With Major League Soccer nearing the midpoint of the season, I sat down with Don Ruiz from the Tacoma News Tribune and the Seattle Times’ Matt Pentz to get their views on the league and the Seattle Sounders FC.
Ruiz has covered the Sounders since they started MLS play in 2009, while Pentz is in his second year of providing day-to-day coverage.
They reviewed the season thus far and found no surprises in the standings. Pentz was critical of MLS’ inability to address the number of players leaving for international matches, and we concluded our session with predictions on how the Sounders would finish at the end of the year.
Ruiz noted that one of the West’s top teams (Real Salt Lake or LA Galaxy) may not make it into the post-season competition:
“This could be the year that certainly one of the “Big Three”…playoff streak ends in the West.”
Pentz criticized MLS for the disruption caused by international calls-ups and the impact on regular season games:
“Something has to be done…It’s tough in a league where depth is still such an issue.”
Both agreed the Sounders were the favorites to win it all. Ruiz said:
“If I picked anyone, it would be the Sounders.”
Pentz echoed Ruiz’s comments:
“The Sounders are the best team in MLS.”
