SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC v. MINNESOTA UNITED FC

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. The Loons migrate to The Evergreen for a top 10 clash of the titans at Royal Brougham Park.

What: MLS league match, Seattle Sounders FC v. Minnesota United FC.

Where: Royal Brougham Park, Occidental Avenue, Seattle, Washington.

When: 3:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday 1 June 2025 CE.

At Stake: Points in the league, but with a twist. If we manage to triumph over the Loons, and ORL (CHI), SD (ATX), and NSH (NYC) are defeated, with the MIA/CLB result no better than a draw, we could find ourselves as high as 4th place. Give or take, because, you know, goal difference etc. etc. I mean, sure, it’s a lot of what-ifs, but you never know.

Where to Watch: MLS Season Pass via Apple TV. KJR simulcast is available in the control layer of the Apple TV app under ‘Audio Options’.

Where to Listen: KJR 93.3 FM and El Rey 1360 AM.

Results-wise the Sounders FC are riding high. The reality of squad attrition does cast a rather long shadow over those successes. Whichever players in our squad that find themselves in the team against the Loons, will be needing your support. Owners own. Managers manage. Coaches coach. Players play. Supporters make as much noise as humanly possible in the name of the club. Obvious enough, sure, but true nonetheless.

If you have the means and inclination this is not a match to miss. It’s 8th place in the league Minnesota United against our Boys in Green who have just cracked the top 10 in the league table. We could rise as high as 4th place with a victory. A draw at the least should help to consolidate our position. If there were only five matches left in the season, I’d say we have a shot at an MLS league championship - labeled as the Supporter’s Shield by the league to minimise the achievement in the hopes that it not overshadow its precious crown jewel, MLS Cup. After Sunday, there will be half the season left (17 league fixtures), so it is way early days to think of such things.

You know the drill Green Fam. Round up your mates and get to the ground if possible. If that can’t be managed, it’s pubs and houses and flats. Yell. Sing. Scream. Swear. Shake your fist. They will hear you. That’s the key.

It’s a Sunday matinee, and a top 10 banger to boot, under the bright sunlight at Royal Brougham Park. GO ON YOU SOUNDERS! GET IN!

Before kick-off, please join me in the auld toast: “TO THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FOOTBALL CLUB…AND VICTORY!!!”

We’re grinding out results, and that’s a positive thing. That the margin of error while we’re getting

those results is less than zero, that’s the troubling bit. (photo credit: New York Times)

The Good News

Despite all the injuries, our depth, a fair amount of luck, and some incredible goalkeeping, have managed to see us get positive results in the past three matches.

Sounders still unbeaten at Royal Brougham Park (6-3-0).

Musovski has been cleared to play. If he actually does, he might score a goal.

All-time in the league, Sounders have a 12-2-1 record against Minnesota. All time in the league at home, that record becomes 8-0-0.

The difference in the league records of the two teams this season is that Minnesota have one less loss and one more draw. That’s currently the difference between 8th and 10th place in the league.

The Bad News

Sounders FC coaching staff’s system has been working well enough of late as we’ve a record of 6-2-1 in our last nine matches, sure. But if we keep running out 30+ year-old players match after match after match, there is a price to pay with injuries down the line. Morris (30), Gomez Andrade (32), Arriola (30), and now Kim (35) are currently on injury list. Is it from overuse? Maybe not with Kim (9 league appearances, 7 of those in the team), but you be the judge. Don’t shoot the messenger. It’s only fair to add that ownership doesn’t exactly provide a lot of support with transfers, so it’s kind of amazing - when combined with the Gaffer’s weird aversion to selecting young players in the team (with ‘in the team’ meaning being on the pitch at kick-off), particularly players that come through our Academy and Reserve system, that our system works as well as it does. So credit due on that.

Sounders haven’t scored more than one goal in a match since 10 May at Houston.

We’ve been shut out six times in 20 matches this season in all competitions.

Both teams are averaging 1.50 goals/match in all competitions. The difference in defence for both teams is only 0.36 goals conceded/match. Like most MLS fixtures, it’s a crapshoot by the numbers.

Loons have never lost a match when Lukasz Szpala is Referee (4-2-0).

Minnesota United travel well, having been defeated only twice away from home (4-3-2).

Loons are tied for the second-best defence in the league with New England having conceded only 14 goals in league play. Only Vancouver has conceded fewer (12 goals).

We’ve finally cracked the top 10 in MLS and all it cost us was injuries to four key players, getting drummed out of CONCACAF by Cruz Azul, and petulant indifference to the second-oldest sporting tournament in North America, the US Open Cup. What could possibly go wrong?

With four key players out (Ragen, Gomez Andrade, Morris, and Arriola) we are barely managing to grind out results in the league, with Vancouver, Botafogo, Atletico Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain coming up next, we are in a far from ideal place. I grant that we could be humbled in all four fixtures. It is my great hope we are not completely overrun in the FIFA Club World Cup. That’s not pessimism or petulance. Those teams are objectively better than us. I hope I’m wrong. I truly do.

Prediction: Eric Ramsey will soundly out-manage Brian Schmetzer. I hope I’m wrong. We’ll find out soon enough.

The Side I Would Select

We’re getting results, sure, but scoring roughly one goal per match and panic at the disco in defence isn’t going to cut it in critical matches. Ragen if he’s available, Bell if he’s not. Lately I’ve been thinking Albert at the #8, over Cristian. This also allows he and Ferreira to switch at the #10 with no mean loss in quality when the run of play requires it. Hawkins more than proved himself midweek against San Diego; It’s too bad it took an injury to Kim to get the Manager to play him.

GK     Frei

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Hawkins

RCH    Bell

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM    Vargas

RDM   Rusnak

LF     Rothrock

CAM   Ferreira

RF     de la Vega

CF     Musovski

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

Expect the same lot we saw midweek minus Kim who has a calf issue. Bell and Hawkins are the only two healthy centre-halves. I think Leo Burney could also play in that role, but the former Ballard FC man logged 90 minutes for the Reserves in their 1:1 draw with Minnesota United Reserves on Saturday night. I’d expect Ferreira as a False-9 up front, as De Rosario, one of only two healthy senior squad centre-forwards available for selection, played 90 for the Reserves on Sat. The alignment of the forwards depends of whether Musovski is fit enough to be in the team, as the Manager likes to get both Rusnak and Ferreira together in the team whenever possible. I mean, that’s what I’d do right before a big match, play players 90 minutes in a Reserve team match the night before my MLS league fixture when depth has been exhausted at those positions. Top job.

GK     Frei

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Hawkins

RCH    Bell

RB     Alex

LDM    Vargas

RDM   Cristian

LF     Kent

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Rothrock

CF     Ferreira

Intangibles

Officiating.

The match Referee for Sunday will be Lukasz Szpala.

Sounders FC record wtih Szpala as Ref: 2-2-1

Minnesota record with Szpala as Ref: 4-2-0

We are being outspent.

Sounders FC 2025 transfer fees paid: €1.45M

Minnesota 2025 transfer fees paid: €4.95M

Royal Brougham Park is a fortress.

Still unbeaten at home (6-3-0)

Form.

Sounders have not lost in the league since 14 May (LAFC 4:0 SEA). Over our last 12 matches we have only been defeated twice in the league (6-4-2) going back to 22 March.

The Loons’ form.

In 18 matches in all competitions this season, Minnesota United have only been defeated three times (9-6-3). They’ve not lost since 14 May (HOU 2:0 MIN). The Loons’ away record in all competitions is 4-3-2, so they travel well, which is less than ideal for us.

Eric Ramsey factor.

Ramsey has been a coach at Swansea City (Lead Professional Development Phase Coach), Shrewsbury Town (Academy Manager), Chelsea (U-23s), Manchester United (Player Development Coach), and Wales (Assistant Coach) before being hired at Minnesota United. Became the youngest coach to earn a UEFA Pro License. Ramsey has worked with Kieran McKenna, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag, and Rob Page. In stark contrast: Brian Schmetzer previously coached at Seattle SeaDogs of the CISL (Assistant Coach), Emerald City FC in youth football (Manager) whilst also managing a construction firm, Seattle Sounders A-League/USL incarnation (Manager), and then the Sounders FC in MLS (Assistant Coach, and then Manager). Schmetzer holds a US Soccer ‘A’ coaching license.

General notes on personnel

Minnesota transfers IN:

Keller (FC Cincinnati) re-entry draft

Trapp - re-signed

Romero (Atletico Tucuman) €1.95M

Jung (Gwangju) €995,000

Gene (Amiens) €2M

Gressel (Inter Miami CF) free

Minnesota transfers OUT:

Marques (Vasteras SK) undisclosed

Bacharach (Rhode Island) free

Dodson (DC United) draft

Fragapane (Union Sante Fe) free

Irwin - released

Nyeman (Loudoun United) free

Valentine - retired

Weah (HB Koge) loan

Tapias (Guadalajara) €960,000

Bran (Herediano) end of loan

Pukki (HJK Helsinki) undisclosed

Bristow - released

Kmet (Gornik Zabrze) loan

Adebayo-Smith (Detroit City) loan

Comparison against common opponents

RSL 2:0 SEA

MIN 2:0 RSL

(against RSL: SEA 0-0-1 -2, MIN 1-0-0 +2) decisive edge MIN

SEA 5:2 LAFC

LAFC 4:0 SEA

LAFC 1:0 MIN

(against LAFC: SEA 1-0-1 -1, MIN 0-0-1 -1) edge SEA

STL 1:0 SEA
SEA 4:1 STL

MIN 3:0 STL

MIN 3:2 STL USOC

(against STL: SEA 1-0-1 +2, MIN 2-0-0 +4) decisive edge MIN

SEA 0:0 HOU

HOU 1:3 SEA

HOU 2:0 MIN

(against HOU: SEA 1-1-0 +2, MIN 0-0-1 -2) decisive edge SEA

SJ 1:1 SEA

SJ 0:1 MIN

(against SJ: SEA 0-1-0 0, MIN 1-0-0 +1) marginal edge MIN

DAL 0:1 SEA

SEA 1:0 DAL

MIN 0:0 DAL

(against DAL: SEA 2-0-0 +2, MIN 0-1-0 0) decisive edge SEA

Know Thine Enemy

The Loons as they lined up in their 0:0 draw against Vancouver at BC Place on 28 May.

GOALKEEPER

Dayne St. Clair, 28

Canada (11/0)

Notable Clubs: Minnesota United FC (120/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by North Scarborough FC, Pickering FC, Ajax SC, and Vaughan Azzuri. Played his university football for Maryland (43/0).

DEFENCE

Joseph Rosales, 24

Honduras (21/0)

Notable Clubs: CA Independiente de La Chorrera (33/2), Minnesota United FC (83/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Won two Panamanian league titles with CA Independiente.

Nicolas Romero, 21

Argentina

Notable Clubs: Atletico Tucuman (77/2), Minnesota United FC (12/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.8M

Notes: Full name: Fernando Nicolas Romero. Developed by Atletico Tucuman.

Michael Boxall, 36

New Zealand (54/1)

Notable Clubs: Auckland City (6/0), Vancouver Whitecaps (19/0), Wellington Phoenix (39/2), SuperSport United (53/4), Minnesota United FC (244/8)

Estimated Transfer Value: €200,000

Notes: Developed by Three Kings United and Mount Albert Grammar School. Played his university football for UC Santa Barbara (78/1). Won a New Zealand League title with Auckland City. Won two South African Cups with SuperSport United. Won an OFC Nations Cup with New Zealand.

Jefferson Diaz, 24

Colombia

Notable Clubs: Real Cartagena (43/3), Valledupar (25/2), Deportivo Cali (43/4), Minnesota United FC (23/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €700,000

Notes: Full name: Jefferson Abel Diaz Beleno. Developed by Elite Capital and Real Cartagena.

Bongokuhle Hlongwane, 24

South Africa (19/4)

Notable Clubs: Maritzburg United (53/7), Minnesota United FC (107/22)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4M

Notes: Developed by Nxamalala Fast XI and Maritzburg United.

MIDFIELD

Robin Lod, 32

Finland (75/6)

Notable Clubs: HJK Helsinki (75/15), VPS Palloseura (11/2), Panathinaikos (75/12), Sporting Gijon (23/4), Minnesota United FC (140/30)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by SUMU and HJK Helsinki. Won three Veikkausliiga (Finland 1st tier) titles, a Finnish Cup, and a Finnish League Cup with HJK Helsinki. Named Veikkausliiga Best Player and Best Midfielder 2014.

Wil Trapp, 32

United States (20/0)

Notable Clubs: Columbus Crew SC (185/2), Inter Miami CF (21/0), Minnesota United FC (131/4)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1M

Notes: Developed by Columbus Crew SC. Played his university football for Akron (45/1).

Carlos Harvey, 25

Panama (13/1)

Notable Clubs: Tauro (1/0), Los Angeles Galaxy (10/0), Phoenix Rising (30/5), Minnesota United FC (23/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €400,000

Notes: Presumably developed by Tauro. Won a Panamanian league title with Tauro.

Joaquin Pereyra, 26

Argentina

Notable Clubs: Rosario Central (45/1), Famalicao (15/0), Atletico Tucuman (112/4), Minnesota United FC (23/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Developed by Rosario Central. Won a Copa Argentina with Rosario Central.

FORWARD

Kelvin Yeboah, 25

Ghana

Notable Clubs: WSG Tirol (56/10), Sturm Graz (34/17), Genoa (28/1), Augsburg (13/1), Montpellier (13/0), Standard Liege (14/6), Minnesota United FC (24/11)

Estimated Transfer Value: €6M

Notes: Developed by West Ham United and Gozzano. Won an Austrian Second Division title with WSG Tirol.

Familiar Faces

Midfielder Hassani Dotson was developed by Crossfire Academy and Washington Premier. Hassani is a Seattle native.

Squads

Sounders FC from:

Frei, Thomas, Baker, Baker-Whiting, Bell, Burney, Hawkins, Kossa-Rienzi, Nouhou, Ragen, Alex, Sousa, Joao Paulo, Leyva, Cristian, Rusnak, Vargas, de la Vega, De Rosario, Ferreira, Kent, Minoungou, Musovski, Rothrock.

Minnesota from:

St. Clair, Smir, Padelford, Romero, Markanich, Boxall, Kmet, Duggan, Taylor, Diaz, Jeong, Rosales, Lod, Trapp, Jung, Gressel, Pereyra, Gene, Dotson, Harvey, Mesanvi, Yeboah, Oluwaseyi, Shashoua, Hlongwane.

Injury List

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Sounders FC -

OUT: Kim (calf), Gomez Andrade (hamstring), Morris (hamstring), Arriola (knee).

MATCHDAY DECISION: Ragen (hamstring).

Minnesota -

OUT: Keller (leg).

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

Discipline

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

No players suspended from either team.

Fun Fact

Sounders FC Reserves earned a 1:1 draw against Minnesota United Reserves, on Saturday 31 May at Starfire. Damien Alvarez looped in a header minute off a cross by Peter Kingston to draw Sounders FC Reserves level in the 84th minute. Sounders FC Reserves are currently 9th in the MLS Next Pro table with a 5-1-5 record on 17 points, 10 points adrift of leaders Chattanooga FC. Hang in there, lads. You’ll get ‘em next time.