Paul Rothrock doesn’t need motivation. He’s one of those players who has an abundance of energy whether it’s training, lifting or game day.
But disrespect Rothrock? Santos Laguna can tell you how that goes.
Efforts to send a message turned into an early deficit the Sounders used to dispatch Santos 2-1 in a Leagues Cup match Sunday at Lumen Field. Seattle (2-0) remains atop of the MLS standings for the tournament.
“It was a difficult game psychologically coming off the Cruz Azul game, one of the best performances ever in club history,” Rothrock said of Seattle’s record-setting 7-0 win against the reigning CONCACAF Champions Cup winners last week. “This game (Sunday) felt like a potential trap game. We handled ourselves well in that regard and showed some grit … We’re playing for a different type of pride in representing Seattle on an even bigger stage. ”
Leagues Cup features Mexico’s 18 Liga MX clubs and 18 teams from MLS. Each play three Phase One matches and results are tallied in a Liga MX-specific and MLS-specific table.
The Sounders close out Phase One against Club Tijuana (1-1) on Wednesday at Lumen. Tijuana defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-1 on Sunday.
A scrappy tone was sent when Santos midfielder Aldo López had a strong tackle to stop Rothrock from starting a transition play in the fourth minute. The Sounders forward writhed in pain as his teammates played out the advantage but didn’t convert.
Multiple skirmishes followed that referee Steffon Dewar tried to temper.
Rothrock got his payback minutes later. He raced to send a clinical, low cross into the box for forward Danny Musovski to tap in. Santos defender Haret Ortega had to challenge the pass and errantly deflected the ball into the back netting for an own goal in the eighth minute.
The Sounders swarmed Rothrock to celebrate the early 1-0 lead he created with his relentlessness.
Seattle thought they had another goal in the 28th minute when Musovski appeared to get undercut in pursuit of a score in the box. Dewar awarded a penalty and showed Santos midfielder Javier Güémez a red card for dissent.
Both were waived off after a lengthy VAR review. There was an added six minutes of stoppage time before the teams entered the break with the Sounders leading 1-0.
Santos didn’t get an attempt at goal until the added time. The Mexican side was outshot 7-1 overall in the opening half.
The second half was a duel of wild moments.
In the 58th minute, Lumen’s playing surface changed. A fan darted onto the field from the southwest side of the stadium and shook popcorn over his head as he made a diagonal run past the players. Security surrounded the person and escorted him off through the northeast tunnel, but the popcorn remained.
Sounders winger Georgi Minoungou topped the oddity with his own stretch of 11 minutes on the field. He was subbed on in the 63rd minute as part of Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer’s first substitutions in the match.
In the 65th minute, Minoungou was shown a yellow card and in the 72nd minute he danced in the box to power a right-footed shot into goal for a 2-0 Sounders lead. But as part of the devout Christian’s celebration, Minoungou pulled his jersey over his head to display a “Jesus is King” T-shirt.
Dewar showed Minoungou a second yellow, which sent him off in the 74th minute and the Sounders had to finish the match with 10 players. Minoungou will serve a one-game suspension Wednesday.
“We should’ve know better from Osaze (De Rosario’s goal celebration) from the game before,” Schmetzer said of De Rosario covering his face with his jersey. “But the first yellow card that Georgi got was never a yellow card. I watched every angle that I have. Our video guys came down. There’s no foul there on Georgi. Now, Georgi has to learn from that. He knew he was on a yellow and he gets carried away because he’s a human being.”
Santos forward Cristian Dájome scored his side’s lone goal in the final minute of stoppage time. But Los Guerreros (Warriors) is eliminated from contention.
“We didn’t want to concede,” Schmetzer said. “On that play, we were a little tired.”
Schmetzer made four lineup changes but retained experience. Danny Leyva playing in the midfield alongside Obed Vargas, in place of Cristian Roldan was the only pairing not used often this season.
Kim Kee-hee started a center back with Jackson Ragen. Kee-hee is returning to form after suffering a calf injury.
The wings featured Pedro de la Vega on the left and Rothrock on the right. The latter recently underwent hand surgery but his being left out of the lineup Thursday against Cruz Azul was a “coach’s decision.”
Rothrock and de la Vega slotted in for Ryan Kent and Jesús Ferreira.
“The fact that I’m about a week post-op and able to be back out on the field, I want to thank (the medical staff),” Rothrock said. “It’s a pleasure to be back on the field. I’m really grateful for that.”
Santos coach Francisco Rodriguez made eight lineup changes from the 2-1 loss in Colorado last week. Héctor Holguín starting in goal Sunday was forced because mainstay keeper Carlos Acevedo was suspended for being shown a red card against the Rapids.
The Sounders signed Mohammed Shour to a short-term contract Sunday. The Seattleite is a keeper for the club’s MLS Next Pro side Tacoma Defiance and was named MVP of the 2023 MLSNP All-Star Game.
Shour has been training with the Sounders keepers and is adding depth in the position through the tournament. Veteran keeper Stefan Frei remains out due to a concussion suffered last month.
Cascadia rival Portland is the only other undefeated team in MLS’s Leagues Cup standings. The Timbers defeated Liga MX’s Club Querétaro (1-0) and Atlético de San Luis (4-0) and finish Phase One matches against Club América on Wednesday.
The Sounders need to get a result Wednesday to ensure they are one of the four MLS team to advance to the quarterfinals.
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