Gabriel Pec Leads LA Galaxy Past Sounders 2-0, Snapping Seattle's Nine-Match MLS Unbeaten Streak

Gabriel Pec picked up the ball in midfield deep into stoppage time, ran it all the way to Seattle's end line and laid it back for Matheus Nascimento, a substitute who had entered in the 83rd minute. Nascimento swept a right-footed finish into the bottom left corner, and a night of Seattle pressure ended with nothing to show for it.

That strike in the second minute of added time sealed a 2-0 win for the LA Galaxy over Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday at Lumen Field, and the damage went well beyond one result. According to the Sounders, the loss snapped a nine-match unbeaten streak in MLS play and ended the club-record home unbeaten streak in all competitions at 22 games. Seattle's last home loss before this one, per the club, came against Paris Saint-Germain at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Pec scored one and created the other. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday in the Pacific Northwest.

Pec Strikes First, Seattle Loses a Striker

The opening stretch was messy for the hosts. Danny Musovski forced JT Marcinkowski into a save from outside the box in the fifth minute, but play was stopped for an injury to Musovski, and Albert Rusnák replaced him in the 12th minute. Justin Haak picked up a yellow card for the Galaxy in the same minute, an early sign this would be a night of LA doing the dirty work.

The visitors were already finding space behind Seattle's back line. Marco Reus blazed a shot over from the right side in the 10th minute after a Pec cross, and in the 23rd minute the roles flipped. Reus threaded a through ball, Pec arrived in the center of the box and slotted a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner. Clean, simple, and exactly the kind of transition chance the Galaxy had come to Seattle hunting.

Seattle's response was patient rather than ferocious. Nouhou Tolo's header in the 29th minute was saved by Marcinkowski, and Peter Kingston's shot from distance in first-half stoppage time drifted just over. Kingston, booked in the 44th minute, did not come out for the second half.

The Siege That Never Broke Through

Brian Schmetzer's side kept coming after the break and kept testing the Galaxy's back line. Paul Arriola nearly equalized twice with headers from very close range: one off a corner in the 47th minute that slid wide to the right, and another in the 59th that Marcinkowski saved at the top of the goal. Schmetzer then went all in with a triple change in the 61st minute, sending on Paul Rothrock, Osaze De Rosario and Cristian Roldan.

LA nearly ended the drama in the 64th minute, when Pec hit the right post with a left-footed shot from very close range off an Erik Thommy pass. Greg Vanney made his own triple swap a minute later, pulling Reus among others, and from there it was mostly Seattle with the ball and LA getting a head, a boot or a body on everything. De Rosario dragged one just wide from distance in the 70th minute, Rusnák forced a save at the top left corner in the 74th, and Sebastian Gomez, who according to the Sounders was making his debut for the club, sent a shot high and wide in the 85th.

Turning Point: One Save, Then One Sprint

The game hinged on the 89th minute. Rothrock delivered a cross, Jordan Morris met it with a header from very close range, and Marcinkowski stopped it at the top center of the goal. That was the equalizer on Morris's head, and it stayed out.

In the second minute of stoppage time, the Galaxy countered, Pec carried the ball deep and Nascimento finished. One header saved, one counter converted. That is the whole night in two sentences.

Star Watch: Pec Wins the Rematch

Pec finished with a goal, an assist and a shot off the post, and MLSsoccer.com counted him at five goals and four assists on the season afterward. The story within the story was his matchup with Nouhou, a long-running problem for him, according to his coach.

"I felt like tonight he got the best of them. I thought it was the best performance he has had against him," Vanney said.

Reus did plenty in 65 minutes, assisting the opener and attempting two shots. Nascimento needed one shot to score one goal. But the unsung hero wore gloves. Marcinkowski made five saves, two of them on headers from very close range, and held a clean sheet against a team that had scored three on San Jose three days earlier. A late yellow card was the only blemish on his evening.

"I think it was a really, really well done defensive job by the guys," Vanney said.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Seattle 57.7 percent, LA 42.3 percent. The Sounders had the ball; the Galaxy had the goals.
• Shots on target: Seattle put five on frame, and Marcinkowski saved all five.
• Crosses: Seattle attempted 26 crosses and completed six. LA attempted three.
• Clearances: LA made 34 clearances to Seattle's five, a number that tells you exactly where this game was played.
• Fouls: The Galaxy committed 13 fouls to Seattle's three and collected four yellow cards.

What It Means

LA leaves Seattle at 5-4-5 with 19 points, and MLSsoccer.com had the Galaxy ninth in the Western Conference after the win. It capped a three-game road week that started with a win at Atlanta and included a 3-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, and Vanney sounded like a coach happy with his haul.

"But I think going on the road and winning two out of three is very, very solid, and comes off of good results prior to that," he said.

The Galaxy have now won three of their last five matches, with wins over Real Salt Lake, Atlanta and Seattle around a draw with Vancouver and that loss in Kansas City.

Seattle drops to 7-3-2 with 24 points and, per the club, sits fourth in the West. It was only the Sounders' second loss of the season and the first time this year they have lost without scoring. They head to LAFC on May 24 for what the club notes is their final match before MLS pauses for the World Cup.

Closing Take

Seattle had built something close to a fortress at Lumen Field, a home run stretching back almost 11 months. It was the long-running show that kept getting renewed, and the Galaxy walked in, absorbed 15 shots and canceled it. The Sounders still have a strong record and a top-four spot, but they now know their building can be breached, and they know which Brazilian winger did it.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and notes as reported by MLSsoccer.com and Seattle Sounders FC (soundersfc.com).