Seattle Sounders survive Club Puebla on penalty kicks to advance to Leagues Cup semifinals
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 20: Andrew Thomas #26 of Seattle Sounders reacts after making the final save to beat Puebla in a shootout during the Leagues Cup Quarterfinal between Seattle Sounders and Puebla at Lumen Field on August 20, 2025 in Seattl (Steph Chambers - Leagues Cup / MLS / Getty Images)
SEATTLE - Goaltender Andrew Thomas made two saves in penalty kicks to allow the Sounders to survive and advance to the semifinals of Leagues Cup after a scoreless 90 minutes with Club Puebla that saw Seattle finish down a man.
Seattle had to play the final 20 minutes of the match down a man after Danny Musovski lost his cool and picked up a red card in the 76th minute. Puebla were content to push the game to penalties as they locked down the Sounders' attack throughout regulation, rarely pushing hard into the offensive end themselves.
After Cristian Roldan's opening penalty chance for Seattle hammered the right post and stayed out, Thomas answered with a save on Ricardo Marín to keep the penalties tied after the first round.
Alex Roldan, Jackson Ragen and Jesus Ferreira traded conversions with Esteban Lozano, Owen González and Fernando Monárrez as the shootout became sudden death. Obed Vargas delivered a fourth-straight conversion for Seattle to again grab the advantage before Thomas denied Nicolas Diaz to send the Sounders through to the semifinals.
Thomas made the saves in style as well, carrying a wry smile on his face ahead of both saves. Additionally, he made a gesture to the crowd behind the goal before Diaz's attempt, implying he intended to end the match right there.
Despite being without Albert Rusnák, Jordan Morris, Ryan Kent and more due to injuries, the Sounders were decisively the better squad., but an over-matched Puebla team hunkered down defensively and tried to survive until penalties. Seattle held a 75-25 edge in possession at halftime as Puebla were unable to relieve the pressure of the Sounders' attack.
Seattle won four corner kicks in the half and had five shot chances, though none were on-target.
The only shot of the half for either team came from Monárrez in the 26th minute. His chance from distance was saved by Thomas, who received the nod in goal over Stefan Frei as he works back from a concussion.
Paul Rothrock, Pedro de la Vega, Ferreira and Vargas each had shots miss wide of goal, while Vargas also had a chance blocked.
Puebla found its best chance in the 60th minute. A counter-attack saw the ball come to Emiliano Gómez deep in the box, but he was unable to get his shot on goal as it missed wide left of the net.
The only shot on goal for the Sounders came in the 56th minute on a Jackson Ragen header that was easily saved by Julio González.
de la Vega won a free kick for Seattle on a foul by Ariel Gamarra, but Ferreira's free-kick deflected and set up a chance for Alex Roldan that sailed just over the crossbar in the 64th minute.
Ferreira then saw the best chance of the night for the Sounders come in the 71st minute. Ferreira attempted to fire a shot off a half-volley that was directed wide left of the goal.
The match changed complexion entirely in the 76th minute. After a stretch of tough, physical play resulted in no foul calls by referee Juan Calderón, Danny Musovski was shown a yellow card for a foul on Díaz. When Musovski saw he was being booked, he leaped to his feet and screamed at Calderón while bumping into the referee. That earned Musovski a red card as he was sent off for the rest of the match and the Sounders were forced to play with 10 men for the remaining time.
Puebla briefly ramped up their attacking chances with Seattle playing down a man, but the Sounders still controlled the play despite the disadvantage. The Sounders had several chances off set pieces in the closing ten minutes, but were unable to find the goal they needed.
With the match tied at the end of regulation, it turned straight to penalty kicks with no extra time to decide the winner.
Thomas then stood tall in goal to send the Sounders through to the semifinals.
It will be an All-MLS semi-final as the four MLS squads each dispathced their Liga MX counterparts on Wednesday night.
Like the Sounders, Orlando City FC beat Toluca 6-5 in penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation. They'll face Inter Miami, who beat Tigres 2-1.
Meanwhile, the LA Galaxy beat Pachuca 2-1 in the nightcap to advance. The Sounders will travel to face the Galaxy in the semifinals with Orlando City and Inter Miami facing off on the opposite side of the bracket.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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