The Review: Sounders Against Fire

SEATTLE — The Seattle Sounders entered their game against the Chicago Fire in a strange position. Sitting just outside the playoff spots in the West, after a dramatic comeback against FC Dallas and a second home game against three teams all to varying degrees outside the playoff spots, the Sounders were on the rise and ready to continue their ascent.

At the same time, that 3-2 win over Dallas exposed some possible cracks in the foundation the team was building. Léo Chú threw a tantrum when he was substituted; Raúl Ruidíaz and Jordan Morris had the kind of heated disagreement that is the natural product of experienced players trying to pull their team out of a bad spot; and after the game, Ruidíaz and Nouhou both went into the tunnel and dodged the team’s acknowledgement to the fans. They were subsequently excluded from practice and the game against the Fire. To make matters more tense, despite a clearly winnable game this weekend, the fact that Seattle had yet to win two straight league games in 20 games hung over the proceedings.

The team played one of their worst halves of the season, with a particularly abysmal first half hour, and went into halftime down 1-0 against one of the worst teams in the league. For the third time in 10 days, however, the Sounders managed to come back and start their first MLS winning streak of the season. As I'm filling in for Mark this week, I've just written the game recap and Jeremiah has some insight into what we can take away from this particular game, so I think it's a good time to look at the bigger picture. So where does this all go from here for the Sounders?

Deciphering the story

It must be said that the Sounders have not lived up to the expectations that many people had for them at the start of the season. Critical injuries and absences early in the season left the team reeling and trying to find creative solutions to problems they thought they had already solved. Pedro de la Vega's run of injuries was the biggest of those problems, especially since his absence left Seattle with a team that was arguably worse on paper than the one they put out last season, based solely on the fact that their best players were a year older and club legend Nico Lodeiro was now wearing an Orlando City SC jersey. As a result, it wasn't until the sixth game of the season that the Sounders won their first game. They finished 2-5-3 in their first 10 games of the season.

There were plenty of reasons to be concerned during that 10-game stretch, and it should be clear that those reasons haven’t completely disappeared, but that stretch doesn’t reflect who the Sounders are. Looking solely at their MLS performance, the Sounders have gone 5-2-4 in the 11 league games since. That stretch includes the first win over the Portland Timbers since 2021, two separate four-game unbeaten streaks, three straight comeback results and, for the first time this season, back-to-back wins.

It should also be taken into account that in all three of those games they had to come from behind to come back. Against the Houston Dynamo and Dallas they were 2-0 down before coming back into the game. The match between the two teams that are on a four-game unbeaten run in the league could have been a truly discouraging away loss to a Sporting Kansas City team that was really bad despite an early lead. There were defensive mistakes and goalkeeping errors, the offense has improved but still seems a bit unreliable, and while de la Vega is back in action and working hard to be a regular contributor, the team still lacks a true, legitimate superstar like the ones that top-of-the-table teams can count on to open the scoring, dominate their opponents, and crush even strong teams week in and week out.

The Sounders have a pretty solid collection of good and very good players who have played much closer to their best in this run of games. Jordan Morris has shown his ability to lead the line as a starting striker and create goals for himself or others directly or indirectly in doing so, Albert Rusnák has looked much more like a true DP creator, and João Paulo has looked more like a center-right JP than not in recent weeks. To complement and bolster those players, Cristian Roldan has returned to right back and put in some of his best performances, and Paul Rothrock has made his way onto the pitch and established himself as a go-to player, whether it be as a starter or as the first player off the bench, scoring two goals, winning a penalty, and simply changing the course of the game with his energy and effort.

Seattle sits in 9th place heading into the third and final game of this home series with a chance to cement themselves in a stronger playoff position with a win over the lowly New England Revolution. If PdlV and the team can get him back to full health and keep him there, integrating him more into the team and getting him more familiar with the other players, it's not hard to see the Sounders (as they currently stand) as a 4th place team, perhaps able to move up a spot with a few bounces in their favor. They may be a team that can win the US Open Cup and make some noise come playoff time, but the Supporters' Shield is out of the question and you probably wouldn't consider them favorites to win another MLS Cup.

The upcoming run of games before the Leagues Cup and the summer transfer window opens will be an important period to confirm his track record. Among those five games are three games against teams in crisis, a home game against LAFC, a trip to face Sacramento Republic FC in the Open Cup quarterfinals, and three of the five games will be played at Lumen Field. It’s an opportunity to beat bad teams, move closer to a fifth Open Cup trophy, and a real test against one of the best teams in the league. A solid run of performances and results could serve as a springboard for the Sounders to finish the season much closer to the expectations placed on them before the season began than they did three weeks ago.

To reach those heights, there will certainly need to be some roster changes this window. With rumors of a potential Obed Vargas trade, Seattle could potentially have the ability to land a true game-changing talent if they can open up a DP spot or find a top-tier talent who can fill a TAM or U22 role.

As things stand, the Sounders aren't the terrible team they appeared to be at the start of the season, nor are they favored to win the West Division. Instead, they're a pretty good team that doesn't give up easily, and with a little luck and possible improvement, they could become something truly special. Only time will tell.