February 22, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Sounders FC forward Paul Rothrock (14) hugs Seattle Sounders FC forward Jesus Pereira (9) after Rothrock scored a second-half goal during the game against the Colorado Rapids at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Image The Seattle Sounders are thrilled that Paul Rothrock has decided to stay home.
The Seattle midfielder decided to re-sign with the Sounders in the offseason as a free agent. He replaced the injured Jordan Morris (quad strain) in the 8th minute of the season opener in last Sunday’s away game at Colorado, scoring a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win.
Rothrock and the Sounders (1-0-0, 3 points) travel to Sandy, Utah, to face Real Salt Lake (0-1-0, 0 points) on Saturday evening.
With Morris expected to be out for a month, Rothrock is likely to slot into the starting lineup.
Known as “Paulie Primetime” in Seattle, Rothrock assisted Albert Rusnak’s goal in the 15th minute, working to keep the ball inbounds and then delivering a perfect cross to the top of the six-yard box for a header. Then, in the 62nd, he fired a left-footed shot from the top left of the 6-yard box, beating Rapids goalkeeper Jack Steffen and entering the net on the other side.
“He’s always ready. That kid is always ready,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said of Rothrock. “That might have been something to me that said, ‘Coach, I need to be there.’” And I respect that. thank you “He played really, really well (Sunday).”
Rothrock scored five goals and provided nine assists in 48 games across all competitions last season, helping the Sounders to a League Cup win over Inter Miami.
As for re-signing with Seattle when you get a more lucrative offer elsewhere?
“I still felt like my heart was here and I wasn’t giving it my all yet,” Rothrock said. “I haven’t won a (MLS) championship here yet, but I still want to win it.”
RSL’s season debut did not go well as they lost 1-0 in Vancouver. The only goal came when a cross from defender DeAndre Yedlin was deflected and fell to the Whitecaps’ Aziel Jackson, who scored on a volley in the 57th minute.
RSL goalkeeper Rafael Cabral made four saves.
Midfielders Zach Booth and Luca Moisa and forward Sergi Solans made their RSL and MLS debuts respectively, while midfielder Aiden Hezarkhani made his first start for the club.
“It will be difficult, but I think the experience we had last year should give us a very important insight into how to manage games, what it takes to win, and bringing in new players will give us a very important piece of who we can potentially become as a team,” said RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni.
–Field level media
