Minnesota United finds familiar fate in Seattle in another loss

Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath knows the dangers lurking in Seattle, the kind which has left his team without a victory or tie at Lumen Field in its Major League Soccer existence.

He spoke Friday about feeling confident for long stretches of past games. Then, in almost cinematic fashion, a Seattle jump scare altered the games' trajectories.

The Sounders did it again Saturday night, winning 1-0 on Albert Rusnák's goal in the 79th minute. Minnesota fell to 0-8 at Seattle and dropped its third consecutive match overall.

The key play started with a Seattle throw-in and ended with Rusnák firing a shot from just outside the 18-yard box.

"Our shape was excellent until the lapse at the end," Heath said in a video call with reporters after the match. "And we were punished quite severely. So that was disappointing."

Defender DJ Taylor added, "Maybe we were a little flat-footed or had a lack of concentration. And you can't take breaks."

Seattle (6-2-1) has outscored opponents 10-0 in its past five games at home. Minnesota (3-3-2) took its first shutout of the season.

The teams conceded a combined six second half goals in losses last week. Only Seattle maintained a clean sheet in the rain Saturday. Sounders' forward Jordan Morris entered the game in the 66th minute. But he was unable to add to his team-high eight goals.

Rusnák picked up the slack with his first goal this season.

Neither team found the back of the net in the first half. Seattle held the edge in building toward better scoring chances. Minnesota's Sang Bin Jeong ripped a shot over the Sounders net in the 41st minute in what represented the Loons' best opportunity.

Minnesota's defensive effort, solid most of the game, required veterans such as Taylor to slide into a new position and lesser-used players such as Zarek Valentin, to offset the losses of Brent Kallman and Kemar Lawrence. They stayed in Minnesota to attend to family matters. Midfielder Wil Trapp was held out to avoid aggravating an injured hamstring.

Defender Britton Fischer was signed Saturday by Minnesota United to a Short-Term Agreement from the Loons' MNUFC2 reserve team. But he did not see any game action.

"When we were [3-0-2], maybe we weren't playing our best," Taylor said. "We're playing much better now, but we're not getting the results. This game is all about small margins."

Heath said, "I can't criticize our players for their effort. Like I said, we were never in real danger for much of the match."