The 2025 season has been a long, long road with many a winding turn for our Sounders and our Green Fam. At any rate, here we are at the fulness of it. Let’s have a closer look at what happened and why this season.
“…You gotta ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive / E-lim-i-nate the negative /
And latch on to the affirmative / Don’t mess with Mr. In-Between…” – Johnny Mercer
Sounders FC Results in all competitions
All competitions 23-14-13 +22
10th MLS 15-10-9 +10 55 points
FIFA CWC Group Stage
CONCACAF CC Round of 16
MLS Cup Round of 16
Leagues Cup Champions
Cascadia Cup 2nd Place
Results of my February Predictions
FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP
Prediction: Elimination in Group Stage
Result: Eliminated in Group Stage
CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP
Prediction: No prediction made (an oversight)
Result: Eliminated in Round of 16 (second round)
US OPEN CUP
Prediction: Elimination in Fourth Round (Round of 32)
Result: Eliminated in Fourth Round (Round of 32)
MLS LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Prediction: Top-10 finish
Result: 10th place
MLS CUP
Prediction: Elimination in Quarter-Finals
Result: Eliminated in Round of 16 (First Round)
LEAGUES CUP
Prediction: Eliminated in Quarter-Finals
Result: Champions
OVERVIEW
I was spot-on in my predictions for Club World Cup, MLS League Championship, and the Sounders FC Reserves first attempt at the US Open Cup. I underestimated our Leagues Cup campaign, and I am grateful that we won it - whilst still understanding that it’s a competition that none of us asked for, generates fixture clutter, and dilutes and dishonours the US Open Cup. I over-estimated our result in MLS Cup, in which we lasted only one round. I forgot to predict our CONCACAF Champions Cup results. I will not repeat that oversight when I produce the 2026 Season Preview & Predictions. I’d say three out of five is not bad, though my miss on Leagues Cup was pretty far off the victorious result.
Sounders FC Home and Away
Home MLS 10-6-1
Away MLS 5-4-8
All competitions home 16-8-4
All competitions away 7-6-9
Goal Scoring
(all competitions)
SEA t-8th MLS 90 goals/50 matches 1.80 goals/match
Defending
(all competitions)
SEA t-10th MLS 68 goals conceded/50 matches 1.36 goals conceded/match
Offseason transactions
(accurate through 15 November 2025)
none
Players out of contract
GOALKEEPER
Frei
DEFENCE
Bell
FORWARD
Rothrock
Club Option for 2026
GOALKEEPER
Castro
DEFENCE
Gomez Andrade
Nouhou
Kim
Sousa
Kossa-Rienzi
Burney
MIDFIELD
Arriola
Joao Paulo
Vargas
FORWARD
Kent
Musovski
De Rosario
Players under contract for 2026
GOALKEEPER
Thomas
DEFENCE
Ragen
Hawkins
Baker
Alex
Baker-Whiting
MIDFIELD
Rusnak
Cristian
Leyva
Brunell
FORWARD
Morris
Ferreira
de la Vega
Minoungou
Players released/option declined
None yet reported as of 13 November 2025
Sounders Reserves players out of contract
GOALKEEPER
Shour
DEFENCE
Alvarez
Yamada
Lopez
Katsaros
Diaw
Gaffney
MIDFIELD
Dodzi
Kingston
Pedder
Robles
Gomez
Baer
FORWARD
Khoury
Hassan
Tsukanome
Contract status per transfermarkt.co.uk. This list does not include seven Sounders Academy scholars (Newman, Emert, Veillard, Flores Gonzalez, Sandnes, Hassan, and Carli) who made appearances for the Reserves but were presumably not signed to an MLS Next Pro contract.
Sounders Reserves players under contract for 2026
No players yet under contract for the 2026 MLS Next Pro season per transfermarkt.co.uk.
Sounders Reserves players released (and/or option declined)
GOALKEEPER
Helleren (hired by the Sounders as a goalkeeping instructor for the Sounders FC Academy)
FORWARD
Kang
Competition Summary - FIFA World Club Cup
RESULT - ELIMINATED IN GROUP STAGE - 0-0-3 RECORD
Positives:
Held UEFA Champion Paris Saint-Germain to two goals. Held 3rd place La Liga club Atletico Madrid to three goals. Nearly got a draw against 2024 Copa Libertadores champion Botafogo conceding only two goals. Thus held our own against clubs with wage budgets much higher than ours, playing in leagues more demanding than ours. In addition we scored two goals, one against Botafogo, and one against Atletico Madrid. Is it as good as victory? No. Is it impressive? Yes, 100% it is.
Negatives:
Although Sounders did well to not get completely blown out of the water, the question has to be asked: Did we have any business being there? MLS worries about fixture clutter seem to be hypocritically at odds with their participation in this tournament.
Sounders FC, and all the rest of the clubs in the tournament, were allowed a small window to sign players to better compete in it. Sounders FC did not purchase any new players in an attempt to level the playing field.
A quick look at the tournament’s participating sponsors looks like rogue’s gallery of some of the worst corporations in America and the world.
Conclusion:
It was a wild ride, watching us make some of the best clubs in the world sweat it out as we worked our arses off to compete. Although I had predicted we would be blown out by five to eight goals to nil in all matches, I was glad to be incorrect in my predictions. The results showed that the gap in quality between MLS and top leagues in South America or Europe is still quite a wide one.
Competition Summary - CONCACAF Champions Cup
RESULT - ELIMINATED IN ROUND OF 16 - 2-1-1 RECORD
Positives:
After defeating Antigua FC of Guatemala by an aggregate score of 6:2, and a 0:0 draw against then 6x winners Cruz Azul at Royal Brougham Park, it seemed we were well on our way to the Quarter-Finals. De la Vega scored three goals, newboy Arriola scored two, with Rusnak and Musovski also adding goals.
Negatives:
The second leg in the Round of 16 tie in Mexico City saw us run out by Cruz Azul 4:1. Cruz Azul would go on to win their 7th CONCACAF Champions Cup (or league, or whatever they call it next) title. Arriola done his knee in this match. The injury was so severe the 30 year-old midfielder had to have his knee surgically repaired and his season ended in March.
Conclusion:
Sounders made a game effort to win this competition, but were undone by shite league scheduling by MLS and the season-ending injury to Arriola. Our elimination from this tournament arguably lent further credence to the idea that Sounders FC can only put all our eggs in one basket to win one competition per season. This idea is, of course, unacceptable and likely remedied by better workload management.
Competition Summary - US Open Cup
RESULT - ELIMINATED IN THE ROUND OF 32 (FOURTH ROUND) - 3-0-1 RECORD
Positives:
The Sounders FC Reserves did well in their first US Open Cup campaign, defeating Washington Athletic Club (SRATS), Spokane Velocity (USL1), and Oakland Roots SC (USLC). It didna really feel like their first time though, as reserve players were the bulk of the lineup in years past, with first-choice players only participating if we reached the Quarter-Final stage.
The Reserves played their hearts out, worked their socks off, but eventually succumbed to arch-rival Portland Timbers, who fielded a team of first-choice (including Canadian international goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau) and senior team squad players, by a score of 2:3 at Starfire in Tukwila. Sounders FC Reserves fielded senior team back-up goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, senior team part-time right-back Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, and senior team squad players Stuart Hawkins, Reed Baker-Whiting, Georgi Minoungou, and Travian Sousa. Despite everything weighted against our Reserves in this match, we came very close to winning it.
Negatives:
This match never should have been contested by our Reserve squad. The United States FA is the dog being wagged by the tail of MLS - the league that it is supposed to regulate and govern. The US Open Cup, the second-oldest professional sporting trophy in North America, has been reduced to a tournament for amateur clubs, lower division professional clubs, professional clubs that lose their way into it, and academy scholars. It’s pathetic. This matched deserved more promotion and fanfare, and our Reserves deserved to play this match in a much larger venue, in front of a larger audience than the 1,792 faithful supporters in attendance.
Conclusion:
A noble effort by our Reserves who were ultimately overpowered by our arch-rivals who fielded a decent chunk of their first-choice team. The current MLS policy on participation in this tournament needs to be changed as soon as possible.
Competition Summary - MLS League Championship
RESULT - 10TH PLACE - 15-10-9 RECORD
Positives:
Difficult to complain about a top-10 finish. We scored 58 goals, good enough to tie for 8th best in the league. Normally we favour defence over scoring, so extra goals were a welcome surprise.
Danny Musovski was a revelation at centre-forward scoring 14 league goals, 18 in all competitions. Rusnak was reliable at the #10 position scoring 11 goals and assisting on 10. Ferreira and Rothrock had 4 goals, 7 assists each. De la Vega had four goals and 5 assists and managed to play in 26 league matches this season. Ultimately we finished with 55 points, just 11 points adrift of MLS League champions, Philadelphia Union.
Negatives:
Injuries really hurt us this season. Paul Arriola’s knee injury in the CONCACAF Champions Cup 2nd Leg at Cruz Azul on 11 March, and Pedro de la Vega’s knee injury, suffered in the last match of the league schedule on 18 October at NYCFC, deprived us of two impact players. Arriola only managed two matches in the league this season. De la Vega was injured just before the start of MLS Cup. Injuries limited Jordan Morris to 17 league matches and 5 league goals. Joao Paulo was also injured this season and only appeared in 11 league matches.
Although the workload for league fixtures was managed slightly better than last season, it could be argued that players like:
Minoungou (21 appearances, 6 times in the team, 713 minutes)
Leyva (16 appearances, 6 times in the team, 699 minutes)
Baker-Whiting (14 appearances, 6 times in the team, 541 minutes)
Kent (15 appearances, 5 times in the team, 540 minutes - limited by injury)
Joao Paulo (11 appearances, 6 times in the team, 478 minutes - limited by injury), Brunell (6 appearances, 3 times in the team, 293 minutes - though he was signed to a first-team contract toward the end of the season)
Hawkins (4 appearances, 0 times in the team, 124 minutes)
Baker (3 appearances, 1 time in the team, 115 minutes - was granted a loan move to Sacramento Republic FC)
Sousa (0 appearances, 0 times in the team, 0 minutes - why was he signed to a first-team contract, if we weren’t going to utilise him? Sousa was granted a loan to FC Tulsa)
These players could have been selected in the team a bit more often to reduce the impact of fixture clutter and wear and tear on first-choice players. The above players are plenty capable, but were far too underutilised. Why does the Gaffer not trust these players to shoulder more of the workload? If you added up the minutes for all our players in all competitions and divided it by total number of appearances, it would begin to come clear how our lads are worn thin by the time MLS Cup rolls around. Hint: It’s not because of US Open Cup.
Conclusion:
It’s very difficult to complain about a league campaign where we only were defeated 9 times out of 34. The start of the season was quite brutal though, with Sounders only managing a 1-3-3 record in the first 7 fixtures of the season. It’s true that CONCACAF Champions Cup impacted this part of the season, but why weren’t our squad players in the team more to pick up the slack and rest first-choice players for CCC? All of this said, the last 27 matches of the league, we were 14-7-6, which is elite form by any standard.
Four of our later-season draws could have been victories if not for late equalisers that we conceded to our opponents. We have to learn how to put a match away when we’re leading, and how to park the bus when it’s a sensible strategy.
Competition Summary - MLS Cup
RESULT - ELIMINATED IN ROUND OF 16 (FIRST ROUND) - 1-2-0 RECORD
Positives:
We achieved better results than Minnesota United, in that we were undefeated in the three-match cup tie, and outscored them 7:5 in the aggregate. Musovski, Vargas, and Morris were all good for two goals apiece, with Rusnak adding another. Vargas’ 86th minute dagger sealed the victory for us in match 1, the only match of the tie with a clear-cut winner at full-time. Morris’ 88th minute equaliser at the death in match 3 earned us a last-gasp opportunity to advance to the Quarter-Finals on penalties.
Negatives:
MLS values winning penalty-kick shootouts in scenarios that don’t determine who immediately advances from the MLS Cup Round of 16. The Loons won two penalty-kick shootouts, won zero matches, scored only three goals, and yet still were able to advance to the Quarter-Finals because MLS doesn’t understand how to run a cup tournament.
We were crap-shit on penalty-kick “tie-breakers” scoring only at a rate of 53.3% (8 of 15). That is an unsustainable conversion rate for a spot kick 12 yards away from goal, with the goalkeeper forbidden to move off the line until you strike the football. Of course none of this should have been a factor, until a winner of the tie had to be decided because MLS really, really loves inappropriately using penalty-kicks for shits and giggles.
In the third and deciding match of the tie, we were given so many opportunities to put the match away, and so many opportunities during penalties to advance. For whatever reasons, we were unable to capitalise at key strategic moments.
Conclusion:
Minnesota United advanced because of MLS’ crappy format, even though they won zero matches in the tie. But that’s MLS for ye, over-valuing being skilful/lucky at penalties over being competent at football and scoring goals. We clearly outplayed Minnesota United, but in the end, it didna matter one lick.
Competition Summary - Leagues Cup
RESULT - WON THE TOURNAMENT - 5-1-0 RECORD
Positives:
There’s almost nothing to criticise at all. We were unbeaten through the entire tournament. We only conceded two goals in the entire tournament! We exacted revenge on Cruz Azul for CONCACAF Champions Cup, by absolutely battering them by a score of 7:0. We shut out our opponents four times out of six.
The bulk of our goals came from unexpected sources with Guyana international Osaze De Rosario, who was signed to a first-team contract on 8 May, scoring four goals, and Argentine starlet Pedro de la Vega scoring three.
Negatives:
Although I love that we won this tournament, and would never turn my nose up at silverware, I would much rather see our senior team participate in the US Open Cup - literally the tournament of our own national FA and a tradition dating back to 1913. Instead we get this completely made-up head to head tournament with Liga MX clubs, dating back to 2019 for no reasons save for there’s more prize money. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
MLS likes to piss and moan about fixture clutter, right up until it’s Leagues Cup or MLS Cup. Then apparently, it’s perfectly fine.
Conclusion:
Sounders utterly dominated this tournament. Sounders and El Salvador right-back Alex Roldan was named Man of the Match in the Final. Sounders forward Pedro de la Vega was named Player of the Tournament. Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament. A massive effort by the club and the team was well-rewarded.
Competition Summary - Cascadia Cup
RESULT - 2ND PLACE - 1-2-1 RECORD
Positives:
We didna finish last. We only lost one match in the tournament. Bonus points for our one victory being against arch-rivals Portland.
Negatives:
We only won one match in the tournament, drawing twice.
Referee Ricardo Fierro’s sending off of Sounders and Jamaica defender Jonathan Bell and Sounders and Cameroon left-back Nouhou seemed a bit heavy-handed in our only defeat in which Vancouver absolutely battered us 3:0 at BC Place. Of course, it’s much easier to win by that margin if the Ref sends off two players from the opposition.
Conclusion:
Bell and Nouhou getting sent off in the away match against Vancouver, Sounders conceding a late equaliser to Laborda in the home match against Vancouver, and squandering a 1:0 lead in Portland ultimately sunk our chances.
We’ll try to liberate you from Canada next season, George!
Overview
The overall results this season were encouraging. Some of our youngers, specifically De Rosario, Tsukanome, Brunell, Baker-Whiting, Kossa-Rienzi, de la Vega, and Vargas are developing into fine footballers.
Musovski was a revelation (18 goals in all competitions) and our most reliable striker. Rusnak and Ferreira were dead reliable as options at the #10. Frei was Frei and Thomas had his big moments as well in goal. Cristian provided both a bit of bite in midfield at the #6 and was also a top playmaker collecting 9 assists. Our goalkeeping was excellent, our defence tied for 10th best in the league, and our attack the best it has been in years with 58 goals tied for 8th in the league.
If not for key injuries to Arriola, de la Vega, and Morris, we might have had a chance at a second trophy. We have enough depth, as currently constituted, to compete for every trophy. This is a good place to be in, and the addition of one or two more impact players, preferably closer to the beginning of their careers than the end, could make us a dominant force in every competition. You know you’re successful when you are dominating your league, and league matches become mostly preparation for international competitions.
Results classified by opponent
CHARLOTTE
SEA 2:2 CLT
(against CLT: 0-1-0 0)
SALT LAKE
RSL 2:0 SEA
SEA 1:0 RSL
(against RSL: 1-0-1 -1)
LOS ANGELES FC
SEA 5:2 LAFC
LAFC 4:0 SEA
(against LAFC: 1-0-1 -1)
ST. LOUIS
STL 1:0 SEA
SEA 4:1 STL
(against STL: 1-0-1 +2)
HOUSTON
SEA 0:0 HOU
HOU 1:3 SEA
(against HOU: 1-1-0 +2)
SAN JOSE
SJ 1:1 SEA
SEA 3:2 SJ
(against SJ: 1-1-0 +1)
SAN DIEGO
SD 3:0 SEA
SEA 1:0 SD
(against SD: 1-0-1 -2)
DALLAS
DAL 0:1 SEA
SEA 1:0 DAL
(against DAL: 2-0-0 +2)
NASHVILLE
SEA 3:0 NSH
(against NSH: 1-0-0 +3)
COLORADO
COL 1:1 SEA
SEA 3:3 COL
(against COL: 0-2-0 0)
PORTLAND
POR 1:1 SEA
SEA 1:0 POR
(against POR: 1-1-0 +1)
MINNESOTA
SEA 2:3 MIN
MIN 1:0 SEA
MIN 0:0 SEA MLSC
SEA 4:2 MIN MLSC
MIN 3:3 SEA MLSC
(against MIN: 1-2-2 0)
VANCOUVER
VAN 3:0 SEA
SEA 2:2 VAN
(against VAN: 0-1-1 -3)
AUSTIN
SEA 2:0 ATX
ATX 2:1 SEA
(against ATX: 1-0-1 +1)
COLUMBUS
SEA 1:1 CLB
(against CLB: 0-1-0 0)
KANSAS CITY
SKC 2:3 SEA
SEA 5:2 SKC
(against SKC: 2-0-0 +4)
ATLANTA
ATL 2:2 SEA
(against ATL: 0-1-0 0)
LOS ANGELES GALAXY
LAG 0:4 SEA
SEA 2:2 LAG
LAG 0:2 SEA LC
(against LAG: 2-1-0 +6)
MIAMI
MIA 3:1 SEA
SEA 3:0 MIA LC
(against MIA: 1-0-1 +1)
NEW YORK CITY
NYC 1:2 SEA
(against NYC: 1-0-0 +1)
ANTIGUA FC
ANT 1:3 SEA CCC
SEA 3:1 ANT CCC
(against ANT: 2-0-0 +4)
CRUZ AZUL
SEA 0:0 CAZ CCC
CAZ 4:1 SEA CCC
SEA 7:0 CAZ LC
(against CAZ: 1-1-1 +4)
BOTAFOGO
SEA 1:2 BOT CWC
(against BOT: 0-0-1 -1)
ATLETICO MADRID
SEA 1:3 ATM CWC
(against ATM: 0-0-1 -2)
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
SEA 0:2 PSG CWC
(against PSG: 0-0-1 -2)
SANTOS LAGUNA
SEA 2:1 CSL LC
(against CSL: 1-0-0 +1)
TIJUANA
SEA 2:1 TIJ LC
(against TIJ: 1-0-0 +1)
PUEBLA
SEA 0:0 PUE LC
(against PUE: 0-1-0 0)
Sounders FC Goal Scoring and Assists
MLS CWC CCC USOC LC MLSC A* GOALS
Musovski 14 0 1 0 1 2 4 18
Rusnak 11 1 1 0 0 1 10 14
De la Vega 4 0 3 0 3 0 5 10
Morris 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 7
De Rosario 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 7**
Vargas 3 0 0 0 1 2 5 6
Rothrock 4 0 0 0 1 0 7 5
Ferreira 4 0 0 0 1 0 7 5
Kossa-Rienzi 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 3
Cristian 1 1 0 0 0 0 9 2
Minoungou 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 2
Nouhou 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 2
Ragen 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Brunell 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2**
Arriola 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
Alex 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 1
Gomez Andrade 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Leyva 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Baker-Whiting 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
*league assists only
**it should be noted that De Rosario scored 10 goals with the Sounders FC Reserves in MLS Next Pro, so technically he scored a total of 17 goals in all competitions. Also scoring goals for the Reserves this season were Brunell (2 goals), Hawkins (1), Minoungou (1), Sousa (1), and Burney (1).
Sounders FC Reserves Results in all competitions
MLS Next Pro 23rd place 10-4-14 -5 36 points
US Open Cup Eliminated in Fourth Round (Round of 32) 3-0-1
MLS Next Pro Cup Did not qualify
Home Record 5-3-6
Away Record 5-1-8
All Competitions 13-4-15
Season Overview
The Sounders FC Reserves struggled for consistency, even though Osaze De Rosario and Yu Tsukanome were scoring goals to beat the band. Manager Herve Diese, had gotten the lads off to a good start with a record of 8-0-2 in their first 10 matches, which included victories in the first three rounds of the US Open Cup. Following this run of elite form, shit turned pear-shaped. Over the next six matches the Reserves went a winless 0-1-5, beginning with getting knocked out of the US Open Cup by Portland’s first-team. Spotty form continued with the side going 1-2-1 over the next four matches, including a 6:4 loss at Colorado Rapids Reserves, squandering a 0:3 half-time lead on 20 July. On 23 July, Herve Diese was sacked, presumably on the basis of lack of results, no clear reason was ever publicly given by the club for the dismissal.
Michael Morris, one of Diese’s coaches for the reserves stepped in as caretaker Manager. Under Morris’ reign, the lads only managed a 4-1-7 the rest of the way, failing to qualify for MLS Next Pro Cup.
Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Snyder Brunell, and Osaze De Rosario were signed to first-team contracts during the season, which can be considered a developmental success for the club. The Reserves succeeded in debuted seven Academy scholars who made significant contributions, most notably from midfielder Edson Carli, who scored two goals in the league, a goal in the US Open Cup, and assisted on three league goals.
Competitively, the Reserves did not qualify for MLS Next Pro Cup and that must be considered a failure, though that should be somewhat mitigated by the three victories in the US Open Cup over Washington Athletic Club, Spokane Velocity, and Oakland Roots SC. In the final summation, the 2025 season was a mixed bag for the Reserves.
Sounders FC Reserves Goal Scoring and Assists
MLSNXT USOC A* GOALS
Tsukanome 18 3 5 21
De Rosario** 10 2 0 12
Gomez 5 0 6 5
Khoury 5 0 2 5
Kingston 2 1 6 3
Carli^ 2 1 3 3
Yamada 3 0 3 3
Dodzi 3 0 1 3
Alvarez 3 0 0 3
Brunell** 2 0 2 2
Gaffney 2 0 2 2
Minoungou** 1 0 3 1
Sousa** 1 0 2 1
Burney** 1 0 2 1
Robles 1 0 2 1
Kang 0 1 0 1
Hawkins** 1 0 0 1
Hassan^ 1 0 0 1
Pedder 0 0 2 0
Sandnes^ 0 0 1 0
* league assists only
**Sounders FC player
^Sounders FC Academy Scholar
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