Seattle Sounders FC Forward Raúl Ruidíaz Voted MLS Player of the Matchday for Matchday 8

NEW YORK (Monday, April 8, 2024) – Seattle Sounders FC forward Raúl Ruidíaz was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday for Matchday 8 of the 2024 MLS season.

Ruidíaz scored the opening two goals of the match and added one assist in the club’s 5-0 victory over CF Montréal on Saturday, April 6. Ruidíaz recorded his 67th and 68th career regular-season goals, which rank as the most in club history and sixth-most among all active players. Of all players that have scored 50 career regular-season goals in MLS history, Ruidíaz currently ranks sixth in goals per game (0.56), behind only Robbie Keane (0.66), David Villa (0.66), Josef Martínez (0.63), Sebastian Giovinco (0.60), and Taylor Twellman (0.58). The Sounders scored at least five goals in a game for the first time since August 15, 2021, when they put six past the Portland Timbers, including a pair of goals from Ruidíaz.

Seattle jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute, as Sounders defender Jackson Ragen headed a ball down towards Ruidíaz who struck a thunderous, one-timed volley into the top corner of the net (Watch Here). After Seattle drew a penalty kick, the Peruvian forward stepped up and slotted his effort past the diving Montréal goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead in the 27th minute (Watch Here). Seattle scored once more before Ruidíaz added an assist in the 81st minute through a quick passing combination with Albert Rusnák, who located Alex Roldan for a tap-in finish from close range to make it 4-0 (Watch Here). The Sounders would add a final goal through Dylan Teves to seal the 5-0 victory.

This is the fifth time Ruidíaz has earned the honor, passing Clint Dempsey (four) and Jordan Morris (four) for the most Player of the Matchdays in club history. Since the start of 2020, Ruidíaz and Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar (seven) are the only MLS players to win at least five Player of the Matchday awards. Ruidíaz is the first Sounders player to be named MLS Player of the Matchday since Léo Chú won the award on Matchday 24 of 2023.

The Sounders will aim for back-to-back victories when they travel to face FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium on Saturday, April 13 (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

The MLS Player of the Matchday is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.