Meet the 9 players Seattle Sounders signed from S2 for Tuesday’s Open Cup match

With absences due to international duty, injury and just plain rotation, the Seattle Sounders signed nine players to short-term contracts for Tuesday night’s (7:30 PM, YouTube) US Open Cup match against the Portland Timbers. Portland announced earlier that they signed 11 players from T2.

Rodrigue Ele, Felix Chenkam, Ray Saari, Francisco Narbon, Brian Nana-Sinkam, Charles Renken, Sam Rogers, David Olsen and Irvin Parra all signed the 4-day contract that allows them to play in non-league competition. This indicates a heavy rotation and quite likely a C team to take the field as Seattle pursues a historic fifth Lamar Hunt US Open Cup trophy.

Each of the following profiles ends with a player who the S2 talent most resembles in skill set, though at a lesser level. These are guides to style of play, not a projection of peak talent.

Rodrigue Ele is a 19-year-old centerback that came to S2 from Cameroon. He has eight starts for USL side, logging 620 minutes thus far. He is a rapidly rising talent in our First Team rankings. Think of him as a replacement level Liam Ridgewell.

Felix Chenkam plays as a lone forward. Chenkam scored three goals in 354 minutes this season, much of which has been plagued a bit by injury. Only 18, he also joined S2 from Cameroon. Think of him as a replacement level Fanendo Adi.

Ray Saari is a versatile central midfielder who leads S2 in minutes played in 2017 with 1136. Saari collected one goal and four assists in that time. He is 22 and in his first pro year. Think of him as a replacement level Cristian Roldan.

Francisco Narbon is a defensive midfielder who already has two caps with the Panama National Team. Narbon has 11 starts with 973 minutes played. Last year he was a bench player with FC Cincinnati. Despite his starts with the senior squad, the 22 year-old is a regular with Panama’s youth national teams. Think of him as a replacement level Servando Carrasco.

Brian Nana-Sinkam won two titles with Stanford, including one with Jordan Morris. The versatile defender is in his first year as a pro and was Seattle’s first round draft pick in 2017. BNS has 12 starts and a sub appearance for 1120 minutes played, and he has two goals and an assist. Think of him as a replacement level Jalil Anibaba.

Charles Renken used to be the next great hope for US soccer. He just signed with S2 recently, but already earned a start and two sub appearances to rack up 170 minutes. The crafty attacking midfielder also has a lone assist already this year. He was last with St Louis and is 23, old for an S2 player. Think of him as a replacement level Marco Pappa.

Sam Rogers signed his pro contract today. Just a month into his 18th year, the centerback is one of the best passers in the system. Rogers has 12 starts and 1080 minutes with Ezra Hendrickson’s USL team, notching one goal. Think of him as a replacement level Brad Evans at centerback.

David Olsen is a former Sounders Academy and Seattle U forward now playing winger and as the #10 with S2. He has two goals and an assist in his 13 starts with the USL side. Olsen is a regular at first team practices - as are Saari and Parra. Think of him as a replacement level young Clint Dempsey.

Irvin Parra plays as a lone forward. In his second season with S2, he has five goals and two assists in 814 minutes. Parra played for Kaiserslautern II prior to joining the Sounders organization. Think of him as a replacement level Sammy Ochoa.