Healthier Sounders hope Dejan Joveljic can ignite win vs. Red Bulls

Aug 29, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Sounders FC forward Dejan Joveljic (9) advances the ball against the Chicago Fire FC during the second half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Dejan Joveljic tallied twice in his Seattle Sounders debut last weekend. However, that still wasn't enough to prevent the Sounders' MLS winless streak from reaching 10 matches (0-8-2), as the visiting Chicago Fire rallied late for a 2-2 draw. The Sounders (7-9-5, 26 points) will look to get back in the win column when they play host to the struggling New York Red Bulls (7-10-5, 26 points) on Saturday. Joveljic, acquired from Sporting Kansas City in a $6 million deal, scored early in both halves to give the Sounders 1-0 and 2-1 leads. Seattle was unable to close it out. "I'm happy because I scored in my first game, two goals," Joveljic said. "I'm not fully happy because we didn't take all three points. I have the feeling like we lost the game." The Sounders, who opened the season 7-1-3 before experiencing a spate of injuries, are finally starting to get healthy. Forward Jordan Morris and midfielders Cristian Roldan and Hassani Dotson all came off the bench last weekend after long absences, and midfielder Paul Arriola (calf) is expected to be available Saturday after being out since Aug. 1. Jesus Ferreira (hamstring) remains sidelined. The Red Bulls are winless in their past four matches (0-3-1), including a 3-1 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Union last weekend. "There's accountability every day, so we promise you that we look hard at every little thing, we're very honest with ourselves," said Red Bulls coach Michael Bradley, whose team is opening a four-match trip. "We have a really good way of working, of looking at things, of understanding the things that have to continue to get better, of understanding the mistakes that have to get cut out. "But it's not just as simple as to say that's unacceptable, and all of a sudden it'll never happen again." The Red Bulls are led by 18-year-old All-Star forward Julian Hall, who has nine goals and five assists in 22 league matches. Hall was signed to a new four-year contract last week. --Field Level Media