There's not too much to say about the Sounders in 2022 other than the fact that they sacrificed their season to become the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League. This was Seattle's 14th year in the league, as well as their first time missing the playoffs. They finished in 11th place in the Western Conference, grabbing 41 points from their 12-17-5 record. It felt like they were getting back into form around May-June, where they strung together some good results. But, it did not last, and the rest of the season consisted of a whole lot of losing. Raul Ruidiaz was the leading scorer, yet he did not even hit double digit goals. His nine goals in 18 matches was enough to lead the team, Lodeiro and Morris had seven a piece. Most importantly, the Seattle Sounders defeated Motagua (5-0 AGG), Club Leon (4-1 AGG), NYCFC (4-2 AGG), and Pumas UNAM (5-2 AGG) en route to winning the CCL. In 2023, they will turn their focus back to MLS play and look to make their way back into the playoffs.
This off-season, just about nothing happened, so this will be a short paragraph. Their only notable addition was trading for NYCFC striker Heber, giving up around $550K in GAM for the Brazilian. They retained their whole lineup, and Joao Paulo will be fully back from his ACL tear. Young forward Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez signed with Austin FC, while not so young forward Will Bruin also joined Austin FC from Seattle. Jimmy Medranda signed on with the Columbus Crew. Sam Adeniran was traded to St. Louis City SC in exchange for up to $200K in GAM, and will join them for their inaugural season. Outside of that, Seattle's roster makeup will look about the same.
Seattle made it clear that they are quite happy with where the current roster stands, which is understandable. With that being said, it's strange they didn't at least pursue some depth pieces. It feels as if most of the roster is either a teenager, or pushing into their thirties. The young midfielders in Josh Atencio, Obed Vargas, Reed Baker-Whiting, and Danny Leyva will take on a much bigger role in depth. In net, Stefan Frei will take the job now at 36 years of age. Nouhou and Alex Roldan will be the fullbacks, two of the younger players in the lineup. The youngest is Jackson Ragen, who will likely start next to Yeimar Gomez Andrade at center back. Joao Paulo, if fully fit, will start next to Albert Rusnak in the midfield. Nico Lodeiro is the #10, with Cristian Roldan and Jordan Morris on either side. Raul Ruidiaz will of course be up top. Heber will provide the depth there. This is an extremely familiar team, so we should know what to expect on the field. Seattle will always be a competitive team, but questions can be raised about the aging nature of the current XI.
Projected XI:
GK: Frei
DEF: Nouhou, Ragen, Yeimar, A. Roldan
MID: Paulo, Rusnak, Morris, C. Roldan, Lodeiro
FWD: Ruidiaz
Off-Season Grade: D
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