No player has done more to boost their stock this preseason than Osaze De Rosario.
Only a year from looking like a fringe MLS prospect, the 24-year-old forward looks like he might actually be in contention for a starting spot with the Seattle Sounders and is tied for the team lead with three goals during the preseason. Two of those goals came in the Sounders’ 3-1 win over Swedish side Hammarby in which he got an extended run with the presumed starters.
Beyond the goals, De Rosario also provided impressive hold-up play while going head-to-head with Hammarby’s massive centerback Victor Eriksson. With Jordan Morris now healthy and Danny Musovski coming off an 18-goal season, De Rosario has an uphill battle but he has seemingly at least secured a regular role.
“He’s been great,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said this week. “He was hungry. You know he wants it. He’s close.”
A year ago at this time, De Rosario was with the Sounders during their preseason, but had an unclear path to the first team. In his first year with the organization, the forward had scored six goals in about 1,150 minutes with the Tacoma Defiance but also was in and out of the lineup. At 23 years old, it was a stretch to call him a prospect.
It was hardly a surprise when he returned to training with the Defiance shortly before the MLS season began.
