NEW YORK CITY FC v. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

“If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, and all is mended,

That you have but slumber’d here

While these visions did appear.

And this weak and idle theme, 

No more yielding but a dream, 

Gentles, do not reprehend: 

if you pardon, we will mend:

And, as I am an honest Puck, 

If we have unearned luck 

Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue,

We will make amends ere long; 

Else the Puck a liar call; 

So, good night unto you all. 

Give me your hands, if we be friends, 

And Robin shall restore amends”

– William Shakespeare

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. Manchester Citeh, Junior Varsity. I mean, that’s all I really need to say. Sounders FC make the trans-continental voyage for a Saturday night matchup in Queens in the final match of the league schedule.

What: MLS league match, New York City FC v. Seattle Sounders FC

Where: Seaver Way, Flushing, Queens, New York.

When: 3:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday 18 October 2025 CE.

At Stake: MLS Cup seeding is locked for us at the W5 position. Sounders are currently 13th in the MLS league table on 52 points, 14 points adrift of MLS League Champions Philadelphia. It is possible for Sounders to finish as high as 10th in the league, but it would require a Sounders victory over NYC FC, along with Miami winning at Nashville, Orlando managing no better than a draw at Toronto, and Chicago managing no better than a draw at New England. However, the truth is that this game really doesn’t matter at all. Their Leagues Cup victory cemented Sounders’ place in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 for next season. Soooooo, that’s it then as the difference between a 10th place MLS finish and a 13th place MLS finish is nearly meaningless. Should Sounders be defeated in Queens, and Columbus defeat the Red Donkeys we would fall to 14th place. This also would not really make a meaningful difference. Should one of our key players be severely injured on Saturday, from overuse, that would make a massive difference for the worse.

Where to Watch: MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

Where to Listen: KJR 950 AM and El Rey 1360 AM.

The MLS season ends on the road in Queens. Those making the trip, look after each other and tie your scarves proper. The 7 train from Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, or Queensboro Plaza gets you to Seaver Way. Those here in The Evergreen, try and link up with your mates. It’s pubs and dwellings for stories and tellings. Houses and flats for pints and cats. Sometimes boats and ships for pie and chips. We play this one, and it’s on to MLS Cup.

It’s MLS league football, under the setting sun at Seaver Way. GO ON YOU SOUNDERS!!! GET IN!!!

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

Sounders FC forward, Jordan Morris is the club’s all-time leading

goal scorer with 88 goals in all competitions.

The Good News

All in all it’s been a reasonably successful season already. A Leagues Cup title for silverware in the bank, sorted. Qualification for CONCACAF, cemented. We have decent seeding for MLS Cup. And we held our own against some incredibly steep opposition in Club World Cup and didna look out of place in the doing of it.

We’ve got all our international players back, mostly none the worse for the wear.

We’ve won two in a row and conceded zero goals in our last two matches.

NYC FC are hardly invincible at home (12-0-7, including two matches played in Harrison, NJ in Leagues Cup). So that’s us in with a shout.

Our attacking play is tied for 9th best in the league. Although it’s a bit top heavy with Musovski (14 league goals) and Rusnak (11 goals) doing the heavy lifting, Rothrock, de la Vega, Ferreira, and Morris have all hit four goals. So our attack can be very unpredictable in where the goals are coming from. This is a strength for us. We also have four excellent playmakers in Rusnak (9 assists), Cristian (9 assists), Rothrock (7 assists), and Ferreira (7 assists) providing quality in the final third.

We are the team more likely to score two goals as we are currently averaging 1.76 goals/match in all competitions, compared to NYC FC’s 1.41 goals/match.

The Bad News

The danger men for NYC FC are: Maxi Morales (2 goals, 11 assists) who can break you with his passing game, Hannes Wolf (11 goals, 7 assists) who can hurt you either way, and Alonso Martinez who is a cracking good finisher (17 goals).

The two teams play defence at nearly the same level, with Sounders conceding 1.35 goals/match in all competitions and NYC FC conceding at a rate of 1.30 goals per match in all competitions. This makes things a bit more of a standoff, especially given that NYC FC will have the advantage of their home crowd.

Sounders have not been good on the road this season (6-4-9). It would be bad if we stumbled early on come Saturday.

NYC FC were better against Atlanta, Columbus, and Minnesota this season earning victories against them, a feat we could not replicate.

Sounders have eight players who have played 2000+ minutes this season. At the top of the list is Cristian Roldan with 2633 minutes, with Albert Rusnak in the eighth place with 2060 minutes. These totals do not include CONCACAF, Leagues Cup or Club World Cup minutes. Minoungou, Leyva, Baker-Whiting, Brunell, De Rosario, Hawkins, Baker, and Sousa all played less than 750 minutes in the league, with Minoungou playing 713 minutes and Travian Sousa at the bottom of that list with 0 minutes. That’s right, 0 minutes. This second group had no serious injuries that I know of, and they were available for selection every week as far as I know. It’s fucking mental is what it is, and sometimes I am convinced our successes as a club are not because of the way our Manager handles player workload, but in spite of it.

The Side I Would Select

We cannot advance our seeding in MLS Cup any higher; it is not mathematically possible to do so. We are 13th in the league table and the best finish we could possibly manage is 10th. The difference between 10th and 13th in the league is nearly meaningless. Time for developmental minutes for youngers and seldom-used squad players. Time to rest nicked up and overworked players. Time to see what we have in the cupboard for the future, as the core of our team is ageing.

GK     Castro

LB     Baker-Whiting

LCH     Bell

RCH    Hawkins

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM    Leyva

RDM   Brunell

LF     Morris

CAM   Ferreira

RF     Rothrock

CF     De Rosario

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

The Gaffer will select his circle of trust. Running them out ’til they can run no more. Again, and again, and again, and again…

GK     Frei

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Bell

RB     Alex

LDM    Vargas

RDM   Cristian

LF     de la Vega

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Rothrock

CF     Morris

Intangibles

Officiating.

The Referee for Saturday afternoon’s match will be Chris Penso.

NYC record with Chris Penso as Ref: 10-4-10

SEA record with Chris Penso as Ref: 18-3-5

We are being outspent:

NYC 2025 disclosed transfer fees paid: €11M

SEA 2025 disclosed transfer fees paid: €1.45M

Where is home?

NYC FC are an itinerant team. They play some matches at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, and some at Seaver Way in Queens. You’d imagine that to be a bit unsettling as a player with the inconsistency that presents.

General notes on personnel

NYC transfers IN:

Arroyave - reserves

Amponsah - reserves

Moralez - re-signed

Ranjitsingh (Toronto FC) free

Murray - draft

Cavallo - draft

O’Neill (Standard Liege) €2M

Reid - reserves

Mercau (Elche) €8M

Gustavo (Ferencvaros) €1M

NYC transfers OUT:

Hope-Gund (Rhode Island FC) free

Barraza (DC United) €142,000

Thiago Andrade (San Diego FC) expansion draft

Acevedo (Bahia) €2.85M

Sands (St. Pauli) loan

McFarlane (Manchester City) free

Mijatovic (Oud-Heverlee Leuven) loan

Rodriguez (Botafogo) €14.3M

Risa (Molde) undisclosed

Bakrar (Dinamo Zagreb) €1M

Comparison against common opponents

MIA 2:2 NYC

NYC 0:4 MIA

MIA 3:1 SEA

SEA 3:0 MIA LC

(against MIA: NYC 0-1-1 -4, SEA 1-0-1 +1) decisive edge SEA

LAFC 1:0 NYC

SEA 5:2 LAFC

LAFC 4:0 SEA

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

CLB 0:0 NYC

NYC 3:2 CLB

SEA 1:1 CLB

(against CLB: NYC 1-1-0 +1, SEA 0-1-0 0) edge NYC

ATL 4:3 NYC

NYC 4:0 ATL

ATL 2:2 SEA

(against ATL: NYC 1-0-1 +3, SEA 0-1-0 0) decisive edge NYC

NYC 1:2 MIN

SEA 2:3 MIN

MIN 1:0 SEA

(against MIN: NYC 0-0-1 -1, SEA 0-0-2 -2) marginal edge NYC

NYC 0:3 HOU

SEA 0:0 HOU

HOU 1:3 SEA

(against HOU: NYC 0-0-1 -3, SEA 1-1-0 +2) decisive edge SEA

NSH 2:2 NYC

NYC 2:1 NSH

SEA 3:0 NSH

(against NSH: NYC 1-1-0 +1, SEA 1-0-0 +3) marginal edge SEA

CLT 2:0 NYC
NYC 2:0 CLT

SEA 2:2 CLT

(against CLT: NYC 1-0-1 0, SEA 0-1-0 0) marginal edge NYC

SKC 1:1 NYC
SKC 2:3 SEA

SEA 5:2 SKC

(against SKC: NYC 0-1-0 0, SEA 2-0-0 +4) decisive edge SEA

DAL 3:4 NYC

DAL 0:1 SEA

SEA 1:0 DAL

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

NYC 0:3 PUE LC

SEA 0:0 PUE LC

(against PUE: NYC 0-0-1 -3, SEA 0-1-0 0) edge SEA

Know Thine Enemy

NYC FC as they lined up in their 1:0 defeat against Philadelphia at Seaport Drive on 4 October.

GOALKEEPER

Matt Freese, 27

United States (11/0)

Notable Clubs: Philadelphia Union (13/0), New York City FC (74/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.5M

Notes: Developed by Philadelphia Union. Played his university football for Harvard (16/0). Won an MLS Championship with Philadelphia.

DEFENCE

Kevin O’Toole, 26

United States

Notable Clubs: New York City FC (79/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €850,000

Notes: Developed by New York RB. Played his university football for Princeton (58/15). Won a Campeones Cup with New York City FC.

Justin Haak, 24

United States

Notable Clubs: New York City FC (80/2), Hartford Athletic (23/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.8M

Notes: Developed by New York City FC. Won a Campeones Cup with New York City FC.

Thiago Martins, 30

Brazil

Notable Clubs: Palmeiras (50/3), Paysandu (29/2), Bahia (11/0), Yokohama F. Marinos (99/1), New York City FC (113/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Full name: Thiago Martins Bueno. Developed by Cruzeiro, Mogi Mirim, and Palmeiras. Won Brazilian Serie B and Serie A titles with Palmeiras. Won a J1 League title in Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos. Named to J League Best XI 2019. Won a Campeones Cup with New York City FC.

Raul Gustavo, 26

Brazil

Notable Clubs: Corinthians (47/6), Bahia (11/0), Ferencvaros (12/2), New York City FC (4/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.5M

Notes: Full name: Raul Gustavo Pereira Bicalho. Developed by Democrata-SL, Betinense, and Corinthians. Won a Hungarian league title with Ferencvaros.

Tayvon Gray, 23

Jamaica (9/0)

Notable Clubs: New York City FC (93/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by SDFC Gunners, Cedar Stars Academy, and NYC FC. Won MLS Cup with NYC FC. Played for United States (18/0) at youth levels. Won an MLS Cup and a Campeones Cup with New York City FC.

MIDFIELD

Nicolas Fernandez, 25

Argentina

Notable Clubs: San Lorenzo (48/2), Elche (91/10), New York City FC (10/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €6M

Notes: Full name: Nicolas Ezequiel Fernandez Mercau. Developed by San Lorenzo.

Maximiliano Moralez, 38

Argentina (1/0)

Notable Clubs: Racing Club (105/17), FC Moscow (6/0), Velez Sarsfield (72/20), Atalanta (142/18), Leon (34/6), New York City FC (216/29)

Estimated Transfer Value: €100,000

Notes: Developed by Racing Club. Won two Argentine League titles with Velez Sarsfield. Won an MLS Cup and Campeones Cup with NYC FC. Named to MLS Best XI 2019. Won a Supercopa Internacional with Racing Club.

Andres Perea, 24

United States (1/0)

Notable Clubs: Atletico Nacional (14/1), Orlando City SC (74/3), Philadelphia Union (8/1), New York City FC (61/7)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Full name: Andres Felipe Perea Castaneda. Developed by Atletico Nacional. Won a US Open Cup with Orlando City SC.

Hannes Wolf, 26

Austria

Notable Clubs: RB Salzburg (52/16), RB Leipzig (5/1), Borussia Monchengladbach (57/4), Swansea City (19/2), New York City FC (66/16)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4.5M

Notes: Developed by SC Seiersberg, SV Gossendorf, USV Vasoldsberg, JAZ GU-Sud, and RB Salzburg. Won two Austrian Bundesliga titles and an Austrian Cup with RB Salzburg.

FORWARD

Alonso Martinez, 27

Costa Rica (30/8)

Notable Clubs: Puntarenas (?/?), Alajuelense (56/15), COFUTPA (20/15), Guadalupe (53/11), Lommel (35/8), New York City FC (58/33)

Estimated Transfer Value: €6M

Notes: Full name: Adrian Alonso Martinez Batista. Won a Costa Rican league title and CONCACAF League title with Alajuelense.

Familiar Faces

None that I can see.

Squads

New York City from:

Ranjitsingh, Romero, Freese, Rando, Cavallo, Thiago Martins, Tanasijevic, O’Toole, Murray, Gray, Amponsah, Raul Gustavo, Ilenic, Baiera, Nicolas Fernandez, Perea, Moralez, Wolf, O’Neill, Maximo Carrizo, Shore, Arroyave, Haak, Julian Fernandez, Alonso Martinez, Augustin Ojeda, Yanez, Reid.

Sounders FC from:

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

Injury List

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

New York City -

OUT: Parks (leg), Jones (leg).

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

Sounders FC -

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

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

Discipline

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

“A player, coach, or team official who receives a straight red card or second yellow in the player’s or team’s last 2025 MLS regular season match is suspended for the next match for which that individual is eligible, including the first match of the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs or the first regular season match of the following MLS season.” (per the 2025 MLS Cup Disciplinary Guidelines)

New York City: No players suspended. Julian Fernandez, Moralez, and Perea will be fined if booked.

Sounders FC: No players suspended. Baker-Whiting and Musovski will be fined if booked.

Fun Fact

Sounders FC midfielder Jesus Ferreira has scored 57 league goals, the most by any player before the age of 25 in MLS history. (Per Sounders FC Communications)