Albert Rusnak seals Seattle's 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake

Seattle Sounders defeated Real Salt Lake 2-0 at Lumen Field, with Seattle taking the win in the Major League Soccer regular season on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

Seattle make second-half openings count

The match was goalless at the interval, but Seattle moved ahead in the 48th minute. D. Musovski scored the opener for Seattle Sounders, assisted by P. Arriola, to make the running score 1-0. Musovski was later replaced by J. Morris in the 63rd minute.

A. Rusnak completed the scoring in the 73rd minute, again with P. Arriola providing the assist. The goal made the running score 2-0. Rusnak was Seattle’s highest-rated player, receiving an 8.9 rating after 90 minutes; he also recorded one shot on target and five key passes.

The numbers show a controlled Seattle display

Seattle held 53% possession to Real Salt Lake’s 47% and completed 553 passes, compared with 485 for the visitors. Both teams recorded an 84% pass accuracy rate. Seattle also led shots on goal 4-2 and posted the higher expected-goals figure, 0.91 to 0.43.

The total-shot count was closer in Real Salt Lake’s favor: the visitors attempted 12 shots to Seattle’s 11. However, Real Salt Lake had six shots off goal and four blocked shots, while Seattle produced seven shots inside the box and four on target. Those figures suggest that possession and finishing quality, rather than shot volume alone, shaped the result.

Discipline and changes shaped the second half

Seattle collected four yellow cards, with K. Kossa-Rienzi booked in the 10th minute, P. Arriola in the 41st, P. Kingston in the 52nd and S. Brunell in the 55th. Real Salt Lake received two: K. Henry in the 57th minute and D. Yedlin in the 87th. Seattle made two substitutions at half-time, bringing on S. Hawkins and P. Kingston, then introduced H. Dotson and J. Morris in the 63rd minute. Real Salt Lake made changes in the 71st and 78th minutes, but did not score.

Western Conference picture

Seattle are listed tenth in the Western Conference with 32 points from 25 games, while Real Salt Lake are listed 13th with 29 points from 26 games. Seattle are three points ahead of Real Salt Lake in the supplied table context. Vancouver Whitecaps lead the conference with 49 points; Seattle trail the leaders by 17 points and Real Salt Lake by 20.

The listed recent sequences begin with a Seattle win and a Real Salt Lake loss, matching the outcome in this completed fixture. The available evidence establishes the result and the teams’ listed conference positions, but does not establish any new ranking after the match.