Brian Schmetzer and the Seattle Sounders faced a difficult challenge going into their trip to the Twin Cities to take on Minnesota United. Riding a good run of form with a midweek meeting with Puebla in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals to follow – and another midweek match in the semifinals the following week should they win that game – the coaching staff opted to try to thread a needle of rotating and resting some players to be fresh for midweek while also changing the shape a bit in an effort to mitigate some of the threat the Loons pose.
Minnesota have shown themselves to be more than capable of lighting teams up through a combination of transition attacks and set-piece dominance, as the Sounders learned back in June when they lost to them 3-2 at home. Some recent results have shown that Minnesota’s attack struggles a bit when facing teams playing with 3 centerbacks, and Schmetzer and his staff seemed to take that into account when picking their lineup. Nouhou, Jackson Ragen and Yeimar served as the centerbacks with Reed Baker-Whiting and Alex Roldan operating as wingbacks, although with different responsibilities on their respective sides.
Minnesota United FC: 1 (0.56 xG) vs Seattle Sounders FC: 0 (1.27 xG) #MINvSEA | #MNUFC | #Sounders | #MLS | 🤖⚽
— MLS Analytics (@mlsstat.bsky.social) 2025-08-17T03:49:50.202408+00:00
The 3/5 back structure did serve to limit the threat from Minnesota, but it also limited how much real danger the Sounders posed. Minnesota don’t want the ball, they want to sit in compact lines and try to hit on the counter. They’re more than happy to let the other team have possession, trying to pass around or through them until they get frustrated and open themselves up.
Seattle had scored multiple goals in 8 consecutive games ahead of Saturday night, and 9 times during their 10-game unbeaten run since the Club World Cup. Rather than sticking with what had gotten them to where they were, playing like the hottest team in the league with a chance to move into a tie on points for 3rd place with Minnesota if they could claim a win, they allowed their opponents to dictate how they approached the game and came away empty-handed as a result.
The Sounders generated more chances, took more shots, and obviously had the vast majority of possession, but the approach to the game almost meant leaving something on the table was going to be an inevitability.
With time to think it’s probably fair to argue that the overall performance was maybe a bit better than it felt in the moment, but at the same time the quality of some of Seattle’s most dangerous moments wasn’t at the level it felt like during the game. Osaze De Rosario had a few threatening looks in the first half, most notably the volley that went over the bar with Dayne St. Clair out of his goal, but on re-watch it was impossible not to notice that in each instance it was De Rosario receiving the ball in the box with a teammate or two around the area but 5, 6 or 7 defenders for company.
Schmetzer mentioned that the team needed to be more patient in possession, but patient possession is of little value if you’re not effectively moving the defense around with your possession. The Sounders struggled to move the ball quickly or cleanly enough, and didn’t offer the necessary off-ball movement to create and capitalize on space between the lines or behind the defense. In addition, because the Sounders were pushed as high as they were to try to possess in dangerous areas, they were being particularly cautious so as not to be left wide open if they did lose the ball. That all resulted in a lack of supporting, secondary or tertiary runs into the box when Seattle tried to move the ball into the area.
To exacerbate the problem, the Sounders found themselves lacking players who are able to create something on their own. Paul Rothrock has had his magical moments, but his stock and trade isn’t exactly as a 1v1 menace. Jesús Ferreira has a knack for facilitating and can pitch in a goal, but he’s not necessarily going to pick the lock of a set defense. With the injuries in the squad and the desire to rotate, it seems odd that Georgi Minoungou and Pedro de la Vega only appeared as substitutes, and not until the 78th and 69th minutes respectively. Even more strange is that Seattle only made 3 subs in total, bringing on Danny Musovski for De Rosario along with de la Vega in the 69th minute. For all the need to keep players fresh, Cristian Roldan and Obed Vargas both played another 90 minutes as 2 substitutes were left unused. It’s a missed opportunity to really rotate, to get a result, and to keep the various scoring and unbeaten streaks going.
That result won’t undo the season. It can be little more than a bump in the road if the Sounders can rediscover their form, take care of business against Puebla, and keep it moving from there. But they probably need to be true to themselves if they’re going to do it. This team, for all their struggles and injuries, looked like one of the league’s top teams over the last couple of months because they are one of the league’s top teams. Top teams don’t change who they are because of their opponents, they impose themselves. This Sounders team is capable of imposing themselves, and that’s what they need to do from here on out. If they can effectively learn that lesson from this match, maybe a loss was worth learning it.
