starting lineup, which will be a clue on where the staff stands on wingers Pedro de la Vega and Paul Arriola and Rusnák, who’s typically used as an attacking midfielder. The trio bring different skills to help spark offense. They were also the goal scorers in the opening CCC match, Rusnák replacing Jesús Ferreira in the 67^th minute. Schmetzer likely will want to exploit Antigua’s defensive lapses to put an upset out of reach early. But Panza Verde can be potent offensively. They lead Liga Nacional with 18 goals in their regular season play.

Keeping rolling

Seattle hasn’t been part of the CCC tournament since winning it in 2022. The Sounders are on a 10-game unbeaten streak (4-0-6) in CCC competitions. They’re already the first MLS team to win the title in its expanded format.

Quotable

“To be a kid growing up here in Seattle and playing for the academy, being a fan of the team, to put my name in the history books like that is a huge honor,” Sounders forward Jordan Morris said of tying Raúl Ruidíaz as the club’s all-time leading goal scorer, through all competitions. Morris netted his career 85^th and 86^th goals in a 2-2 draw against MLS side Charlotte FC on Saturday. “It’s going to take a while to set in, especially after a result like this. It means a lot to me and my family … The second half was one of [our] better halves, at least from being on the field playing. We were in a rhythm, and you see the quality we have on the field this year and the different ways we can break teams down … it’s going to be a really fun year.”