Seattle Sounders DISMANTLE Cruz Azul & set Leagues Cup record | OneFootball

By Jaime Uribarri

If first impressions are any indication, Seattle Sounders FC mean business – and then some – in this year's Leagues Cup tournament.

The Rave Green demolished 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup winners Cruz Azul on Thursday night at Lumen Field, soaring to a record-setting 7-0 victory that put all of MLS and LIGA MX on notice.

Six different Sounders – Yeimar, Obed Vargas, Jesús Ferreira, Osaze De Rosario, Nouhou and Pedro De La Vega – scored second-half goals to give Seattle the biggest win in competition history.

"It was such a tremendous win for the club," head coach Brian Schmetzer told reporters post-match. "In this club's history, it ranks right up there with all of the big wins that we've had.

"It's not a championship match, so I would probably temper it with that. But it certainly was a hell of a performance."

Leagues Cup tickets

Ruthless display

Seattle’s devastating showing came at the expense of one of Mexico’s most feared clubs.

La Máquina have won LIGA MX nine times and are less than two months removed from beating Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 5-0, to claim their joint-record seventh CCC title. In March, Cruz Azul’s title run included a 4-1 aggregate victory over Seattle in the Round of 16.

The Sounders are a different team now.

“We knew that this was going to be a rematch from Concacaf. They were a very good team; they’re a team that eliminated us,” Ferreira said in a post-match interview with Apple TV.

“And so we wanted revenge, you know? We came in with the mentality that we are a good team."

For Schmetzer, his players were obligated to deliver after holding their own against Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético de Madrid and Botafogo this summer during the FIFA Club World Cup.

"After the Club World Cup, we told the group, 'Hey, you guys have set a standard. And that standard is here,'" Schmetzer said.

Message sent: Seattle Sounders DEMOLISH Cruz Azul

Masterful De La Vega

Seattle’s second-half goalfest was highlighted by a brilliant brace from de la Vega.

The Argentine Designated Player subbed on in the 73rd minute with the game all but secured, and scored just three minutes later. However, he saved the best for last: sealing the result in second-half stoppage time with a stunning volley from a tight angle.

"The execution, the technical ability, the ball that Alex [Roldan] plays. I mean, it's way up," Schmetzer answered when asked where de la Vega's golazo holds up among the club's all-time strikes.

"... That was an unbelievably technically challenging finish, and he made it look easy."

Stay grounded

Schmetzer, who's won two MLS Cups, a Concacaf Champions Cup and four US Open Cups with Seattle, would love nothing more than to add Leagues Cup to the club's trophy case.

They're on the right track after Thursday's display and can take another huge step towards clinching one of four quarterfinal slots available to MLS sides on Sunday against Santos Laguna (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass; FS1, Univision, TUDN).

The Sounders will conclude Phase One when hosting Club Tijuana on Aug. 6.

"I'm gonna let them [the players] enjoy this moment. They deserve all the accolades they're going to get, both here in this room and nationally," Schmetzer said. "But I have to keep them grounded as well.

"We're gonna find ways to make sure that they come back with another strong performance."

WATCH: Seattle Sounders score SEVEN against Cruz Azul