Soccer <\/p>\n
Up to the Pacific Northwest rolls the Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire bus, where we have ourselves a pretty tasty Western Conference clash as the Seattle Sounders<\/a> host a Minnesota United<\/a> side that\u2019s continued last year\u2019s winning \u2013 if limited \u2013 form into this season (6 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n How is it limited? Well, consult any MLS database you can find and this year\u2019s Loons will be bottom of the possession charts. Doesn\u2019t matter if you go back five years, 10 years, 15 or 30: Eric Ramsay\u2019s side will be propping up the entire table with just 38.3 percent of the ball.<\/p>\n It\u2019s mostly served them well, as they\u2019re third in the West entering the weekend. But they\u2019ve also got some limitations because of their allergy to knocking it around, which we\u2019ll touch on below.<\/p>\n Seattle are the opposite, as they\u2019re a ball-dominant team who find themselves fighting through a spate of injuries and absences in the run-up to the FIFA Club World Cup<\/a>. That they\u2019ve managed to climb to fourth in the West anyway is a tribute to their squad depth and head coach Brian Schmetzer\u2019s willingness to use it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Seattle Sounders<\/strong><\/p>\n Minnesota United<\/strong><\/p>\n The Sounders have gotten used to competing for trophies since their 2009 arrival in MLS. Since Schmetzer took over as head coach in 2016, they\u2019ve claimed two MLS Cups, as well as the 2022 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> (ne\u00e9 League).<\/p>\n That\u2019s a great haul, but\u2026 that\u2019s it. All the while they\u2019ve watched the new kids in Black & Gold win multiple titles of various shapes and sizes, the old foes down in LA take home another MLS Cup last year<\/a> and now suddenly the previously quiet neighbors across the border are possibly in line for a quadruple? What the hell?<\/p>\n Every game of 2025, from here on out, is a chance for the Sounders to remind everyone who\u2019s actually got the most silverware over the past 15 seasons, and to put themselves in position to add to that haul \u2013 be it by closing the Supporters\u2019 Shield gap, or at least securing home field for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs (to say nothing of their Club World Cup and Leagues Cup<\/a> ambitions).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Loons\u2019 first MLS season was 2017. The closest they\u2019ve come to winning a trophy in that time was a runner-up finish in the 2019 US Open Cup<\/a>. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n Which is to say Seattle have set up permanent residence in the neighborhood Minnesota are trying to get to. And we saw last year, down the stretch, that this group probably has more talent and cohesiveness than previous Loons sides, and with that talent and cohesiveness come wins.<\/p>\n The issue so far this year, and last year during that stretch run, is few of those wins have been of the signature variety. When they\u2019ve run up against the LAFC<\/a>s or Vancouver<\/a>s or Seattles of the world \u2013 or the Galaxy<\/a> in last year\u2019s postseason \u2013 it\u2019s all gone sideways. The Loons have looked more like a good team that\u2019s a little out of their depth than contenders on the fringe of breaking through.<\/p>\n Three points at Seattle this weekend? That\u2019d be more than three points: it\u2019d be a massive statement.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Seattle Sounders: All-League Quarterback Cristian Roldan<\/strong><\/p>\n Games are about moments of opportunity, recognizing patterns and executing when the two overlap. Roldan is about as good as it gets in MLS when opportunity (space and time in midfield) collides with patterns (Sounders runs\/availability in space) and it\u2019s time to execute. The all-Sounder everything is as good a progressive passer as there is in MLS.<\/p>\n If you give Roldan \u201ctime in the pocket,\u201d well, he is going to punish you. Minnesota may not expose much space behind, but they will give Roldan time to survey what\u2019s in front of him. Will he dink and dunk the Sounders forward? Will he get a chance to uncork some home-run balls?<\/p>\n Keep your eyes locked on Roldan because Minnesota surely know who runs the Sounders\u2019 chance-creation engine from deep-lying positions.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Andrew Wiebe (@andrew_wiebe) May 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Minnesota United: What happened to 2024 Robin Lod?<\/strong><\/p>\n Remember last year? Remember when the do-everything Finn was a darkhorse Best XI candidate? Lod<\/a> had seven goals and 15 assists last season in just under 2,400 minutes. The Loons\u2019 attack, particularly in terms of box entries and through balls, ran through his feet.<\/p>\n This year, in 1,097 minutes, the 32-year-old has one goal and three assists. All his per-90 metrics are way down. Lod is just\u2026 way less involved. Shooting, passing, carries\u2026 big dips. Obviously, goal-scoring and chance-creation productivity will drop as a result. Forget the numbers. The eye test tells you the same thing.<\/p>\n Some of this is Joaqu\u00edn Pereyra settling into a bigger role and some is Minnesota\u2019s possession numbers dropping by six percent YoY. There\u2019s just less of the ball to go around. Still, Ramsay has to figure out how to get more from Lod if Minnesota want to reach their potential.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n This time last year the Sounders were in hell. Then Schmetzer made two big moves: putting Jordan Morris<\/a> up top and moving Roldan back from his spot on the wing into central midfield.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) May 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Roldan has been fantastic, and alongside Vargas, plus with guys like Jo\u00e3o Paulo<\/a> and Danny Leyva<\/a> in reserve, the Sounders have a lot of talent in deep-central midfield. They don\u2019t lose games there.<\/p>\n They have arguably more talent in the attack. But the struggle this year has been finding the right fit for all the pieces. Schmetzer has toyed with a 3-4-2-1 with flying wingbacks, gone back to the 4-2-3-1 with overlapping fullbacks and has even used a 4-4-2 for a brief minute. It\u2019s been a process.<\/p>\n The common thread throughout all of it is Seattle need a true No. 9 to lead the line. If they have that guy out there, it works. If it\u2019s a false 9 \u2013 i.e., if it\u2019s Jes\u00fas Ferreira<\/a>, who was acquired this past winter and is still in the process of settling in \u2013 it\u2019s been\u2026 less good. It\u2019s been bad.<\/p>\n The problem is that first Morris got hurt, and then his backup Danny Musovski<\/a> (who spent most of this spring on a goalscoring tear) followed suit, and that\u2019s left the very unproven Osaze De Rosario<\/a> as the only true 9 available the past week. DeRo the Younger looks the part to me, and he was utterly dominant in MLS NEXT Pro<\/a>, but it\u2019s nonetheless a jump to the first team.<\/p>\n Still, De Rosario does the basic, fundamental, off-ball No. 9 stuff well. That means finding pockets of space for one-time finishes, yes, but more often it means occupying the center backs so guys like Kent, Ferreira, or DPs Albert Rusn\u00e1k<\/a> and Pedro de la Vega<\/a> can themselves find space without worrying about a stray defender releasing to close them down or to go turnover-hunting in passing lanes.<\/p>\n The other issue the Sounders have encountered this year is in their previously indestructible central defense, where both Jackson Ragen<\/a> and Yeimar G\u00f3mez Andrade<\/a> have 1) performed below their standards from the past couple of years, and 2) battled through injuries. That\u2019s left reserves like Kim Kee-Hee<\/a> and Jon Bell<\/a> to carry more of a burden than maybe they\u2019ve been suited for.<\/p>\n Still, though, the Sounders are the Sounders: they will happily have 55% or more of the ball, their right back will overlap, their left winger will stay wide to try to beat dudes 1v1 and their No. 10 (whether it\u2019s Rusn\u00e1k or Ferreira) will be more of a pass-before-the-pass guy than a true, primary playmaker.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all aimed towards getting possession on the sides of the box \u2013 the primary assist zones \u2013 for low crosses across the 6 (to the No. 9) or pullbacks to the spot (for the on-rushing 10, or sometimes even the No. 8).<\/p>\n This is modern, fundamental soccer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Loons love three things:<\/p>\n Ramsay has been all about simplifying the process of scoring goals, and for the Loons, this has been the easiest way.<\/p>\n The \u201cset pieces\u201d part speaks for itself. Minnesota play with three center backs and spent part of the year with two center forwards, giving them five good-sized targets to aim at \u2013 most of whom are\/were very good in the air. That\u2019s a lot of \u201cwin the first ball, fight for the second\u201d moments.<\/p>\n Same with long throw-ins. John Muller wrote about this<\/a> two years ago for The Athletic<\/em>, and I\u2019m gonna borrow a graphic of his from that story:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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Seattle Sounders<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Minnesota United<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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