Seattle, WA – The Seattle Sounders look as loaded as they may have ever been in their MLS existence. With one of the biggest free agent acquisitions in league history, retaining almost all of the key contributors from last season, and a determined group, the expectation for the Sounders is an MLS Cup title. The biggest obstacles for Seattle this season, seemingly the same obstacles they face every season, are injuries and peaking at the right time.
Key losses
Firstly, let’s take a look at who the Sounders lost this offseason. The list isn’t very long, but these two players have made their impact on the rave green in their stints with the club.
- Shane O’Neill: O’Neill signed with Toronto FC after making 45 appearances with Seattle. The center back is part of new Toronto coach Bob Bradley’s mega-retool of the club, and his veteran presence should help in that effort. Losing a veteran like O’Neill in a position that could be hurt by injury or international duty makes his loss key, as Shane did step in for Seattle’s defense when players like Nouhou and Yeimar were out. O’Neill contributed to one of the league’s best defenses last season.
- Brad Smith: Smith was traded to DC United just last month in order to alleviate some cap space and generate some general allocation money (GAM). Last season, it seemed as though Smith was being replaced by Jimmy Medranda, who had some solid moments in the 2021 campaign. In Smith’s two stints with the Sounders, he would make 63 appearances.
Jimmy Medranda will likely fill the spot left by Brad Smith
Key additions
Taking those losses into account, Seattle was able to retain most to all of their key contributors from the 2021 campaign. The Sounders were able to net a huge free agent signing, as well as a promising homegrown player out of the University of Washington.
- Albert Rusnak: Rusnak’s signing was a major deal for Seattle. With the unknown of whether or not we may see Nico Lodeiro return to form after a year where he wasn’t very present and did not look much like himself, Rusnak can fill that role perfectly. The Slovakian attacker scored 11 goals and notched 11 assists last season, and joins an already stacked attack that sees the return of Jordan Morris, Raul Ruidiaz, and Joao Paulo amongst others. As the saying goes, the rich get richer.
- Dylan Teves: While the Rusnak signing is the biggest news of the offseason, inking Teves as a homegrown player was a huge get. The University of Washington midfielder racked up the accolades in the purple and gold, and topped it off with an incredible 2021 campaign that saw the Huskies make it all the way to the National championship. While Washington lost that game to Clemson, Teves still had a year for the history books, recording hat tricks in back-to-back games to open up the postseason, being named as a finalist for the MAC Hermann trophy, getting ranked #2 for all upperclassmen by TopDrawerSoccer, and much more.
Strengths
The list of strengths for Seattle includes some of the most important things that you need as a team. Attacking, depth, and veteran leadership are areas that excel. Albert Rusnak joining an attack of Raul Ruidiaz, Jordan Morris, and Joao Paulo alone is dangerous. Having several players that have logged minutes at the pro level on your bench is the definition of depth. Veteran leadership is what you want? Look no further than Stefan Frei and Cristian Roldan, who have been with the club for eight and seven years respectively. It’s hard to find areas where Seattle could improve that are within their control. The things that are out of the team’s control can hurt them the most, as they did in the 2021 campaign.
Raul Ruidiaz is one of the MLS’ best forwards
Weaknesses
The factors that Seattle has to worry about most are injuries, international call ups, and finishing the regular season poorly. The Sounders had to deal with all three of those last season, and ultimately, they would result in the team’s poor finish down the stretch, and the eventual first round exit to Real Salt Lake. While Seattle does have the depth, losing a key player like Nouhou or Yeimar on the backline to injury or international duty can stack up quickly and exhaust the team all around. You’ll need a little luck to get through the season with minimal injuries, so whatever superstitions you may have, break them out if you want to see a third MLS Cup trophy come home.
Biggest question
The biggest question for this club would be: Can this collection of talent make it work? Across every sport, there are instances of great rosters not being able to win it all. The 73-9 Golden State Warriors were not able to cap off their historic season with an NBA title. The 2007-2008 Patriots would go undefeated all the way to the Super Bowl, where they would lose to the New York Giants. Am I comparing this Sounders group to the likes of those historic teams? Not entirely, but without a doubt there are high expectations coming off of a disappointing first round exit and the addition of Rusnak. Can the club make it all work in order to bring home the title? That is to be seen.
Roster overlook
Here is a look at the current roster breakdown by position group.
- Goalkeepers: Stefan Frei, Stefan Cleveland, Andrew Thomas
- Defenders: Yeimar Gomez Andrade, Xavier Arreaga, Abdouleye (AB) Cissoko, Jimmy Medranda, Nouhou Tolo, Alex Roldan
- Midfielders: Josh Atencio, Reed Baker-Whiting, Leo Chu, Ethan Dobbelaerre, Joao Paulo, Danny Leyva, Nicolas Lodeiro, Cristian Roldan, Kelyn Rowe, Albert Rusnak, Obed Vargas, Dylan Teves
- Forwards: Sam Adeniran, Will Bruin, Fredy Montero, Jordan Morris, Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez, Raul Ruidiaz
Photo credits to Paul Kahl and Melissa Levin!
