Raul Ruidiaz scored a very awesome goal
Ruidiaz’s blast from nearly 41 yards is an instant Goal of thee Year candidate.
Every time you think you can’t be surprised by Raúl Ruidíaz he goes and does something like he did on Thursday. Coming on as a second-half substitute, Ruidíaz still managed to grab the week’s biggest highlight. His goal from more than 40 yards out will go down as not just one of the longest strikes in MLS history — the ESPN broadcast claimed Wayne Rooney’s 68-yard blast is the only longer one since 2018 — but it also has to be considered an instant Goal of the Year favorite ad was apparently SportsCenter’s Top Play of the night.
The most remarkable thing about this strike is just how well he hits it. This was no chip. No, he hit this pretty much on a line and gave Brad Stuver — probably the top goalkeeper in MLS this year — no chance to stop it. Ruidíaz also seems to know as soon as he hits it, as he pulls away to admire the beauty.
“In reality, you’re always reading the game, always looking at the goalkeeper,” Ruidíaz said after the game. “They don’t think you’re going to try from so far out. I was just looking at him and tried it. Everything went very, very quick. I’m still surprised at the goal.”
Maybe he shouldn’t be. That was Ruidíaz’s 11th goal of the season after just 15 games. He’s now scored 53 goals for the Sounders in 78 MLS competitions. No one has scored more goals in MLS since he joined the league in 2018.