Schmetzer vents frustration as Sounders slide to eight straight MLS defeats

Seattle Sounders are without a win in their last eight MLS games and head coach Brian Schmetzer says the stretch is "super frustrating" ahead of a trip to face FC Cincinnati.

The losing run began before the World Cup break and continued in midweek at Lumen Field, where Austin FC came from behind to win 2-1. Facundo Torres and Guilherme Biro scored for Austin, cancelling out Stuart Hawkins' 90th-minute consolation for Seattle.

Despite finishing with an expected goals total of 1.27 from 19 shots to Austin's 1.18 from 12 attempts, Schmetzer said he could not care less about the underlying numbers.

"Nothing," Schmetzer said when asked what he could take away from Seattle's last match. "I mean, you're searching for a lot of positives, but the reality is that it's another loss. The reality is that it's eight losses in a row. Four at home. There are no positives here. You can say we had a higher expected goals than our opponent, more shots, possession. But right now, I could not care less. It's super, super frustrating that we couldn't score the first goal, because I think if we do the outcome of the game is completely different."

The results have dropped Seattle to 12th in the Western Conference. The club will travel to TQL Stadium to face Cincinnati, who are fresh from a late win over New York City FC in midweek.

Luighi cancelled out Kenji Mboma Dem's opener for NYCFC, but Cincinnati talisman Evander popped up with a 91st-minute winner to secure three points for Pat Noonan's side. The result kept Cincinnati in touch with the top four in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the New England Revolution.

"This is the first time before a game we've talked about where we were at," Noonan said. "There's still so much to play for, but they were a point behind us going into the game. I want to recognise the importance of getting three points at home. This was an important three points in this particular game, so that part, I think, was a huge win for us. Certainly, the result was good, especially at the end there. The difference between how you feel is a couple saves on one end and Evander being Evander on the other."

Players to watch

Cincinnati – Evander
Evander scored a stoppage-time winner against NYCFC, his 14th match-winning goal in regular-season MLS play since his debut in 2023. That is tied with Inter Miami's Lionel Messi for second, behind only Denis Bouanga (23) of Los Angeles FC in that time.

Seattle Sounders – Albert Rusnak
Rusnak recorded his 150th career regular-season goal contribution (73 goals, 77 assists) on Wednesday, the 19th player to hit the milestone. With 80 goal contributions for Real Salt Lake and 70 for Seattle, Rusnak is the second player in MLS history with 70 goal contributions for two clubs.

Match outlook

This will be the fourth all-time meeting between Cincinnati and the Sounders and the first since March 2023. Each team has a home win over the other, including Cincinnati winning 1-0 at home in March 2023, while the sides also played a draw in Seattle.

Cincinnati are in form at home, having won four straight regular-season home matches, their second-longest such winning streak after winning 10 in a row at home from February to June 2023. Seattle will be hoping to end their misery, with the only team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to reach the postseason despite losing eight or more games in a row that year being the New England Revolution in 2014, who reached the MLS Cup Final.

Opta win probability: Cincinnati 51.4%, Draw 22.3%, Seattle Sounders 26.3%.