The Seattle Sounders fell 1-0 to St. Louis CITY SC at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Mo., on Saturday night behind an early free kick goal from Eduard Löwen.
St. Louis drew first blood in the 15th minute after Jackson Ragen slipped and was whistled for a hand ball 25 yards from his own goal. Löwen stepped up and buried the ensuing free kick, bending it over the Sounders’ wall and inside the near post.
Seattle’s first crack at goal came in the 40th minute when Ragen rose for an Albert Rusnák corner, but Ragen’s header went straight to backup goalkeeper Ben Lundt.
Stefan Frei made a nice save on Conrad Wallem in the 60th minute when the Norwegian tried to sneak one past Frei at the near post, but the Sounders goalkeeper dove quickly to this right to keep it out.
The Sounders had a great chance to try and equalize in the 76th minute when Georgi Minoungou beat his man down the left flank and laid a pass off for Rusnák, but his shot from 10 yards out was blocked.
Seattle kept itself in the match in the 85th minute when Frei made a strong save in close before Nouhou got down to block the rebound.
The Sounders stayed alive again in the 90th minute when Frei made a fantastic stop on Simon Becher before Nouhou blocked Marcel Hartel’s follow-up attempt.
The Sounders thought they found a lifeline in the third minute of stoppage time when Obed Vargas won a penalty after he was fouled by Henry Kessler in the box, but the penalty was rescinded after Video Review for a hand ball on Vargas in the buildup.
Seattle was without Pedro de la Vega (quad), Jordan Morris (hamstring), Paul Arriola (knee) and Yeimar (personal reasons) on Saturday as well as Head Coach Brian Schmetzer (illness). Assistant Freddy Juarez acted as the interim manager on the evening.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
First points in the series
After losing four consecutive matches against the Sounders since joining MLS in 2023, St. Louis earned its first win and points against Seattle.
Historic defensive start
St. Louis CITY posted its fourth consecutive clean sheet to start the season, becoming just the third team in MLS history, and first since 2012, to do so.
Home against Houston
The Sounders will look to regroup next Saturday when they return to Lumen Field to host the Houston Dynamo (7:30 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV | TICKETS).
