Seattle cruise on opening night; NYCFC fight back for draw with Galaxy | OneFootball

The Sounders opened up their season with a comfortable home win over a lackluster Colorado Rapids side.

It was a match overshadowed by constant VAR checks, killing the flow of the game throughout. That did not dull the Seattle dominance, however. 

But at the heart of the action was Pual Rothrock, who only joined the affair after Jordan Morris left with an injury. 

After providing the assist on the opener, the forward popped up with a sublime finish to put the match to bed in the second half. 

It was a poor showing from Matt Wells' new-look Rapids, but they will have 33 games to progress the remainder of this season. 

Meanwhile, NYCFC and the LA Galaxy kicked off their MLS campaigns with a hard-fought draw in Los Angeles this evening. 

After a poor 2025 campaign in which the Galaxy hit historic lows as reigning MLS Cup holders, Gregg Vanney's side were looking for a quick start to 2026. 

They appeared to get just that when new signing João Klauss fired home a Marco Reus pass to open the scoring in style. 

The visitors from the Big Apple did well to settle into the game however, and while it took until deep in the second-half, they were given their chance to pull level when Emiro Garcés was sent off for taking down an NYCFC player in the box. 

Up stepped Nicolás Fernández to dispatch the equalizer from the spot and snatch a point for the away side. 

📸 Kevork Djansezian - 2026 Getty Images