SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 2025 preview: WILL THE SOUNDERS GET OVER THEIR HUMP?
Alexander Gonzalez
January 25th, 2025
With a Western Conference Semi-Final loss to end their run in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, but several different competitions to aspire to win this upcoming season, the Seattle Sounders have a busy and hopeful year to look forward to. Bolstering the best defensive team in the league, they’ll seek to add more firepower and unpredictability to help them get their first trophy since 2022. With a strong core of academy players and domestic-proven stars, they should be able to go far in a couple of the competitions they will be in. With more games comes the reoccurring risk of injuries and they’ll want to avoid a slow start to the season due to fixture congestion. The upside is last season gave them a lot of clarity on which players they can trust, offload, and take the next step in what will be a grueling year.
season recap
Compared to the summer and fall fixtures, Seattle struggled a bit at the beginning. They had 2 wins in 10 games, inconsistency in the starting 11, and went scoreless for four fixtures. With injuries to Joao Paulo, new DP Pedro De la Vega, and a Ruidiaz that Father Time caught up to, other players on the roster had to step up. They did and from mid June till the end of the regular season, Seattle was tied with Columbus and Inter Miami for most points accumulated.
Morris took over as the starting FW and had more consistent success finding the back of the net. Seattle’s own CR7 shifted into the DM role, and paired with Obed Vargas, had some great showings. Both of them were great outlets for the backline when pressed along with shielding whenever they had turnovers. That backline itself was the best in the league with only 1.0 goals-conceded-per-match while also being instrumental in the buildup for the attack. Jackson Ragen was one of the most accurate passers in the league as a center back. He was in the Top 10 Percentile in his role for long passes completed and passing distance.
Seattle found most success with a 4-2-3-1. Sometimes they would find themselves with a 4-4-2 defensive shape or a 3-3-3 on the buildup. It was the personnel itself that was more important to how they would attack and defend. Rothrock and Minoungou provided great width so we would see Rusnak dropping deep to receive the ball and find the former two players with space to run and receive. When Pedro De la Vega was on the pitch, he wasn’t as constrained to the sidelines and would constantly drift to either wing or play more central, which would have Morris drift wider. Regardless of how they offensively played, the defense was always well-drilled to stop attacks before they could happen. They had some of the lowest xG conceded and highest amount of clean sheets (14) amongst all teams in MLS.
With all this, their boogeymen were both of the LA teams. They lost at home against LAFC both in the quarterfinals of the League’s Cup and the semifinals of the Open Cup. In the MLS Western Conference Final, LA Galaxy won at home against them after Seattle had finally gotten a win against LAFC in LA in the previous round.
Roster:
New signings confirmed at time of publication are Paul Arriola (FC Dallas, MLS), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas, MLS)
Paul Arriola
Paul Arriola
Arriola joins the team as Sounders send a first-round 2026 SuperDraft pick as well as up to $300,000 in 2026 GAM if certain performance metrics are met. Both parties have agreed to a new three-year contract with an option for 2028. He started 28 games and played close to ~2,500 minutes in MLS this last season with 5 goals and 2 assists. Paul played across both sidelines having had games in LWB, LW, RW, and RWB roles. Being this versatile across the whole pitch, it is Arriola’s preference on being an attacking player. We can expect to see him being an additional rotation piece for RW in a 4-2-3-1 and possibly a RWB if Seattle plays a 3-5-2. He would have to split some minutes with Georgi or Pedro De la Vega in the RW role or Alex and Christian Roldan for the RWB role.
Jesús Ferreira
Jesus Ferreira
Jesus was traded from FC Dallas in exchange for Leo Chu. There was also $1,000,000 in 2025 GAM, $500,000 in 2026 GAM and up to $800,000 in additional GAM if certain performance metrics are met, and a 2025 International Roster Slot was also involved. Ferreira and FC Dallas had a tough year. They did not make the playoffs and were the worst of the Texan teams. He played around 1300 minutes and registered 5 goals and 3 assists. Ferreira was mostly deployed as an Attacking Mid/Winger. He would defend closer to the sideline but drifted inside offensively, rarely getting to the touchline. His heat map has him playing predominantly through the right side of the opponents side of the pitch.
He had a more successful season in 2023 and in 2022 registering 30 goals and 10 assists over those two seasons in MLS play. He featured as the main FW in a 4-3-3 in those two seasons. That shouldn’t be too unfamiliar with him since Seattle played with a front 3 for a fair amount of time in 2024. In 2021, he did play behind Ricardo Pepi in a more central attacking midfielder role where he had 8 goals and 8 assists in MLS. This flexibility should help if Seattle needs more offensive options when chasing a result or if they need to rest players like Rusnak, Morris, or Pedro De la Vega. I presume he’ll be a starter for at least 20 appearances and as a non-DP is a great pick ( he extended his contract removing him from that tag).
Designated players
Pedro De la Vega
Pedro De la Vega
The young Designated Player had a tough first season. After two games, he had a hamstring injury that kept him out for 2 months. He was then injured for another month after a 15 minute cameo against Vancouver. His injury record was better after August but he did not go a full 90 the whole season. He had 1 penalty goal and an assist. Pedro was signed as a possible Lodeiro replacement and his time at Lanus does show there is some merit to that.
In the little amount of time he has played, he has shown great technical ability and a solid defensive work ethic. He has a great cross in him and at a young age was taking set pieces and corners for his team back in Argentina. He’s got some good tackling numbers in him already (1.93 per 90) and can get himself out of tight spots with his dribbling; the ball can be glued to his feet at times. That said, he should work on his decision making regarding the shots he takes. He’s got some field goals in him and he loves taking first-time shots even if they aren’t often in good positions or already have him heavily marked. With Georgi, Paul Arriola, and even Ferreira being able to play in De la Vega’s spot, he’ll have to be better.
Albert Rusnak
Albert Rusnak
Albert Rusnak had the best season of his career in 2024. Seattle had him listed as their MPV of the season due to his 11 goals and club-record 19 assists. This will be his third year at the club. Across all competitions, he played over 3000 minutes. In MLS this year, he was more efficient with less shots compared to 2023. His role had him around the center and left-sided half-space.
Rusnak would drop deep often to be the catalyst from which the Sounders would initiate a lot of their play. Whether himself, as a dummy for Roldan, or the other players behind Cristian, they’d ping balls wide or behind the opposing defenders. From threading a ball through the last defender to Morris or receiving in the pocket from De la Vega, Rusnak did well to find space and time to create opportunities. He should continue to be an important piece for this Sounder’s squad.
Key Players
Jordan Morris
Morris is going into his eleventh season as a Seattle Sounder’s player. This last season was the highest amount of club games he’s ever played across all competitions. He was more successful in the FW role after taking those duties from fellow club legend, Ruidiaz. He had 18 goals and 5 assists in all 3 competitions he played for the Sounders. In MLS, all but one of his goals came from inside the box. He had 70 shots and 34 were on target. His dribbling rate was very high at 66%. There isn’t any reason why his numbers should dwindle unless the other attacking pieces around him struggle immensely.
Christian Roldan
Roldan is also going into his eleventh season as a player for the Sounders. The first half of the season had him rotating between RM, RW, and DM. Once the second half of the season hit and Joao Paulo went on the injury list, Roldan was almost always playing as a DM. He had some fantastic performances in that role. On defense, he was organized and quick to break down transitions. On offense, when Seattle played with wide wingers, Cristian was one of the players to spring their runs when he would receive the ball. He would help on the continued buildup or hit diagonals or long balls to said runners. He was great at arriving near the box to be an additional threat as well.
Yeimar Gomez
Yeimar is going into his 6th season at Seattle Sounders. He’s continued to own that CB starting role having played over 35 games across all competitions. While Jackson Ragen does more of the heavier passing and possession numbers, Yeimar has does exceptional on the defensive side. He is in the highest percentile of clearances, interceptions, and aerial duels per 90. He’s great at extinguishing embers before they become a fire that can cause major trouble. He was on the pitch for 11 clean sheets in MLS play. He’s getting a little older and for that probably won’t have as many minutes as Ragen (LCB), but he should continue to be the starting RCB barring any injuries.
breakout players to watch
Obed Vargas
It’s strange to put Obed Vargas as a breakout player since he stepped onto the field back in 2021, just a few days shy of 16 years old. He’s been a starter since 2022 and even had his first cap for the Mexican national team back in October. He played 40 games across all competitions and had 2 goals and 4 assists. In 2023, he had 6 shots in MLS play. This last season saw him take 27 shots. It shows he is adding to his game by having more time across all of the midfield including up the pitch. With Roldan next to him, they complimented each other in a way where he isn’t purely a 6 and steps forward more often like an 8 for recoveries and offensive actions. With the amount of competitions Seattle is in, by his merits, he should have another 40 appearances for 2025
upcoming season expectations
Seattle Sounders are playing in these competitions: MLS, U.S. Open Cup (NOT CONFIRMED), CONCACAF Champions Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and whatever Leagues Cup becomes this year. They will always be a contender for the U.S. Open Cup, having won it 4 times. For CCC, their bracket has them facing Antigua Guatemala. If they get through that matchup, in which they are the favorites, it’s likely they’ll face Cruz Azul. If they get through that tricky fixture, it’s fairly likely they’ll face off against Club America, who is currently the 3-peat Liga MX champion. It’s a pretty tricky bracket and that’s just to get to the quarter-finals.
In the FIFA Club World Cup, they are hosting in all their games, but have Atletico De Madrid, PSG, and Botafogo. While Seattle is a great organization, I’m pretty skeptical thinking they can get out of that group or getting anything beyond a draw. League’s Cup doesn’t have any groups or a bracket up so we can’t make a great estimate on what to expect there beyond being in the later stages of the tournament.
For MLS itself, this team should be in the top 4 of the Western Conference. I believe that they will have about the same amount of points as well. As of writing this, Seattle has added some great pieces and removed some weak ones. If they can stay mostly healthy and their defense doesn’t regress, they should be a favorite for a Western Conference Semi-Final appearance.
summary
Overall, if they can handle the strain of such a congested season, I can see at least one semi-final appearance, at least! It’s a team that is well-built on being competitive.