The Seattle Sounders defeated CF Montréal 5-0 on Saturday at Lumen Field behind a first-half brace from Raúl Ruidíaz and second-half goals from Jordan Morris, Alex Roldan and Dylan Teves.
Things started precariously for the Sounders, as Cody Baker replaced Nouhou in the 11th minute after the Cameroonian international exited with an injury.
Ruidíaz opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a left-footed strike on a half-volley from the left side of the box. He finished a brilliant cushioned header by Jackson Ragen off a free kick from Albert Rusnák.
The Sounders had a penalty shout in the 24th minute when Rusnák went down in the box, but no penalty was initially given. The referee then went to Video Review and awarded the penalty.
Ruidíaz stepped up in the 27th minute and earned his brace by hammering the spot kick into the lower left corner.
Ruidíaz was close to bagging a hat trick in the 33rd minute when he one-timed a shot from 20 yards out that forced Jonathan Sirois into a diving save.
Stefan Frei made an incredible point-blank reaction save on a Joaquín Sosa header in the 38th minute to keep Montréal off the board.
Morris opened his 2024 scoring account to all but ice the match in the 48th minute with a beautiful redirection behind his legs off a cross from Cristian Roldan.
Montréal went down to 10 men in the 53rd minute when Nathan-Dylan Saliba received his second yellow card after a foul on Obed Vargas.
The Sounders notched a fourth goal in the 81st minute when Ruidíaz slipped in Rusnák, who played an easy ball to the back post for a wide-open Alex Roldan. The goal was the first of the season for the Sounders fullback.
Seattle added an exclamation point in the seventh minute of stoppage time when Danny Musovski played in a ball for Teves, and the University of Washington product recorded his second career MLS goal.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
First win secured
Saturday was a big night for the Sounders, who emphatically and cathartically picked up their first win of the season. Seattle will look to keep this momentum and make it two in a row when the club visits FC Dallas next weekend.
Ruidíaz steps up
It was another big night for Ruidíaz, who recorded his 16th career brace in all competitions in his illustrious Sounders career. The Peruvian extended his franchise-leading goal tally to 82.
João Paulo makes season debut
After missing the first five matches of the season with a hip injury, João Paulo made his long-awaited 2024 debut when he entered as a substitute in the 78th minute. It’s a promising sign for the Sounders, who have missed their central midfield maestro on both sides of the ball through the opening month of the campaign.
