Strip the goals from odd referee decisions and the Sounders are still left with another win at Lumen Field.
And that’s all that matters.
Obed Vargas had the game-winner and Danny Musovski bagged a fourth consecutive goal as the Sounders pummeled St. Louis City 4-1 on Saturday.
“That was a pretty entertaining match,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. “I said that the other day when we played against Nashville [winning 3-0]. But this game might have passed that. There was a lot of quality.”
Seattle joins FC Cincinnati as the only remaining MLS teams to be undefeated at home this season. The Sounders are 3-0-2 at Lumen.
Two of the game’s goals were from penalties that likely shouldn’t have been called for either team.
St. Louis (2-5-4) was awarded a kick from the spot because Yeimar was ruled to clipped forward Cedric Teuchert on the endline in the box. VAR didn’t call for referee Lorenzo Hernandez to review the call, but replays showed light contact, if any at all.
“Yeimar took up a bad angle there, so I’m not letting him off the hook,” Schmetzer said. “No chance.”
About four minutes after City midfielder Marcel Hartel juked keeper Stefan Frei to net his penalty in the 29th minute, Sounders winger Paul Rothrock was dribbling into a pack of four St. Louis players.
Yet, instead of it being an easy takeaway, St. Louis defender Timo Baumgartl tumbled over Rothrock in the box to cause the foul. Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák sliced the shot past keeper Ben Lundt to level the score at 1-1 in the 33rd minute.
St. Louis’ goal is its first in club history at Lumen. City joined the league in 2023.
Schmetzer’s first substitution in the 57th minute helped the team take the lead. New acquisition Ryan Kent relieved Rothrock on the left wing.
In the 61st minute, it was Kent’s precise pass outside the box that allowed Vargas to maintain his stride and power a right-footed shot into goal to go ahead 2-1. It’s the second score all-time for Vargas and Kent’s first MLS assist.
“Some of the times he just plays simple,” Schmetzer said of Kent. “The ball comes to him and he just knocks it because he understands rhythm of the game. You’ve got a guy that’s played at a high level [in Europe] and he’s got quality. Credit to him for being patient. He showed us what he can do and that’s going to make my job intensely challenging because he’s deserved of more minutes.”
In the 81st minute, Sounders defender Nouhou had a cross in the box to Musovski. The forward made a half turn to send a right-footed shot past Lundt.
Musovski’s run of scores are a career-high and the first time a Sounders player has netted goals in four consecutive matches since Jordan Morris in 2016.
But the 3-1 scoreline wasn’t enough for the Sounders.
Kent again showed his superior skill in getting a pass to Nouhou in the box. The latter roofed an open look to seal the blowout in second-half stoppage time. It’s the defender’s second all-time MLS goal, the first happening in 2022.
Play stopped in the 72nd minute for a handball check. Hernandez opted to not award a penalty to Seattle, prompting majority of the announced 31,236 in attendance to boo.
The decision was explained in a statement later by the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) as being “blocked by the defender’s thigh/hip and then the ball went up into his arm. His arm was in a justifiable position for someone trying to block the ball with his body.”
Despite the Sounders not getting another goal. The match was a decisive win with the team getting 31 shots, eight on target. Frei, who played in his 400th match, through all competitions, for the Sounders had three saves as his team limited St. Louis to seven shots, four on target.
Sounders mainstays Albert Rusnák and Alex Roldan returned to the starting lineup. Both played off the bench the past two matches after returning from injuries. Rusnák replaced Jesús Ferreira, who’s out with an adductor injury.
Roldan was back on the right flank, moving Kalani Kossa-Rienzi to the bench.
The Sounders (4-3-4) will turn their focus to a three-match road stint beginning in Houston next week. The sides finished in a goalless draw at Lumen in March.
NOTE
The Sounders gameday roster sent a message to Tom Biro, a former co-president of the Emerald City Supporters. Biro was recently struck by a car in Pioneer Square, which caused head trauma among other injuries. The players held a banner for their pregame photo that read “Get well soon, Tom.”
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