Over the last two weeks, the Sounders' underlying numbers in attack have taken a major step forward. Seattle is generating the chances, but the goals aren't flowing yet. This week’s “Matchweek Metrics” dives into Seattle’s growing No. 9 debate, Brian Schmetzer’s tactical adjustments against San Diego, and a few “career mode” style signings I would make to help solve the Sounders’ goalscoring issues so far this season.
Sounders Check-in
Good news: the underlying metrics are starting to improve for Seattle. The Sounders have generated nearly 3.82 expected goals and 52 shots over their last two games against Sporting Kansas City and San Diego FC.
Bad news: they aren’t finishing their chances. According to FotMob, Seattle had 50 box touches and six big chances against San Diego. Only 19% of their shots were on target, and just one chance was converted. It’s ironic compared to the beginning of the season. Now that chances are finally being generated, the Sounders are dropping points.
Brian Schmetzer made it clear in his post-match press conference that no one in the squad has earned the top No. 9 position yet. If you ask me, it’s time to give Danny Musovski his shot in the starting role. Out of Morris, De Rosario, and Musovski, Moose fits the goalscoring “poacher” profile the best. That is exactly the type of profile the Sounders are missing right now: someone who can turn chances into goals. It feels like the world has forgotten that just last year Musovski ranked first in the league in expected goals per 90 and 11th overall in expected goals. His performance after being subbed on against San Diego showed how capable he is of finding the ball in dangerous areas and making things happen
I’ve got to give San Diego credit where it’s due. I was super impressed by the 20-year-old center back Manu Duah on Saturday night. He bullied Jordan Morris off the ball and was the biggest reason, besides poor finishing, that the game did not end in favor of the Sounders. He had 19 defensive contributions, including five blocked shots in dangerous areas of the box.
Manu Duah made things difficult for Jordan Morris and the Sounders last night in probably his best performance of the season. 1 Tackle 5 Recoveries 8 Clearances 5 Blocked Shots
— Jake Burgess (@jakeburgess13.bsky.social) May 10, 2026 at 10:33 AM
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If there was one positive performance to highlight from this match, it’s that of head coach Brian Schmetzer. His tactical adjustments in the second half enabled the team to finally find the goal.
As you can tell from the flow chart, things really started to gel for the Sounders after Musovski, Kingston, and Lopez were brought into the game around the 60th minute. The combination of Kingston’s incredible energy out wide, dropping Rusnák deeper, and having Morris play off Musovski’s shoulder unlocked loads of space in and around the box. In the second half, the Sounders generated 1.05 more xG, 10 more shots, five more shots on target, and 12 more touches in the opposition’s box compared to the first half.
Around the League
Keep an Eye on FC Dallas
FC Dallas’ attacking transitions and overall efficiency have been outstanding this season. Their performance against a really strong Salt Lake side over the weekend was a prime example of that. Dallas won the game while generating 2.05 expected goals from just 27 percent possession. A lot of that success is thanks to Croatian star Petar Musa, who sits in second place in the Golden Boot race, just one goal behind Hugo Cuypers.
FC Dallas have the fourth-lowest attacking-third field tilt per match across MLS. Despite very limited attacking opportunities, they have generated well above the league average in possession value. This is the sort of profile that is going to catch a lot of attacking teams by surprise on the counter. I’m not saying they are Supporters’ Shield contenders, but I would not be surprised if they put together some results in big games, especially if they can make one or two more additions to the squad before the playoffs.
Our Old Friend, Georgi Minoungou
It’s always fun to check in on an old Sounders favorite. Georgi Minoungou looked like the most dangerous player on the pitch in a 0-1 loss to St. Louis City this week. He had the most box touches (6) and completed dribbles in the match, and he came super close to leveling the game with a header worth 0.6 xG late on. He played the full 90 and has been earning a healthy amount of minutes for the Rapids. Similar to his time with the Sounders, once he tightens up his final ball and finishing, he’s going to find a lot of success in MLS.
On our Radar
I believe Morris, Musovski, and De Rosario are going to get the job done this year. That said, running through a shortlist of MLS strikers who could solve the Sounders’ goalscoring concerns sounds like fun. All of the players on this list can create chances by carrying the ball forward while also finding dangerous spaces in the box with high-level movement. While Seattle has three strikers who are each excellent at different things, adding a striker who is elite across a diverse set of skills would be a huge boost to the team.
Hugo Cuypers
With the rumored transfer of Robert Lewandowski, I would eventually expect the departure of Hugo Cuypers, who offers a similar profile. The clinical Belgian had 21 goals and two assists in 2025 and is currently leading the Golden Boot race with 11 goals. He also recorded a ridiculous 51 goals and 10 assists during his two-year stint with Gent before arriving in MLS.
Dejan Joveljic
Joveljic, at 26 years old, is by far the best player on Sporting Kansas City. That said, he can only drag his team so far without proper chance creation around him. I would not be surprised if Kansas City eventually looks to reallocate Joveljic’s value to other areas of the pitch in hopes of creating a more balanced roster. He had 18 goals and two assists last year despite playing for the worst team in the West. He followed that up with 21 goals and six assists during LA Galaxy’s MLS Cup-winning campaign in 2024. He is remarkably consistent, and that shows no signs of stopping this season, as he has already tallied five goals and one assist for a historically poor Kansas City side.
Rafael Navarro
Rafael Navarro has been the brightest light on Colorado’s exciting roster this season. The 26-year-old striker has seven goals and three assists so far this year. Across his last two seasons with Colorado, he has totaled 32 goals and six assists.
