ST PAUL, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 08: Dayne St. Clair #97 of Minnesota United celebrates against Seattle Sounders in the second half of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoff match at Allianz Field on November 08, 2025 in St Paul, Minnesota. Minnesota defeated Seattle … (David Berding / Getty Images)
The Seattle Sounders were eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs in a wild 10-round penalty kick shootout loss to Minnesota United on Saturday afternoon.
The shootout was ultimately decided by the goalkeepers as Andrew Thomas' chance to answer Minnesota's Dayne St. Clair hammered the crossbar and stayed out as United advance to the Western Conference Semifinals.
Jordan Morris scored in the 88th minute to force penalty kicks after Seattle squandered a 2-1 halftime lead despite playing with an extra man for the entire second half. Joseph Rosales was given a red card in the 41st minute for a headbutt against Jesús Ferreira, forcing Minnesota to play with just 10 players the rest of the way.
That would ultimately factor into penalty kicks as St. Clair and Thomas had to take shots in the 10th round with United down a player. St. Clair got Thomas to guess the wrong direction and buried his chance. Thomas also had St. Clair beat, but his shot off the crossbar sent Minnesota to the semifinals.
United will face the winner of top-seeded San Diego FC and the Portland Timbers, who play on Sunday.
It was a stunning collapse for a Sounders team that led 2-0 just eight minutes in and played with an extra man for more than a half.
A terrific passing combination led to a tremendous strike from Albert Rusnák for the opening goal just six minutes in for Seattle.
Nouhou Tolo delivered a cross into the box that was directed instantly by Danny Musovski to Rusnák, who hammered a strike off the volley that cleanly beat Minnesota keeper Dayne St. Clair for a 1-0 Sounders lead.
While the first goal was a brilliant display of skill for Seattle, their second goal was a gift from Minnesota United. Defender Morris Duggan completely whiffed on a clearance attempt in the box off a cross from Ferreira as Musovski easily cleaned up the mistake for a 2-0 lead after just eight minutes.
Rusnák had another chance off an attack in the 16th minute as Jordan Morris found him as a trailer entering the box and St. Clair had to make a big stop to keep it from becoming a three-goal Sounders' lead.
St. Clair’s save allowed Minnesota to claw back within a goal in the 19th minute.
Yeimar Gómez Andrade fouled Kelvin Yeboah to draw a yellow card and give Minnesota a free kick from just outside the box. A great strike from Joaquín Pereyra beat goaltender Stefan Frei inside the right post to cut Seattle's lead to 2-1.
St. Clair made a great kick save on Morris in the 38th minute for Minnesota before another major mistake for United before halftime.
Frei made a strong save to deny a chance from Nectarios Triantis in the 41st minute before Rosales got himself kicked out of the match. Rosales had been tripped in the build up to Traintis’ chance and couldn’t let it go. He got in the face of Ferreira and headbutted him, drawing an immediate red card.
It forced Minnesota to play the rest of the match with only ten men on the field.
Rusnák had a shot off the left post and Musovski had a chance saved by St. Clair in the 54th minute as Seattle tried to extend their advantage.
However, Minnesota withstood the push from the Sounders and fired back.
Duggan helped to atone for his earlier error, flicking a cross from Michael Boxall directly to Jefferson Díaz for a header that beat Frei to tie the game at 2-2 in the 62nd minute.
Despite having the extra man, the Sounders were the ones on their heels. Robin Lod and Triantis both had shots blocked, leading to a corner kick in the 70th minute. Pereyra’s corner kick sailed to the back post to a crashing Anthony Markanich for a header past Frei that gave United a 3-2 lead in the 71st minute.
St. Clair came up with another save on Cristian Roldan in the 77th minute and another on Alex Roldan in the 87th to preserve Minnesota’s lead. The second save led to a corner kick and a critical chance for Seattle to find the equalizer.
Rusnák's corner kick was touched by Cristian Roldan to the foot of Morris, who beat St. Clair for the tying goal in the 88th minute.
Eight minutes of stoppage time wasn't enough to find a winner as the game headed to penalty kicks for the second time in the three-game series.
Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer replaced Frei with Andrew Thomas in goal in anticipation of penalty kicks during stoppage time. Thomas had starred in a shootout in Seattle's run to the Leagues Cup title this summer and would get the chance to match St. Clair, who was named the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year this season.
Pereyra's first chance missed the goal wide right, though Thomas came up injured and immediately signaled for trainers due to an issue with his hand. Thomas was able to shake off the issue eventually to remain in goal for Seattle.
Rusnák scored to put Seattle ahead, but Triantis answered in round two with Morris hitting the crossbar to level the shootout.
The two teams traded conversions through the next four rounds before Thomas made a save on Markanich to get Seattle a chance to win. Obed Vargas' slow approach beat St. Clair, but his shot hit the left post and stayed out to send it to the eighth round.
Thomas made a save on Hassani Dotson, and St. Clair stopped Osaze De Rosario. Then, Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Alex Roldan traded goals to put the goalkeepers in the spotlight.
The Sounders led 2-0, and 2-1 with a man advantage. Thomas gave them multiple chances to win the game in the shootout and Seattle couldn't get the job done. Thomas' miss ended the game, but the Sounders squandered many chances to advance.
Seattle's season ends despite never trailing in the three-game series at the end of 90 minutes of play. Minnesota won Game 1 of the series in penalty kicks as well after a scoreless 90-minute stalemate between the two sides.
The Sounders forced a decisive Game 3 with a 4-2 victory at Lumen Field on Monday before a 3-3 draw at the end of regulation on Saturday forced another penalty kick shootout.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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