AUSTIN FC v. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. Sounders FC limp into Planet Texas for a go ‘round with the Austin.

What: MLS league match, Austin FC v. Seattle Sounders FC.

Where: McKalla Place, Austin, Texas.

When: 6:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Wednesday 22 July 2026 CE.

At Stake: Points in the league. Sounders are currently in 10th place in the MLS league table, on 24 points, 12 points adrift of leaders Nashville. We held our position not because everyone else dropped points, but because only 10 teams played last Thursday. In stark contrast, the entire league has midweek fixtures on 22 July.

With a victory in Austin, Sounders could possibly rise as high as 6th place, but only in the following scenario: Chicago (@MIA) must be defeated, Salt Lake (@LAFC) must be defeated, New England (v.TOR) must draw or be defeated, and Dallas (@ POR) must draw or be defeated. Should we be defeated by the Austin, we could possibly sink as low as 13th or 14th in the standings depending on results for Houston (v.DC), Minnesota (@SKC), Red Donkeys (@PHI), and Charlotte (v.ATL).

Where to Watch: Apple TV.

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

Obviously last Thursday’s result in the derby was unacceptable. With that given, there are going to be a lot of opinions as to what went wrong and why. Management will blame the players, which is a bit crap because they’re the ones that train them. The idea of running out the same 13 players as often as possible is patently ridiculous when so many in Schmetzer’s ‘circle of trust’ are over 30 years-old with a fair amount of mileage, and likely previous injury, on those legs, knees, and feet.

There will be little to no complaint though. Certainly there will be grumbling about the crap result last week, but at the end of the day, Schmetzer and his coaching staff manage to get you, with one lone exception, a top-12 finish in the league and a trophy every other season. We could be better, much better, if we had a squad that you would be confident selecting anyone from players 1-30. You can’t back up the first-choice players if their understudies are not getting first-team experience to properly be able to do so. As it stands, there is no understudy at left-back for Nouhou. We had to lend out Cody Baker, likely at his request. Why? Because he rarely got into a match, even when we had weeks that had three fixtures or more in 10 days. Josh Atencio. Good player, extremely versatile in that he could play at the #10, hold in midfield, or play centre-half if you asked him to. Gone. Why? He wasn’t regularly getting into matches, despite his ability. I can offer more examples of this type of evidence that we’re kind of doing it wrong, but it wouldna matter, and no one wants to hear it.

As the tifo once said, Schmetzer is considered the ‘rightful king’ by (what I would imagine to be) the bulk of our number. Our supporters liked Sigi (RIP), because we won, so we accepted him - even though he wasn’t from here. Ours like Schmetzer because he’s a Seattle guy. It’s like being canonised as a Saint. We fail to properly develop our youngers - not his fault. We drop points to clubs that are experiencing poor form - not his fault. We substitute players in at the 80th minute that should’ve started the match - not his fault. I’ve stood there in solidarity with all of you and chanted “Brian Schmetzer’s Rave Green Army” over and over again, because that’s what we do, and I understand that in the moment on matchday it needs to be that way.

It’s just incredibly frustrating to see the squad mismanaged, players played out of the positions where they would be most successful, tactics featuring undisciplined wing play failing to exploit the width of the pitch to break down defences, the plodding build-up play out of the back at the end of which there is zero space to run, dribble, pass, or shoot, and we face 10 or more organised defenders marking all the space in the attacking third, overloading minutes on too small a rotation of players resulting in injuries and expecting the lads you had riveted to the bench for the entire season to bail you out, and the ugly, ugly, ugly football. Hopeful crosses to no one. Lying in wait soaking up pressure in the hopes that you’ll have the pace and technique to finish off a counter-attack with a goal. Having a team that’s mostly too old to play high-press football for any length of time. Sure, it gets results more often than not, but it’s often like watching paint dry, and that’s being charitable. The zero purchases from the transfer market. No true replacements for Martins, Dempsey, Lodeiro, Montero, or Victor Rodriguez. It’s not okay, and we’re smart enough to know the difference.

The fact is though, that despite a bit of window dressing, such as Austin’s purchase of Facundo Torres, we’re going to watch two under-powered clubs play under-powered football. And that’s sad, because becoming elite at football requires massive investment at this level, and you have to sell your soul to secure that amount of investment. Banksters don’t care about championships, trophies, or supporters. They placate us until we finally give up and normalise how horrible they are. We’re just numbers in revenue stream projections to them. They slap their corpo names on our football ground, the fronts of our rave green shirts, and all over the sponsor boards and inject their blood money into the club. And that makes me proper sad on the regular, wishing beyond hope that we were a publicly-owned club.

All that said, nothing is going to change any time soon, if at all. This our Manager. This is our squad. And I root hard for us to win, every time. And I will do again midweek against the Austin. And the match after that, and the match after that, and the match after that. Perhaps we can manage victory in Texas in spite of ourselves. I love our players. They need to be given the chance to do what they do best, in the way that is most natural and intuitive to them. I want the fans and supporters of our opposition to have to say “Man, they kicked our arse but weren’t they stylish doin’ it?”

Love when we win, love it every time. Will continue to do so. I have some reasonable objections though, and it would be unprofessional and dishonest to not point them out. The truth is sometimes unpleasant, but in most instances so much better than even the most comfortable lie.

If you’re making the trip to Austin, link up with ours and look after one another. Make sure your scarves are well-tied. Behave yourselves, right up until you get into the terraces. Then make the most god-awful racket imaginable. Those of us in The Evergreen know what to do. We link up with our mates in houses, flats, pubs, and the occasional boat or ship. We stare at the screen and do what we always do: Attempt to will our lads to victory. A victory here can be done, it should be done, and fate allowing, it will be done.

It’s Sounders football, kicking off in the fading twilight of the Texas sun. 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 are spiralling which puts us squarely in the “DAYYYYYYNGA ZONE!”.

The Good News

Despite our three-match losing streak, we’re still in the top 10 places of the league table, only 12 points adrift of leaders Nashville. Although our defence isn’t tied for best in the league anymore, we are still tied for 4th best in goals conceded. We have a good amount of talent in this team, including some young players that maybe deserve the benefit of the doubt from management.

Austin are also experiencing a crap patch of recent form. They have only won twice in their last 11 league matches (2-4-7), and also have dropped their last three in a row. Maybe this sets the table for our bounce-back moment.

Although we are struggling to score goals at the moment (1.44 goals/match), Austin are significantly worse off (1.25 goals/match). Combine this with their defence that concedes over two goals per match (2.06) and we might be in with a shout.

The Bad News

Our season form is good. Our current form is shite. There’s no way around it, so let’s just get it out of the way.

Austin at home are 3-2-2 this season. Sounders are 4-2-3 on the road this season. So it’s a crap shoot - like most matches are in MLS. Engineered parity in MLS is not considered a bug, it’s considered a feature.

Successful teams dominate their leagues and focus on international competition and cup tournaments. We’re not really doing that, nor is MLS designed to allow that.

We need our squad from players 1-30 to be good enough to play with little to no drop off in quality, so that players who are older, tired, or injured may be rested at reasonable intervals. We don’t do that. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. If our players aren’t good enough to play when they’re needed, then they need to be sold or loaned out. The 13-player rotation utilised by our current management is no longer sustainable.

The Side I Would Select

I would try out a fresh look, and send a reminder that places in the team aren’t given, they’re earned in training. The additional advantage of this selection is that it allows our youngers to truly believe there is hope of earning your way into the team if you work hard enough and wait for your chance to shine. Otherwise, you just feel like you’re toiling in obscurity. I don’t have to imagine how that feels, I literally live it.

GK     Thomas

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Lopez

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM    Brunell

RDM   Kingston

LF     Rothrock

CAM   Tsukanome

RF     Gomez

CF     De Rosario

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

Win, lose, or draw, it’s Schmetzer’s way or the highway and he’ll keep running this lot out ’til their legs fall off. Don’t believe me? Just look to the recent past dating back to 2016.

GK     Thomas

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Lopez

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM    Brunell

RDM   Dotson

LF     Rothrock

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Ferreira

CF     Musovski

Intangibles

The Referee for Wednesday night’s fixture will be Ricardo Montero Araya.

Austin record with Araya as Ref: 0-0-1

Sounders FC record with Araya as Ref: 1-0-0

Austin 2026 transfer fees paid: €10.28M

Sounders 2026 transfer fees paid: €0

General notes on personnel

Austin transfers IN:

Ervin Torres - reserves

Bell (Seattle Sounders FC) free

Nelson (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) €1M

Rosales (Minnesota United FC) €1.28M

Facundo Torres (Palmeiras) €8M

Ramirez (Los Angeles Galaxy) free

Placheta (Oxford United) free

Austin transfers OUT:

Cascante - released

Fakarlun (El Paso Locomotive) free

Rubio (La Serena) free

Cleveland (Sporting Kansas City SC) €43,000

Bukari (Widzew Lodz) €5.5M

Obrian (Independiente Santa Fe) free

Taylor (MLS Pool) free

Pereira (CF Montreal) €1.84M

Comparison against common opponents

ATX 2:2 MIN

MIN 2:2 ATX

MIN 0:0 SEA

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

RSL 2:1 ATX

RSL 2:1 SEA

(against RSL: ATX 0-0-1 -1, SEA 0-0-1 -1) even

ATX 0:0 LAFC

LAFC 1:0 SEA

(against LAFC: ATX 0-1-0 0, SEA 0-0-1 -1) marginal edge ATX

ATX 1:2 LAG

SEA 0:2 LAG

(against LAG: ATX 0-0-1 -1, SEA 0-0-1 -2) marginal edge ATX

SJ 5:1 ATX
SJ 0:1 SEA

SEA 3:2 SJ

(against SJ: ATX 0-0-1 -4, SEA 2-0-0 +2) decisive edge SEA

ATX 2:0 HOU

HOU 0:1 SEA

(against HOU: ATX 1-0-0 +2, SEA 1-0-0 +1) marginal edge ATX

ATX 2:0 STL
STL 3:0 ATX

STL 0:1 SEA

SEA 4:1 STL

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

SD 5:0 ATX

SEA 1:1 SD

(against SD: ATX 0-0-1 -5, SEA 0-1-0 0) decisive edge SEA

ATX 1:2 SKC

SKC 1:1 SEA

(against SKC: ATX 0-0-1 -1, SEA 0-1-0 0) marginal edge SEA

Know Thine Enemy

Austin as they lined up in their 3:0 defeat against St. Louis at CityPark on 23 May.

GOALKEEPER

Brad Stuver, 35

United States

Notable Clubs: Columbus Crew SC (2/0), New York City FC (7/0), Austin FC (181/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €300,000

Notes: Played his university football for Cleveland State (71/0).

DEFENCE

Guilherme Biro, 26

Brazil

Notable Clubs: Coritiba (71/1), Mirassol (43/2), Austin FC (75/7)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Full name: Guilherme da Trindade Dubas.

Jonathan Bell, 28

Jamaica (2/0)

Notable Clubs: New England Revolution (27/2), St. Louis City SC (3/0), Seattle Sounders FC (32/1), Austin FC (14/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €300,000

Notes: Developed by DC United. Played his university football for Maryland Baltimore County (56/1). Won an MLS league championship with New England Revolution.

Oleksandr Svatok, 31

Ukraine (11/0)

Notable Clubs: Volyn Lutsk (4/0), Zorya Luhansk (41/1), Hajduk Split (16/0), Dnipro-1 (90/2), Austin FC (49/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.2M

Notes: Developed by Inter Dnipropetrovsk and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Mikkel Desler, 31

Denmark

Notable Clubs: Odense (116/1), Haugesund (67/2), Toulouse (89/2), Austin FC (36/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.2M

Notes: Full name: Mikkel Desler Puggaard. Developed by Assens and Odense. Won a Coupe de France and Ligue 2 title with Toulouse.

MIDFIELD

Jon Gallagher, 30

Ireland

Notable Clubs: Atlanta United FC (16/4), Aberdeen (22/1), Austin FC (190/17)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.8M

Notes: Developed by Beachside SC and Home United. Played his university football for Notre Dame (84/39).

Joseph Rosales, 25

Honduras (38/0)

Notable Clubs: CA Independiente de La Chorrera (33/2), Minnesota United FC (97/2), Austin FC (15/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Full name: Joseph Yerimid Rosales Erazo. Won two Panamanian league titles with CA Independiente.

Daniel Pereira, 26 (This player was sold to CF Montreal for €1.84M on 2 July)

Venezuela (10/0)

Notable Clubs: Austin FC (148/4), CF Montreal (1/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3M

Notes: Full name: Daniel Pereira Gil. Developed by Virginia Blue Ridge Star. Played his university football for Virginia Tech (26/6).

Facundo Torres, 26

Uruguay (23/2)

Notable Clubs: Penarol (51/10), Orlando City SC (95/37), Palmeiras (43/7), Austin FC (15/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €10M

Notes: Full name: Facundo Daniel Torres Perez. Won a Uruguayan championship with Penarol. Won a US Open Cup with Orlando City SC. 2x named to Uruguayan Primera Division Team of the Year.

FORWARD

Owen Wolff, 21

United States

Notable Clubs: Austin FC (125/10)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4M

Notes: Developed by Columbus Crew SC, Atlanta United FC, and Austin FC. Played for United States (10/3) at youth levels.

Christian Ramirez, 35

United States (2/1)

Notable Clubs: Minnesota United FC (138/71), Los Angeles FC (24/6), Houston Dynamo (31/8), Aberdeen (45/10), Columbus Crew SC (55/16), Los Angeles Galaxy (25/4), Austin FC (14/4)

Estimated Transfer Value: €200,000

Notes: Developed by Irvine Strikers. Played his university football for UC Santa Barbara (24/1) and Concordia (NCAA II) (42/41). Won an NASL Spring title and league championship with Minnesota United FC. Won an MLS Cup and Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew SC. Named 3x to NASL Best XI. Won two NASL Golden Boots (20 goals in 2014, and 18 goals in 2016). Named NASL Young Player of the Year.

Familiar Faces

Austin and Jamaica (2/0) defender, Jonathan Bell, played for the Sounders FC (32/1) from 2024-25.

Squads

Austin from:

Stuver, Las, Thomas, Hines-Ike, Svatok, Gallagher, Kolmanic, Biro, Djordjevic, Sanchez, Sabovic, Dubersarsky, Rosales, Burton, Wolff, Ervin Torres, Nelson, Vazquez, Uzuni, Facundo Torres, Fodrey, Ramirez, Placheta.

Sounders FC from:

Frei, Thomas, Gomez Andrade, Hawkins, Kossa-Rienzi, Lopez, Nouhou, Ragen, Sailor, Brunell, Dotson, Gomez, Kingston, Rusnak, Arriola, De Rosario, Ferreira, Musovski, Rothrock, Tsukanome.

Injury List

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Austin -

OUT: Bell (pubis), Desler (Achilles).

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

Sounders FC -

OUT: de la Vega (knee), Kim (hamstring), Alex (hip), Cristian (quadriceps), Morris (quadriceps), Petkovic (knee).

MATCHDAY DECISION: Sailor (hamstring), Gomez Andrade (hamstring).

Discipline

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Austin: No players suspended. Biro out next match if booked.

Sounders FC: No players suspended. Ragen out next match if booked.

Fun Fact

Sounders FC Reserves defeated Salt Lake Reserves by a score of 2:4 in Sandy, Utah on 19 July. Newboy Mark Bronnik scored a brace, with Charlie Gaffney and Rafael Jauregui adding a goal each.

In the team for the Reserves:

Anchor, Phoenix, Winslow, Sandnes, Alvarez, Gaffney, Gnaulati, O’Neill, Jauregui, Carli, Bronnik.

Substitutes: Shour, Brown, Robles, Kitafuji, Fikic, Kolomiets.

The next fixture for Sounders FC Reserves is on 26 July at Starfire, with Colorado Rapids 2 the visitors. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Sounders FC Reserves are currently in 18th place in the MLS Next Pro table on 27 points, 13 points adrift of leaders Houston Dynamo 2. That’s two wins in a row for our youngers! Well done, lads! Keep cracking on.