Football Season Guide

It was a season of “what ifs” for the Sounders. New winger Arriola got injured in his 2nd game for the club and missed the rest of 2025. Playmaker Rusnak and main goalscorer Morris also missed many games injured throughout the year. Still, Seattle had enough to achieve 15 wins D9 L10 and with this secure 5th place in the West. Their great home record, the 3rd best in the West, helped a lot. The disappointment came in the playoffs. Sounders were one-and-done after losing both away games vs Minnesota on penalties, beat their local rivals 4-2 at home in-between but still the season ended. The longest serving MLS manager Schmetzer, this to be his 10th consecutive year in Seattle, has a clear game identity for his team. The main core of players are all the same too. The big question remains if the few really important squad members can stay healthy for an entire season. Having Arriola back will feel like a new signing. He came last winter tipped to be a major figure out wide so a year later he could prove just that. The only notable departure was that of talented CM Vargas. Not a major concern as Rusnak seems set for a deeper role this season while Sounders operate with a fluid front 4 of interchanging wingers. The ability to switch positions, use overlapping runs down both flanks and create havoc from set pieces should again help Seattle dominate most of their home games. Of course, having the 2nd highest attendance numbers for the past 4 years helps a lot too. Every home game is attended by over 30,000 fans for years now. The main task will be to manage the load better and make sure those that are prone to getting injured but needed on the pitch stay as healthy as possible. If that happens Sounders could easily dream about trophies in 2026.