Seattle Sounders FC

So, uh... anyone wanna buy tickets to the Monterey match?

It's matchday!

Match: Seattle Sounders FC at Real Salt Lake (Leagues Cup - Group Stage)

Date: July 22, 2023

Time: 6:30 PM PDT

How to watch/listen:

• Stream: MLS Season Pass on AppleTV
• Radio: 93.3 KJR FM (English)
• Radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Español)

Match Previews:

• [SaH] Everything you need to know about the Leagues Cup
• [SaH] Leagues Cup presents the opportunity for the Sounders to 'get the lineup right'
• [SaH] Leagues Cup preview: Seattle Sounders at Real Salt Lake
• [SaH] Sounders at Real Salt Lake, Leagues Cup: Three Questions
• [Official] RSLvSEA 101 Preview: All you need to know when the Sounders visit Real Salt Lake in their first match of Leagues Cup
• [MLS] Match page

Match thread links

• Game day thread for all Leagues Cup matches today over on [email protected]
• Sounder at Heart match thread

Lineups

Use this as your match thread!

I had forgotten Alex Morgan is technically a former Sounder from her time playing with the Sounders women in 2012!

Full bracket here:

What's your take? Valuable addition to the calendar or just another money grab causing match congestion?

As we head into the Leagues Cup on the heels of an uninspiring run of form in MLS, maybe we should look back to the best of times?

What are your all-time favorite Sounders moments?

One of mine is from 2015: the Sounders complete a comeback win against CD Olimpia in CCL at CenturyLink after a Brad Evans 90+7 PK (video). Sounders were losing in the 90th minute 1-0 after a goal by Alberth Elis in the 5th minute for the visitors. We had the run of play for the rest of the match - possession, chances, but nothing was finding the back of the net. The Concacaf shithousery started infuriatingly early, with time wasting, fake injuries, etc. from maybe the 60th minute on.

Then, Friberg scored the equalizer in the 90th minute on an unmarked back post header, and the 4th official put up a massive number for stoppage time. You could sense in the building that maybe, this time, the soccer gods were going to mete out justice for the time wasting, giving us enough time to snatch the win.

Then, in the 90+5', Dylan Remick got taken out at the top corner of the box in a clear penalty. The shenanigans continued as the Olimpia players surrounded the ref, blocked Brad from setting up the penalty, and tried to get in his head. When the players were finally cleared, up stepped The Man Who Never Missed -- and he slotted it calmly home, sending the keeper the wrong way. In the celebration, Brad ran towards the keeper and shouted some choice words, drawing a shove and setting off a fracas. Aside from the CCL and MLS cup finals, the roar when he converted the penalty was one of the loudest I've heard at CenturyLink/Lumen.

I think that this resonates with me because we had just started attending matches a year or so previously, and it was one of the first big minutes that I got to see live (after the supporters shield clinching game against LAG). It also showed off that resilience / fight and that little bit of an edge / attitude that has defined the Sounders for so long (and maybe seems to have been missing of late).

What are yours?

I think it's our turn to go to Miami next season, so I doubt it'll matter, but Garber did comment on whether Messi would play on turf, like we have at Lumen.

“Whether or not he plays on turf is really going to be up to the player and up to Tata,” Garber said. “Now, there have been no commitments one way or the other to that. I think a lot of international stars come into Major League Soccer and they are either intrigued or concerned about not playing on grass. And then you see some of the best players who’ve ever played the game, the (Thierry) Henrys of the world and Kakas of the world, who played on turf. So I think that’s a process that will have to play out over time.”

And

“That’s going to be the decision of every club when they do travel to those stadiums that don’t have natural grass,” Garber said. “My expectations are that that’s what they will do, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to figure all of that out. MLS promotes a lot of international games and we have been able to bring natural grass into those stadiums, but we’ve never done that for a regular season game.”

Obviously, the best case scenario is a home MLS cup final win for the Sounders over Miami at home in the final this season.

Very strong signals from Craig that there won't be anything big happening this window.

It's matchday!

Match: Seattle Sounders FC vs FC Dallas

Date: July 15, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM PDT

Actual Kickoff: 7:39 PM PDT per MLSKickoffTimes

How to watch/listen:

• Stream: MLS Season Pass on AppleTV (free this week)
• Radio: 93.3 KJR FM (English)
• Radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Español)

Match Previews:

• [SaH] Preview: Seattle Sounders vs FC Dallas
• [SaH] Sounders hope to embody Bruce Lee’s spirit during tribute game
• [Official] Sounders FC celebrates life and legacy of Bruce Lee, global icon with deep Seattle roots, at Saturday's match
• [Official] Three matchups to watch when the Sounders host FC Dallas on Saturday
• [MLS] Match page and Matchday 26 previews (all matches)

Match thread links

• Game day thread for all MLS matches today over on [email protected] - to be posted when available
• Sounder at Heart match thread

Lineups

Use this as your match thread!

It is the largest such payment received by any US club.

Jeremiah's take on the puzzling lack of rotation is a good one. I think that we all sort of felt like this result was coming yesterday - the story is too familiar.

Short rest, traveling, minimal rotation in the lineup, start quick, then someone is a step too slow and we give up a goal against the run of play. Chase the game, tired legs, chemistry breaks down as everyone tries to do too much - hold possession but without any real goal threats. Then, as everyone tires out, the balance starts to swings and we give up a second - game over.

In retrospect, it seems like the better call would have been to rotate heavily for Wednesday and save some of the vets for Saturday, I guess. But in another sense, this is down to fixture congestion and a lack of MLS honoring the international breaks, and how teams are equipped to navigate that.

I was particularly puzzled by the decision to bring Raul off the bench while surrounding him with the kids. His movement was so vital in pulling the defense around in the Vancouver match and opening up space for others to operate in. It seemed a waste to run him out when the service providers were gassed and/or subbed out?

Lost the Heritage Cup too

It's matchday!

Match: Seattle Sounders FC @ San Jose Earthquakes

Date: July 12, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM PDT

Actual Kickoff: 7:39 PM PDT per MLSKickoffTimes

How to watch/listen:

• Stream: MLS Season Pass on AppleTV
• Radio: 93.3 KJR FM (English)
• Radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Español)

Match Previews:

• [SaH] Stef2 gets another start; Schmetz teases minimal rotation
• [SaH] Preview: Seattle Sounders at San Jose Earthquakes
• [SaH] Sounder Strategy: Faults in the Earthquakes
• [Official] SJvSEA 101 Preview: All you need to know when the Sounders visit the San Jose Earthquakes
• [MLS] Match page and Matchday 25 previews (all matches)

Match thread links

• Game day thread for all MLS matches today over on [email protected]
• Sounder at Heart match thread

Lineups

Use this as your match thread!

This is, by far, one of my most proud moments as a father (VS Gals around 2013)

After missing out on the division title by just one point last season, Ballard FC were eager to grab their first division championship this season and clinched with two league matches remaining.

No real surprises here

In the wild double handball sequence, Christina Unkel agrees that the first should have been a handling offense. Surprising none of us and just like @overly_[email protected] predicted in the match thread.

But: three points are three points!

Obviously nothing beats The Save, but what a luxury to have a backup goalkeeper like Cleveland!

Chú is the second Sounder to be named MLS Player of the Matchday this season, joining Jordan Morris (Matchday 5).

Beautiful little 10 minute mini-doc on Peter Kingston, one of the top players on the team, and Lesia Thetsane, Ballard team captain and Lesotho senior international team player.

If you haven't been to a Ballard FC game yet you should definitely check it out. They are tons of fun and the team is quite good (one of the best in USL2).