The last three games the Seattle Sounders have played have provided a platform for Pedro de la Vega to go on the kind of run of form that most players only dream about. In 182 minutes, de la Vega has put up four goals and one assist, looking not only like the player the Sounders hoped they were bringing in when they signed him ahead of the 2024 season but like the high-level talent that went to the Olympics with Argentina four years ago and was drawing interest from big European teams.
Prior to the recent run of form, de la Vega was having a solid if unspectacular season. After a first season in Seattle almost entirely lost to injury, he started the year with three goals in two games against Guatemala’s Antigua in Concacaf Champions Cup. Following those performances, de a Vega made made a handful of appearances but struggled to have the same sort of impact before a hamstring injury suffered against LAFC kept him off the field for about a month. Following his return from injury, de la Vega made nine starts spread over 18 appearances, playing 755 minutes and notching a goal and two assists across all competitions. In total he’d managed four goals and two assists in 1,071 all-comps minutes for a respectable 0.5 goal contributions per 90 minutes. He had gotten runs in the starting XI, including four consecutive starts between April 12 and May 3 during which the Sounders went 3-0-1, +7, but de la Vega only had a single goal and struggled to really get on a roll.
But in the last three games, de la Vega has gotten a pair of starts and an impact substitute appearance, all out on the left wing. He’s shown the kind of skill and tenacity that allow a player to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and drive his team to a result. His runs have been decisive, his bits of technical flair have been used to great effect, and the spectacular shots that have been just off in the past have been falling.
That was especially true during the 18 minutes he spent on the pitch against Cruz Azul in the Sounders’ Leagues Cup opener. With the game largely decided already as he entered in the 72nd minute, just a few minutes after Osaze De Rosario made it 4-0, de la Vega made sure that Seattle truly put Los Cementeros away as he smashed the ball in off the far post following a simple pass from Jesús Ferreira just four minutes after coming on. It was an excellent and emphatic finish, not too dissimilar from his goal against the San Jose Earthquakes about two weeks earlier.
Pedro can't be stopped ⚡️
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) 2025-08-01T04:23:32.826Z
