On Wednesday, May 8th, the Sounders barely squeaked out a victory over USL Championship team Louisville FC in the US Open Cup Round of 32. The first 65 minutes the Sounders dominated taking a two to zero lead, featuring goals from Paul Rothrock and Danny Musofski, who scored his second goal ever for the Sounders. The rest of the match saw a comeback from Louisville, aided by a tight handball penalty decision in the 67th minutes scored by Sean Totsch, and a scrambled goal right before the end of regulation to send the game to overtime from Jorge Gonzales. The shoot out took 8 penalties to decide the game; backup goalkeeper Andrew Thomas scored on Louisville keeper Daniel Antoni Faundez González to win the shootout and send the Sounders onto the Round of 16.
Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, where USOC games take place. Image Credit: Seattle Sounders Communication
The game was a bright spot for the Sounders this year, whose MLS season has been off to a rocky start. With only 3 wins after 14 games played and currently standing 10th in the west, out of playoff standings, the Sounders have had one of their worst starts in their MLS history. They hope to turn their season around with the return of Argentinian striker Pedro de la Vega, who signed in the offseason but has been out with a hamstring injury since March 2nd. He returned as a sub on Saturday in the Sounders draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps, and is expected to return to the starting lineup. Another potential bright spot for the Sounders- lots of up and coming talent from the team's MLS Next Pro partner team, the Tacoma Defiance. May 8th's game saw the first team debut for 5 Tacoma Defiance players: Stuart Hawkins, Antino Lopez, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Snyder Brunell and Osaze De Rosario, and the first start for Defiance star Georgi Minoungou, who recorded his first ever first team assist in the game.
Andrew Thomas after scoring the final penalty on May 8th. Image Credit: Seattle Sounders Communication
The Sounders continue their US Open cup journey tonight, May 22nd, at 7:30pm at Starfire Stadium for their Round of 16 match against USL Championship side Phoenix Rising FC. The game is available streamed for free on ussoccer.com, on air at 950 KJR AM, and tickets are still available.
The Sounders return to MLS play on this Saturday against St. Louis FC, at CITYPARK. The game kicks off at 5:30 PST, available on Apple TV with the MLS Season Pass.
By Reuben Breznau Foster
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