Taking the past week to revisit the larger arc of the year from a distance was exactly what I needed to feel less frustrated about how the MLS regular season shook out. This Sounders group is rich in personality and it was good to be reminded of that. As a sicko I know I can take this stuff too seriously so it’s worth seeking levity and right-sizing the shape of things in our memory. Looking back, so much has happened in the past nine months.
At the start of the year I was calling for the Sounders to come out of their shell. I wanted more. More goals. More xG. A more attacking style. After 34 games and a couple of tournaments I was pleased that goal scoring was improved and they had hardware to show for it. But as it was happening I couldn’t shake the feeling that this season never got properly settled. Playing six and half months of no weekends off while juggling significant injuries simply left no room to come up for air. Just go, go, go.
The red cards are perhaps the darkest cloud hanging over the Sounders from that frenetic period. At the time I had my own vocal criticisms of the troubling lack of composure.
A review of the surface level crosstabs from this season and last finds Seattle “leading” MLS in red cards for two years running; eight in 2024, six in 2025. At the same time they are near the bottom of MLS for yellow cards received and fouls called on them in both those same seasons. It doesn’t really add up. Nevertheless, red cards and the associated concept of “discipline” did again become a major talking point this year. Earning red cards in four consecutive MLS games will do that!
It’s convenient to leave the details there but a deeper look at the incidents shows that on the whole the red card situations in MLS were usually so late that when they did happen the final game state ended unchanged. In fact going down to 10 men was not the spanner in the works you’d typically fear or expect with one exception. Sounders went 3-1-1 in the MLS games overall where red cards were issued. The red cards in Leagues Cup were also late and this team still managed to come out on top in all three of those games.
| Type | Comp | Opposing Team | Who and When | Score at Time of Red | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight Red | MLS | at Vancouver | Nouhou - 52' | Van 1-0 | Van 3-0 |
| Straight Red | MLS | at Vancouver | Jon Bell - 55' | Van 1-0 | Van 3-0 |
| Second Yellow | MLS | vs Austin | RBW - 89' | Seattle 2-0 | Seattle 2-0 |
| Second Yellow | MLS | vs Columbus | KKR - 90'+2 | 1-1 | 1-1 Draw |
| Straight Red | MLS | at Kansas City | Nouhou - 90'+4 | Seattle 3-1 | Seattle 3-2 |
| Second Yellow | Leagues Cup Group | vs Santos | Minoungou - 74' | Seattle 2-0 | Seattle 2-1 |
| Straight Red | Leagues Cup QF | vs Puebla | Musovski - 76' | 0-0 | 0-0 - Seattle Won on a Shootout |
| Straight Red | Leagues Cup SF | vs Galaxy | Nouhou - 83' | Seattle 2-0 | Seattle 2-0 |
| Straight Red | MLS | vs Timbers | Albert Rusnak - 90'+6 | Seattle 1-0 | Seattle 1-0 |
The precociousness of youth, the intensity of Concacaf soccer, the generational hate flowing between KC fans and Sounders all played into things. I’m tempted to cut both Nouhou and Danny Musovski at least little slack for losing their heads given the targets of their ire probably deserved some of the negative energy they were getting back. In context Danny’s meltdown wasn’t a result of a single play but a genuine buildup of frustration on the day. A deep frustration I recall sharing on the day that I was happy to see him standing up for himself. When it happened it was about protesting a continuing injustice and not simply a mad Moose on the charge.
The conversation about whether Nouhou deserved an additional team-imposed suspension for his actions in Kansas City turned comical when his backup Reed Baker-Whiting earned a second-yellow-induced-red card of his own while filling in the following game. Albert and Reed lunging from behind to neutralize a breakaway in the final minutes of a game are forgivable “professional reds” that we see all the time. Ignominious and hilarious, yes, but the summertime run of red cards wasn’t the disaster their enduring inclusion in our collective banter might suggest.
If the results didn’t entirely collapse after going down to 10 men the temporary loss of those starters did have ripples. The downstream effects of those players missing games turns out to be the much more interesting story here. Has the cliched “Next Man Up” adage ever been more apt for Sounders than in 2025? Worries about positional shake-ups jeopardizing tournament momentum were made moot by moments of revelation for players who capitalized on their rare starting opportunities.
Musovski famously popping off at the referee versus Puebla brought us a Goal of the Year contender for Osaze De Rosario in the next game. Moose going nose-to-nose with the ref turned a one-game ban into a two-game ban, meaning DeRo would start the Leagues Cup Final as well. Osaze was alive to the chance and scored the first goal of the game in thunderous fashion. His inclusion and performance that night brought us the entire De Rosario family celebrating on the field post-game, one of the year’s standout highlights.
Nouhou out versus Austin gave Reed Baker-Whiting his first MLS start of the year. Nouhou also out for the Leagues Cup Final meant Reed finally had his time to shine in a big game after an unfortunate history of injury striking right as it seemed he was getting going with the First Team. He not just comported himself well in the Final, he held his own going toe-to-toe with literally Messi.
Albert missing a late-season game provided Danny Leyva his own opportunity to say “I’m still here” among a stacked midfield. He put in two stellar 90s to close the year and showed his corner kick chops are second to none on this squad. Witnessing young players “becoming” in front of our eyes has to be one of the best parts of following this team.
The unfortunate sendings off against Vancouver are worth a mention, though more for the volume of red cards and less for any hampering of a Sounders result as they were already down 1-0. A high-temperature game is one of the hallmarks of a genuine rivalry and the one instance in 2024 where two straight reds were issued to Seattle was also against Vancouver.
The 2025 Major League Soccer season saw just four two-red card games out of 510. The rarity of this situation made me curious to look back at the recent Regular Season record of holding onto a win or changing the game state and coming out with a win with nine men on the field. Not unexpectedly the results are stacked heavily against the offenders.
Inter Miami’s win in 2024 was a case where the second red card happened in the 84th minute at a tied game state and then they managed a 90+4 goal (Messi was not in the lineup that day). Just one very lucky example of changing the game state to a win in the final seconds over the last eight years. That away-game at Vancouver was chalked at the 55th minute whatever the Sounders did and indeed they suffered two more goals.
Drama drives engagement so at the very least the fuel for the narrative was burning brightly. But a look at the finer details show these red cards probably shouldn’t be the generalized worry the comments on this site indicate. Let’s be frank, the biggest crash-outs were so extra, their entertainment value overtook any actual negative consequence and are still generating views for Lobbing Scorchers months later.
Brian Schmetzer has been right to close the year refocusing the narrative on the group and not the mistakes. The story here shouldn’t be the fact of the controversies but rather the team's response to those challenges as they arise. This group’s consistent ability to perform in every position group when called upon has been the very definition of depth in 2025. These are concrete examples of what hasn’t killed Sounders has only served to make them stronger.
