Brian Schmetzer is hoping Jordan Morris can inspire the Seattle Sounders to their first MLS win of the season when they take on Real Salt Lake this weekend.
Morris scored twice in the Sounders’ 2-2 draw with Charlotte FC, taking his goal tally across all competitions to 86, levelling Raul Ruidiaz as the club’s all-time top scorer.
The American has scored three goals in 14 appearances against Salt Lake, and Schmetzer believes it is only a matter of time before Morris writes himself into Sounders history.
“He’s surpassed some pretty good players,” Schmetzer said. “Raul was tremendous in his prime. Then we had Clint (Dempsey) and we had Oba (Martins).
“A lot of good forwards and attacking players at this club. For the local guy to persevere, he’s going to break it, and it’s a tremendous achievement for Jordan.”
The Sounders come into the game on the back of a 3-1 win in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup clash against Antigua, advancing to the last 16.
They will face six-time winners Cruz Azul in the next round of the competition, and Schemtzer said his players were relishing the test against the Mexican side next month.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge,” said Schmetzer. “The players are already talking about it in the locker room, about the next chapter. We’ll see how that plays out.”
The perfect ending to a Sounders matchday pic.twitter.com/WQyqGDh5yG
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) February 27, 2025
Salt Lake, meanwhile, endured a difficult encounter in the same competition in midweek, losing 2-1 on aggregate to Costa Rican champions CS Herediano.
The result followed a 4-0 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes on the opening day of the new MLS season, leaving Pablo Mastroeni furious and wanting answers quickly.
“If you don’t want to feel like s*** on Saturday, then be better (in practice),” Mastroeni said he told his players after their shock defeat.
Mastroeni was particularly dismayed that his side lost despite registering an expected goals (xG) total of 2.65 from their 30 shots, though only six of those were on target.
“I don’t know how you come away with one goal from that game,” Mastroeni said. “You’ve got to be killers, man.
“You’ve got to get numbers inside the box. You’ve got to be clinical. That game should’ve been put away in the first half.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Pablo Ruiz
Though failing to get himself on the scoresheet against the San Jose Earthquakes, Ruiz showed promise that he could be a danger for Salt Lake this season.
He attempted six shots and created six chances for his team-mates in their season opener, the first player to hit both marks in a match for RSL since Joao Plata in June 2017.
Seattle Sounders – Jordan Morris
After netting 13 times in the 2024 MLS season, Morris started the new campaign in fine fashion to help Seattle seal a share of the spoils against Charlotte.
He scored both of their goals in their first game last week. Morris has now scored eight times in Seattle’s season-opening matches, the most by any player in MLS history.
MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN
Though Opta’s data-led simulations favour Seattle, Salt Lake are unbeaten in 15 consecutive home matches against them in all competitions (W12 D3) dating back to 2013. The Sounders’ last win at RSL was a 1-0 victory in the 2012 Conference semi-finals.
However, Salt Lake will be looking to bounce back from their 4-0 thrashing in their first game of the new season. Indeed, it was the club’s largest season-opening loss in their history. RSL have only lost their first two matches of a campaign once before, doing so in 2006.
But Seattle will also be looking to get their first win on the board. Their draw with Charlotte last time out marked the first time in the team’s 17-year MLS history that they began a regular season with a stalemate (W9 L7 in the first 16 season-openers).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake – 33.9%
Draw – 25.8%
Seattle Sounders – 40.3%
