How Sounders can build towards 2024

By almost any measure, the Seattle Sounders have been somewhat successful in 2024. They scored 57 points in the regular season, reached the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup, the semifinals of the US Open Cup and the final of the Western Conference. They were just one goal away from hosting the MLS Cup.

Still, I understand why head coach Brian Schmetzer said it wasn’t a successful season. The reality is that the Sounders don’t measure success the same way most teams do. It may not be trophy or bust, but sheer competition for trophies is the basic expectation. As close as the Sounders came, they didn’t play in a cup final.

All in all, the Sounders are close to being a really good team, but they’re not quite there yet.

As the offseason progresses, we’ll be sharing plenty of stories about how the Sounders can improve. Consider this the first part of this series where I lay out some of the basic elements of the foundation and my take on what needs to be repaired.

What we learned

Morris and Rusnák can lead the offense, but they need help

After a solid finish last year, the Sounders played it a bit safe and essentially handed the offense over to Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnák. After a slow start, they mostly delivered. Overall, the Sounders scored 29 goals and 26 assists in all competitions. The vast majority of this production came after the middle of the season and largely coincided with the turn of the team’s fortunes. But we also saw the limitations in the playoffs, where there was only one goal and no assists.

I don’t think it’s fair to put this entirely on their shoulders, but it does underscore the need to find more productive offensive players. Until Paul Rothrock emerged as a solid scoring option on the left wing, the Sounders were almost non-existent from wide areas. I don’t think the Sounders need to rework anything, but they can’t go into 2025 with Rothrock as their only other proven scoring threat.

Whether that means moving Morris to the wing to sign a big No. 9 or signing a potentially game-winning winger, the Sounders absolutely need to add offensive talent.

The defense remains elite

For the second straight year, the Sounders allowed the fewest goals in MLS. Once again, the advanced metrics suggested this was no coincidence. The Sounders had the best center back duo in Jackson Ragen and Yeimar Gomez Andrade and there isn’t much reason to believe a departure will happen. Ragen just turned 26 and appears to be gearing up for a chance to make the United States’ World Cup team. Yeimar will be 33 next year and has had some injury problems but seems to be coping well with that too.

Behind them, Stefan Frei had another solid season and just delivered one of his best performances ever to secure victory over LAFC. I don’t think there’s any reason to expect much different next year, especially if Andrew Thomas can give him some rest as the schedule becomes increasingly busy.

Cristian Roldan is the No. 6 of the future

After years of insisting that Roldan’s best position was right wing, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer finally gave him a full look at No. 6. Roldan did not disappoint.

Roldan’s move to defensive midfielder was one of the few changes that helped give the Sounders a formidable finishing touch, as he demonstrated impressive passing range and the ability to sniff out opposition attacks.

Ahead of the summer transfer window, there were some unanswered questions about what the Sounders would do at this position next year. I don’t think this is a cause for concern anymore.

Obed Vargas is a star

I think we can now abandon the idea that Vargas can be a star and just admit that he is one. No one was more consistent and dynamic on the Sounders’ road to the Western Conference finals, as Vargas repeatedly dribbled out of pressure, broke lines with his passes and even popped up in dangerous spots on offense, all while completely commanding the midfield. It was his ball into the box that caused the own goal against LAFC, and he was one blocked shot away from giving the Sounders the lead against the Galaxy after he put it into the box with an absolutely great touch. The fact that Riqui Puig played virtually no role until his assist in the 85th minute was due not least to the work of Vargas.

My suspicion is that the Sounders will get a lot of offers for Vargas this offseason, but will likely turn them down because they believe the Club World Cup will be the ultimate showcase. Beyond that, the only hope is that the Sounders can convince the team that acquires him to let him finish the year here. Either way, it won’t be long before we see Vargas performing on the world’s biggest stages.

It’s okay to be excited about Paul and Georgi

Just six months ago, Paul Rothrock and Georgi Minoungou were names known only to die-hard Sounders fans. Although both had achieved some success, neither player seemed prepared for a breakthrough into the first team. Now? They are both players who have at least secured a role on the team in the future.

I would say Rothrock was the big breakout player of the year. He scored 8 goals and 4 assists in around 2,000 minutes across all competitions. You can always find minutes for players who perform like that. His creativity and movement in and around the penalty area is still somewhat underestimated and I believe this is just the beginning.

Minoungou hasn’t put up that kind of production yet, but it’s not hard to see his potential. When the ball is at Minoungou’s feet it is absolutely electrifying. Among players with at least 300 MLS minutes, only Sporting KC’s Stephen Afrifa averaged more successful dribbles, and no one averaged more runs into the box per 90 minutes than Minoungou. The Sounders’ playoff opponents were no better at stopping Minoungou, as he basically maintained those numbers.

The most encouraging thing about Minoungou is that you can already see the improvement in his decision-making. He is less likely to dribble into dead ends and at least recognizes where he needs to get the ball. I’m not ready to rely on his performance, but he will continue to get opportunities.

Brian Schmetzer STILL knows what he’s doing

I’m under no illusions that all Schmetzer criticisms will go away – and I admit I have some too – but after that disastrous start he came closer than ever to being fired, we have to admit it too , that he made a mistake master class. It wasn’t just because the Sounders’ results got better, but also because he overcame several trouble spots to hold together a team that was ready to come together.

You may remember early dressing room disagreements, reports of an argument that led to disciplinary action against Nouhou and Raúl Ruidíaz, or how a few months later anonymous players alleged a lack of dressing room cohesion. But at the end of the season everyone seemed to be pulling in the same direction.

For all the talk about the game getting past Schmetzer, he seems happy to tweak his tactics or change his substitution patterns when necessary. He deserves his extension, that’s for sure.

Big questions that need to be answered

Can Pedro de la Vega keep his promise?

There is no shortage of promising young players who came into MLS with a lot of potential and never made it for one reason or another. But there are just as many who needed at least a year to get used to it.

It is completely unclear which of these paths Pedro de la Vega will take. There were times when it was easy to see why the Sounders were so interested in making him a big signing last offseason. But there were many others where he looked a little lost.

I think we can attribute a lot of that to injuries that cost him about half the season, kept him from playing consecutive games until July, and didn’t allow him to get even 80 minutes until the playoffs play.

The good news is that he looks much stronger and fitter and hopefully has put his injury worries behind him. The bad news is that even when he started playing well, he didn’t look nearly threatening enough. He will have more to prove in 2025 than probably any other Sounders player ever.