Tournament tough! Seattle Sounders oust Santos Laguna to stay perfect in Leagues Cup | OneFootball

By Justin Ruderman

Straight to the top!

Seattle Sounders FC continued their perfect Leagues Cup 2025 campaign with a 2-1 win at Lumen Field on Sunday night to knock Santos Laguna out of the tournament and go top of the MLS table heading into the final match of Phase One.

"I like the way our team plays. I like our little bit of freedom, interchange between players' positions, as long as we occupy the right spaces. I think the team's playing with a lot of confidence and the team is scoring a lot of goals," said head coach Brian Schmetzer.

"And, you know, that was one of our Achilles' heels from last year. We were tarred on it, maybe even at the beginning of this year, we had some struggles, but right now, the guys are feeling it."

Table toppers

By following up their historic 7-0 demolition of Cruz Azul in the largest ever Leagues Cup win with a second victory over LIGA MX opposition, Seattle match Cascadia rival Portland Timbers as the only MLS teams to accrue six points through two matches, moving atop the table on goal difference (+8).

“I appreciate, you know, some of the dialogue because we had a big victory against Cruz Azul, but it was important for us to come back tonight and have another good performance against another good LIGA MX team," said Schmetzer. "And the same goes for our last game against Tijuana."

For the longtime Sounders boss, beating LIGA MX teams carries that little bit of extra weight because of the rivalry between the two leagues. Luckily, due to the new format pitting MLS against LIGA MX until at least the semifinals, Schmetzer's team gets ample opportunity to prove themselves against Mexican opposition.

“We need to make sure that we continue that conversation, that MLS can compete, even though, you know, some of the bigger LIGA MX teams - I mean, look, let's be honest, they spend more money than us," said Schmetzer.

"So, for us to be competitive, I think that's a good thing. I think it's good for the competition between the two leagues. Again, I enjoy this competition. I like the games. I think they're exciting. I love when all our fans can come and watch a good, entertaining soccer game."

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Tournament tested

There just seems to be something about tournaments that brings the best out of the Sounders. A recent participant in the prestigious FIFA Club World Cup, Seattle are the only MLS team to win the current iteration of the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2022, they're tied for a record four U.S. Open Cup titles and boast two MLS Cup championships.

“Since the Club World Cup, the team has played at this level. And this tournament, as well, has made us play at a slightly higher level because the games are hard," said Schmetzer.

"So we are going to continue the message that this tournament is important, every game is important, and we're going to need everyone on the team to play up to a high level."

On the pitch, the experience shines through for players who have been there and done that for the Sounders in international competitions before.

"We’ve played in a lot of Concacaf matches so we know anything can happen," said defender Jackson Ragen. "You’ve got to adjust, you’ve got to stay calm and I think we handled that well."

Chasing a trophy

The only piece of North American silverware the Sounders have yet to win? Leagues Cup - and they would love to fill that hole in their trophy cabinet as soon as possible.

“This is a hard tournament to win. Games are never easy against LIGA MX teams. They have a lot of quality," said Schmetzer. "Say what you want, whether you like this tournament or not, the games have been exciting.”

Expect the same on Wednesday night when the Sounders return to Lumen Field for their final Phase One match against Club Tijuana, aiming to head into the knockout stages with a perfect nine points (11 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).

WATCH: Top of the table! Seattle Sounders oust Santos Laguna