In the midst of their longest-ever losing streak, the Seattle Sounders will get a bit of a break. Well, sort of. It’s not so much of a “break” as it is a different kind of distraction.
Tonight, the Sounders officially begin defense of their 2025 Leagues Cup trophy and won’t return to league play until they face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Aug. 16.
Now’s a good time to get you all caught up…
Remind me: What’s Leagues Cup again?
Leagues Cup has been an on-again, off-again tournament that pits MLS teams and Liga MX opponents. It first started in 2019, but this is the fourth year of the "proper" tournament, although that has undergone some changes, too. MLS teams have won the last three tournaments, with the Sounders topping Inter Miami in last year's final.
Is it a big deal?
I suppose this is always an "eye of the beholder" situation, but the top three finishers all get a spot in the next Concacaf Champions Cup, with the winner getting a bye into the Round of 16, which is actually better than the MLS Cup winner. Last year's final also drew nearly 70,000 fans (never mind that it was due in large part to Leo Messi being in town).
What’s the format look like?
Same as last year, but different than the previous two. There are 18 teams from MLS and 18 more from Liga MX. Phase One is all inter-league matchups; the Sounders face Toluca (tonight, 7 PM), Querétaro (Sunday, 12:30 PM) and Chivas (Aug. 12, 7:30 PM), for instance. Each game must have a winner, so if it’s tied after regulation it goes straight to a penalty shootout, with the winner of the shootout getting two points and the loser getting one.
At the end Phase One, the top four MLS teams and the top four Liga MX teams advance to the quarterfinals, where they are matched up 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 from the opposite league. It’s not until the semifinals and finals where intra-league matchups can occur.
Any changes from previous years?
Yes, for the first time ever there will be games played in Mexico. In fact, the first-ever Mexico-based Leagues Cup game is tonight when the Sounders visit Toluca at Nemesio Díez Stadium, otherwise known as El Infierno.
That, uh, sounds like it could be intimidating?
Yeah, it’s not as famous as some of Mexico's other stadiums but it is genuinely one of its most iconic. A host stadium in both the 1970 and 1986 World Cups, it was opened in 1954 and fits about 30,000 people. Also called "La Bombonera", it is quite the cauldron of noise with fans basically on top of the field.
Adding to the intimidation factor is that Toluca is at 8,750 feet above sea level. To put that into perspective, the Colorado Rapids play at about 5,200 feet above sea level and Mexico City is at about 7,400 feet above sea level.
This is almost certainly the highest elevation at which the Sounders have ever played.
How are the Sounders doing, anyway?
Going to assume you’ve been slow to return from the World Cup break, eh? Well, not good, to put it bluntly. Actually, maybe the worst they’ve ever been if I’m a bit more inclined to extremes.
The Sounders have not won a game since May 13, which even accounting for the seven-week break means they’ve lost six straight games in regulation for the first time in their entire 51-year history. Prior to this losing streak, the Sounders had never even lost as many as four straight under Brian Schmetzer. To put things in even more stark terms, the Sounders are just 1–6–2 while getting outscored 19–8 in their last nine. They’ve not posted a shutout since April 4. It’s bad, real bad.
Weren’t they doing pretty good at some point?
They were! The Sounders started the season 6–1–1 in league play and were 10–2–3 across all competitions right before this losing streak started. There was real talk of making a run at the Supporters’ Shield!
What happened?
Injuries have certainly played a part and that situation has only gotten worse in recent weeks. The Sounders were missing nine players for a variety of reasons for their last game against the Portland Timbers, then lost Paul Arriola to a calf injury early in that game. By the end of it, they had several other players limping around. The truth is, we don’t know exactly how many players will be missing from tonight's match, but it’s not looking great.
But the truth of the matter is some of these injuries have been dogging them since Day One, and early on, the Sounders looked to be handling that just fine.
The big absence in recent games has been Cristian Roldan, who hurt himself while with the United States national team at the World Cup; he is likely out for at least a few more weeks. The reality is the Sounders don’t have a good replacement for him on the roster.
The other reality is that the underlying numbers weren’t exactly in love with the Sounders during their hot start. Although those same numbers say they’ve been a bit unlucky during this losing streak, the Sounders were always probably due for some reversion.
But reinforcements are on the way … right?
In the sense that eventually some of these injured players will return? Yes. Alex Roldan has already returned and it looks like Pedro de la Vega might return in time to play in Leagues Cup. The Sounders also called up six players from Tacoma Defiance to bolster the roster. But as far as genuinely new faces who could have serious impacts on this season? It’s been pretty quiet on the rumor front. Niko Moreno has identified two different strikers who the Sounders have possibly been pursuing, but neither one of them seem like an imminent signing. I wouldn’t give up hope on some sort of addition being made before the summer transfer window closes, but given the Sounders’ lack of moves in each of the past four summer transfer windows I think extreme skepticism is warranted.
What can you say about the Defiance guys?
The most intriguing is probably Mark Bronnik. He’s a 19-year-old forward who is on an absolute heater right now, with seven goals and three assists in his past seven games. He’s also fifth in MLS Next Pro with a .74 goals per 90 minutes.
The Defiance player who seems most likely to get game-time, though, is Mark O'Neil. He’s the brother of former Sounders centerback Shane O'Neil and has quietly put together a really solid season while playing some defensive midfielder, fullback and centerback.
One more player who’s probably worth keeping an eye on is Gallatin Sandnes, an 18-year-old centerback who has already made his MLS debut. He’s been around the Sounders’ first team for several years and already has the body of a MLS centerback.
The others are young players who probably only get on the field if games are out of hand: midfielder Edson Carli, fullback Charlie Gaffney and goalkeeper Mohammed Shour.
So, uh, repeat?!?
I’ll admit that I thought getting out of Phase One was a longshot last year and the Sounders went ahead and won the damn thing. But this year the deck really does seem stacked against the Sounders. Even at full strength, winning in Toluca is a massive long shot and last year no MLS teams who lost in regulation advanced to the Knockout Phase. But even if the Sounders somehow manage a point in Toluca, Querétaro is off to a solid start this year and Chivas are always tough.
To be entirely honest, if the Sounders get out of Leagues Cup without riding a nine-game losing streak that has to be considered somewhat of a success.
