Seattle Sounders v St. Louis City SC: Roldan urges hosts not to dwell on Champions Cup exit

Cristian Roldan urged the Seattle Sounders not to dwell on their recent Concacaf Champions Cup disappointment, with a quick turnaround to facing St. Louis City SC in MLS.

Seattle were knocked out of the Champions Cup by Tigres UANL in the quarter-finals – despite winning the second leg 3-1 to draw 3-3 on aggregate, the Mexican side got an all-important away goal.

The Sounders are unbeaten in their last four in MLS (W3 D1), a run which started with a 1-0 win over St. Louis, and it means they sit fifth in the Western Conference.

And Roldan wants their attention to immediately turn back to the league as they attempt to continue their fine run.

“I think it’s good that we have a short turnaround and not dwell on this too long,” Roldan said.

“But I think there was a lot of positives, and what we need to see out of ourselves on Saturday is a more aggressive group that we saw for 90 minutes, that was pushing buttons, that was extremely intentional, direct, play in tight spaces at times.

“So, a short turnaround is good when you don’t have to dwell on things.”

Up Next: Our first trip to the PNW #AllForCITY x @Energizer pic.twitter.com/NuniPwyva6

— St Louis CITY SC (@stlCITYsc) April 17, 2026

St. Louis, meanwhile, are still struggling to find their footing in MLS this year, with just one win from their seven matches so far.

They are 14th in the West, though are unbeaten in their last three, having ended a four-game winless start to the campaign.

St. Louis come into this game on the back of a win, though, after beating FC Tulsa 4-0 in the U.S. Open Cup round of 32, and midfielder Mykhi Joyner was thrilled with their aggressive approach in that match.

“I think that comes with just the core of our team,” Joyner said. “We always want to be aggressive, and we want to be on the front foot of the defense.

“Just trying to be more aggressive than them and then take the ball in their final third and punish them.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Seattle Sounders – Paul Rothrock

Paul Rothrock has scored three goals this regular season, with two of those goals being game-winners.

For his career, Rothrock has tallied 13 regular-season goals for Seattle, and the Sounders have not lost in any of the games in which he has scored (W11 D2).

Just the start

Congratulations to Paul Rothrock on reaching 100 all-competition appearances for the club! pic.twitter.com/1tQcI7DqID

— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) April 9, 2026

St. Louis City SC – Roman Burki

Roman Burki recorded a pair of saves in St. Louis’ 1-1 draw with FC Dallas on Saturday, bringing his total to 336 saves since he came to MLS in 2023.

Only Austin FC’s Brad Stuver (421) and Charlotte FC’s Kristijan Kahlina (354) have recorded more over the last four MLS seasons.

MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN

The Seattle Sounders have won each of their three home matches with St. Louis City SC by multiple goals.

The Sounders’ only longer streak of home wins by multiple goals against a single opponent was a four-game streak against the Colorado Rapids from 2017-2021 (MLS regular season only).

St. Louis City have failed to score multiple goals in six of their seven matches this season, including in all four of their road matches. The club ended last season by scoring multiple goals in each of their last five road games.

And they face a tough test to end that run. The Sounders have recorded four consecutive shutouts in league play, marking the second time the club has done so in MLS. Seattle recorded four straight regular-season clean sheets in July-August 2017 en route to an MLS Cup appearance.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Seattle Sounders – 69.7%

Draw – 17%

St. Louis City SC – 13.3%