Paul Rothrock Comes Off the Bench to Lead Seattle Sounders Past Colorado Rapids 2-0 in Home Opener

Seven minutes into the new season, the Seattle Sounders lost Jordan Morris to an injury. Most teams would take a beat to recover. Seattle sent on Paul Rothrock, and the hometown kid turned the night into his own personal highlight package.

The Sounders beat the Colorado Rapids 2-0 on Sunday night at Lumen Field in their home opener, with Rothrock setting up Albert Rusnák's 15th-minute header and then scoring the second himself in the 62nd minute. Seattle starts 1-0-0 with three points in front of 31,606 fans. Colorado, beginning life under new head coach Matt Wells, opens 0-0-1.

Chaos, VAR and a Very Long First Half

Seattle came out swinging. Rusnák had a shot blocked in the 1st minute, the Sounders won two quick corners, and Nouhou Tolo fired wide from distance in the 3rd. Then the night got weird.

Morris went down in the 7th minute and was replaced by Rothrock a minute later. It took the substitute all of seven minutes to make his mark. Per the Sounders, he sprinted roughly 30 yards to keep a ball alive near the left sideline, then curled a cross into the box for Rusnák, who headed it into the top right corner from the center of the box. Zack Steffen had no chance.

Three minutes later, Seattle thought it had a second. Hassani Dotson put the ball in the net in the 18th minute, but a VAR review ruled it out. The club said the review found Osaze De Rosario had committed a foul in the buildup.

The VAR monitor got plenty of use after that. In the 28th minute a video review ruled out a red card for Colorado's Noah Cobb, who was booked two minutes later instead. Colorado collected four yellow cards before halftime, with Rafael Navarro, Cobb, Dante Sealy and Reggie Cannon all going into the book.

The injuries piled up too. Rothrock needed treatment in the 27th minute. Josh Atencio and Alex Roldan both needed treatment during a stoppage-time stretch that lasted forever, and Dotson eventually had to come off for teenager Snyder Brunell. The fourth official announced 12 added minutes, and the half did not end until the 16th minute of stoppage. The Sounders' own recap said the first half ran 61 minutes. Somewhere in there, De Rosario fired a shot just wide and Hamzat Ojediran forced Andrew Thomas into his first save. Seattle went into the break up 1-0.

Seattle Puts It Away

Colorado head coach Matt Wells sent on Keegan Rosenberry for Cannon at halftime, but Seattle started the second half on the front foot again. Rothrock delivered another cross in the 46th minute, and Steffen saved Jesús Ferreira's header in the bottom left corner. Three minutes later Ferreira turned provider with a through ball for Rusnák, whose shot from the center of the box went just wide. Jackson Ragen then forced Steffen into a save with a header in the 52nd.

Colorado finally had a real look in the 62nd minute. Navarro met a Wayne Frederick cross in the center of the box and Thomas saved it.

The Turning Point

That save mattered, because in the same minute Seattle struck on a fast break. Rothrock arrived on the left side of the box. He hammered a left-footed shot into the top right corner for a 2-0 lead.

That was the swing. Colorado had just threatened, and suddenly it needed two goals instead of one. The Rapids made a double change in the 68th minute, sending on Alexis Manyoma and Alex Harris, but chances stayed scarce. Lucas Herrington had a close-range header blocked in the 88th minute, and in the second minute of stoppage time Harris got a left-footed shot away from the left side of the six-yard box. Thomas saved it in the bottom left corner. The Sounders called it his first huge save of the match.

Colorado's last two efforts, from Miguel Navarro and Manyoma, both missed the target.

Rothrock, Rusnák and a Clean Sheet

Paul Rothrock was the story. One goal, one assist, two shots, and both goals ran through a player who started the night on the bench. Brian Schmetzer loved it.

"That might have been the best sub I made the whole game," Schmetzer said. "Paul came on and did exactly what he always does."

Albert Rusnák was Seattle's busiest shooter with four attempts, and he scored with the only one that hit the target.

Andrew Thomas made three saves for the clean sheet, including that late stop on Harris.

Zack Steffen made four saves for Colorado and kept the margin respectable.

There was also a feel-good moment late. Paul Arriola came on for Rusnák in the 88th minute, and the club said it was his first time back on the field since tearing his ACL last March in Concacaf Champions Cup play.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Seattle 15, Colorado 8.
• Shots on target: Seattle 5, Colorado 3.
• Possession: Colorado 57.1 percent, Seattle 42.9 percent. The Rapids had the ball. The Sounders had the chances.
• Corners: Seattle 8, Colorado 4.
• Discipline: Colorado committed 17 fouls and was booked four times, all in the first half.

What It Means

Seattle has three points in the bank, and it is going to need them. The club said the Sounders now play six straight matches away from Seattle, including a Concacaf Champions Cup home match in Spokane, while Lumen Field undergoes renovations ahead of the FIFA World Cup this summer. First up is a trip to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

Rothrock already had his eye on that one.

"I think it's always good to get one under your belt, and I think it gives you some momentum going into the next week," he said. "But RSL is going to be a whole different match, a whole different battle."

Colorado's new era starts with a loss and zero points. The Rapids, who started debutants Ojediran, Sealy and Herrington according to the club, host the Portland Timbers in their home opener on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Closing Take

Every season opener has a script, and this one tried to go off the rails early. An injury in the 7th minute, a disallowed goal, a rescinded red card and 16 minutes of first-half stoppage time is enough chaos for a full season of a prestige TV drama. Seattle kept its head, and its substitute stole the show.

Schmetzer put it best in five words.

"That kid is always ready," he said.

On this evidence, the rest of the league should be ready too.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and club notes as reported by Seattle Sounders FC (soundersfc.com); club notes from the Colorado Rapids (coloradorapids.com).