As head coach Brian Schmetzer had strongly alluded to on Sunday, Antino Lopez officially signed a first-team contract on Tuesday. The 23-year-old had played a starring role in the Seattle Sounders’ 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, making an acrobatic goal-line clearance in his first career MLS start and subsequently earned high praise from Schmetzer. Lopez made that appearance while on a short-term loan from Tacoma Defiance.
“Antino has earned this contract by stepping up in the moments he’s been called upon,” Brian Schmetzer said in a team statement. “Whether it was with Tacoma Defiance or in opportunities with our group, he’s shown the work rate and quality that we value as a staff. He’s continued to grow within our system and earn the trust of his teammates and coaches. We’re excited to see how he’ll continue to develop and help the team moving forward.”
Jeremiah Oshan
Lopez grew up in Las Vegas before joining the Sounders Academy during his senior year of high school and then played collegiately at Duke. After graduating, he was drafted by the Sounders with the 52nd overall pick of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft and then signed with the Defiance. He has since made 41 appearances and logged nearly 3,000 minutes in MLS Next Pro.
Along with Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, he is the second player the Sounders have signed from that draft class. He is also the 13th player on the first team who first signed with Defiance and the eighth to have come through the Sounders Academy.
Jeremiah Oshan
“Tino has continued to grow in our system and showed impressive consistency and quality to earn this next step,” Sounders GM Craig Waibel. “His progression is another example of the player development pathway we’ve built at this club, where young players are provided with the best staff in the country to achieve their best. We are now looking forward to watching the First Team staff assist in the next phase of growth and development within the club.”
