Seattle, WA — Raúl Ruidíaz showcased his prowess with a pair of early goals, propelling the Seattle Sounders to their maiden victory of the season, as they cruised past CF Montreal with a commanding 5-0 triumph on Saturday evening.
The Sounders (1-3-2) wasted no time asserting their dominance when Jackson Ragen nodded down a precise header in the 20th minute, setting up Ruidíaz’s clinical left-footed strike from the left side of the box, nestling neatly into the bottom right corner, off a well-executed set piece.
Ruidíaz continued to haunt Montreal’s defense, doubling his tally — and notching his fourth of the season — from the penalty spot in the 27th minute. The penalty was earned through Albert Rusnák’s clever maneuvering, drawing a foul from Montreal defender Joel Waterman in the penalty area.
Seattle extended their lead to a comfortable three goals early in the second half, as Jordan Morris latched onto a precise pass from Cristian Roldan in the 48th minute, slotting home a composed right-footed finish from close range into the bottom right corner.
Montreal’s challenge went from difficult to dire when Nathan Saliba was shown a red card in the 53rd minute, reducing them to ten men for the remainder of the match.
Alex Roldan and Dylan Teves piled on the misery for Montreal, sealing the emphatic victory for the Sounders. Roldan opened his account for the campaign in the 81st minute, capitalizing on an assist from Rusnák. Teves then added gloss to the scoreline in the seventh minute of stoppage time after coming on for Roldan in the 88th minute. Danny Musovski provided the assist for Teves’ first goal of the season and his second career strike.
Ruidiaz nearly completed his first MLS hat trick in the 33rd minute but Sirois made a diving save on the striker’s shot from just outside the top of the 18-yard box.
Stefan Frei preserved a clean sheet with two crucial saves, securing his first shutout of the season for the Sounders, who had only managed to score four goals in their previous five matches at the start of the season.
Jonathan Sirois put in a valiant effort for Montreal (2-3-1), making six saves in the face of Seattle’s relentless attack.
The Sounders will look to keep the momentum and make it two in a row when the club visits FC Dallas next weekend.
