Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Sounders serve up some home cooking for St Louis City, a Soccerwise partnership and an FC Dallas preview
0 Plays2 seconds ago
First segment we talk about the st louis game and marvel at how the sounders are doing this with rotated lineups and not spending much money. last segment we preview fc dallas.
Aaron joins Jeremiah to recap the 4-1 victory over St. Louis and in particular marvel about how the Sounders keep getting positive results with rotated lineups and not spending a lot of money on their roster. In the second segment David Gass of Soccerwise chats with Jeremiah as they announce a special partnership. Finally, Aaron and Jeremiah do a quick preview of the upcoming match against FC Dallas.
Sponsor
🍷 Full Pull Wines: Love wine but not wine clubs? Check out the boutique wine seller who lets you browse their selections and pick whatever you want. You can join their mailing list here: https://fullpullwines.com/signup.php
***
Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which has been primarily listener supported since 2023. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.
Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase the Sounder at Heart physical magazine, IV or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.
“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.
Recommended
Transcript
Will Bruin's New Role with Sounder at Heart
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart podcast network. Here we go.
00:00:11
Speaker
Come on. Hey, O'Shaughness.
Seattle Sounders' Recent Achievements
00:00:14
Speaker
Let's The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. The Sounders rule the region.
00:00:43
Speaker
Ooch of a gooch! All creatures, great and small! Rothrock gonna collect it, he does about, runs into the advertising order. Low to our left, ball goes in! Oh, what a Where's my copy? got bunch of them How many do you cost them? 50 bucks.
00:01:08
Speaker
I'll deadline you.
Sponsorship and Episode Details
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
00:01:43
Speaker
Welcome to another episode Nos Adientes, part of the Sounder Heart podcast network, sponsored by Full Pool Wines and our subscribers. We're recording on Monday, April 20th, 2026. I am your host, Jeremiah O'Shan. Today, I'm ah again joined by Aaron Campo and our engineer, Lickett.
Sounders' Record-Breaking Home Streak
00:02:00
Speaker
The Sounders finally played a league home game, their first in nearly two months, and it and they turned in an appropriately impressive performance. The 4-1 win over St. Louis City extended their home unbeaten streak to a club record 19 matches across all competitions, which actually stretches back to last year's Club World Cup.
00:02:19
Speaker
Christian O'Don got a couple of goals, Albert Rusnak had two assists and a goal, and Osas de Rosario got his first of the season. the Sounders are now five, one in one in regular season play this year.
00:02:30
Speaker
Their second best ever start, even though they've now been eliminated from CONCACAF champions cup, things seem to be going pretty good, Aaron. Uh, also I'm glad to be back. I'm, I was out last week, but Aaron, how's it, what do you think? what do you think? This is a ah good start, right? Yeah. I, I mean, I'm trying to think of a start where I felt better about the team.
00:02:52
Speaker
Um, I'm sure that we've had better starts statistically. ah And, you know, we've had a lot of good teams. So I'm sure I felt great about, say, the 2014 team or what have you. But I feel really, really good about this team. I think not only because they're playing so well, but but because of the circumstances in which they played this well. A lot of road games, as we've talked about, obviously, um they've had some fixtures congestion with Champions Cup.
00:03:19
Speaker
I thought they played really well against Seagrass in a losing effort. I think that you know if they play that game again nine times out of ten they they get through at least a handful of times um and uh yeah and then you know i was feeling pretty good after the game on saturday and i heard some people saying well you know st louis is not a very good team and they're not but the sounders beat them four to one with a heavily rotated lineup and that's that's the thing that's yeah beat the team as you play right and and they did and you know they they ground out results on the road and they are beating teams into a fine mist at home. And that's the, that's the recipe for a successful season.
Western Conference Competitiveness
00:03:57
Speaker
The thing that's crazy, and I'm sure this will shake out to some degree over the course of the season, but the Western conference is so stacked that this could potentially be the best team they've ever had. And they could finish like third or fourth in the Western conference because San Diego or ah San Jose looks legit. Vancouver looks legit.
00:04:15
Speaker
Um, There are other teams and in the West that look perfectly ah respectable. So, yeah, it's it's going to be an interesting team, or interesting season. But I do feel really, really good about where the team is at right now.
00:04:28
Speaker
Yeah, you know, the only start that was better than this one was 2021 when they were 5-0-2. So they just had one more point through seven games. And of course, that was also the season where they started on a 13-game home run or 13-game unbeaten streak. So a long way to go to get to there.
00:04:46
Speaker
But in some ways, I don't know. i I felt like that season didn't feel quite as... Like, they've made more statements, I feel like, in this season. And a lot of that is...
00:04:57
Speaker
because of champions cup, you know, of their, you know, you, you, you would add in the three wins that they've had in champions cup.
Sounders' Champions Cup Performance
00:05:05
Speaker
They beat Tigris at home. They beat Vancouver white caps twice. White caps are looking like the best team in the league right now.
00:05:12
Speaker
they They're the only team to have beaten San Jose. They did that on the road. Minnesota, you know, that was a a team that actually now looks pretty good. They tied them on the road. They beat the Rapids 2-0. That's a team that also looks very good. You know, can the only loss that they have in the regular season is to RSL. And at the time, you know, we were kind of down on that result. But in hindsight, RSL is a very good team.
00:05:36
Speaker
I don't know that a two to one loss to RSL is really anything to be upset about it. You know, it extended this annoying streak that we have against them, but the Sounders have played well against good teams this year. And I think there's a lot of reason to be optimistic because of more so who they've beaten than how they've beaten them.
00:05:59
Speaker
But, You know, like you said, you you the the you know you beat St. Louis City 4-1. St. Louis had been playing much better. They had been four unbeaten coming into this game across all competitions. Their last loss was a 2-0 loss to LAFC, where they actually looked pretty good against LAFC in that loss. So, you know, i don't know that, you know, St. Louis is not a great team, but they aren't as bad as they looked against the Sounders.
00:06:26
Speaker
No, I don't think so. And I mean, I think that the game we played in St. Louis is is is evidence of that, right? Like they they ah didn't look as nearly as bad. um They've looked more solid in other games. I think they're a bad matchup for the Sounders. And i think that once the Sounders found second gear, it was pretty clear how much better they were.
Squad Depth and Player Development
00:06:46
Speaker
But it's not like they beat Sporting Kansas City for one at home. right They beat a St. Louis team for one at home that is respectable, maybe like a a playoff bubble team.
00:06:58
Speaker
And it just it wasn't close. I mean, there was some consternation after the first 15 minutes that they had they started pretty slowly. St. Louis looked like they had the better of the play. But I think that's pretty normal for a game where there's as much rotation as there was in this one where, you know, some guys who hadn't played as much who some some of whom are playing out of like what you would maybe consider to be their most natural position. um just a lot of rotation after i think a tough result midweek in a game that i think probably took ah a lot out of the team emotionally starting flat is maybe not super surprising but once they were able to grab a hold of the game they didn't let go of it and you know that's that's what you can't be 100 fully on 90 minutes every game what you manage to do with those games is really the
00:07:43
Speaker
I think the differentiator between really great teams and good teams and mediocre teams, right? Cause we've, we've had plenty of Sounders teams who were very talented and capable of playing as well as anybody else in the league who let games like this one get away from them, who weren't able to grind out the results on the road, who turned wins on the road into draws, draws on the road and into losses, dropped results at home,
00:08:10
Speaker
on the days they weren't at a hundred percent. And I think that this, the Sounders team so far, I mean, it's, it's very early in the season still, but so far has shown the ability to not let that happen and to find the gear they need to find to get the result more often than not.
00:08:25
Speaker
Yeah. They made five changes for what it's worth from the Tigres game. i you can kind of throw Thomas out the window, but Jackson Reagan wasn't even on the bench.
00:08:36
Speaker
We were told that's purely rotational, but you know, that's a, that's a big piece to be missing, especially when you're already really shorthanded at center back. Yeah. So Tino Lopez was the only natural center back who started. And this is a guy who, ah who wasn't even on the roster to begin the season. And then they, uh,
00:08:57
Speaker
Paul Areola replaced Paul Rothrock, uh, Hassani Dodson came in for Snyder Brunel. And then, uh, I guess you could say, bru you know, then Brunel sort of replaced Ferreira and Masofsky replaced Morris. I mean, that's, it's not a bad team that they started, but it's, I think that also shows their depth. I mean, this is a team that can make five changes and it not be a huge drop off in quality. Uh,
00:09:25
Speaker
Kalani Kosarienzi had another stellar game, and he's your backup right back. And you can kind of just go down that list. you know Snyder Burnell gets sort of played out of position, and he doesn't seem out of place at all. you know It was actually his shot that ah set up the first corner.
00:09:43
Speaker
And again, you can just sort of go down this list of of everyone that they that are getting these starts. Tino Lopez... like I said, wasn't even on the roster at the beginning of the season and he's turning in solid performance after solid performance. I mean, it's, it's very, very impressive. Andrew Thomas looks like he might be in running for goalkeeper of the year in his first year as a starter. Uh,
00:10:08
Speaker
There's a lot to like about this team right now. And, you know, in in some ways, it's a bummer that they they didn't get the shutout as it was. They ran their shutout streak to 495 minutes, which I am pretty sure is a club record in the regular season, which is ah another cool little thing. And and what's amazing about this start to me is that it doesn't really feel like they have reached their... Like, they're not playing great. They're playing well.
00:10:36
Speaker
You know, I think the Tigris win was probably their best performance of the season. ah You know, they, but even in the, in the two legs against Vancouver, I think you could find flaws in both of those performances.
00:10:48
Speaker
The St. Louis game was their most resounding victory, but I don't know that it was, it certainly wasn't a perfect performance. And I think it's a good sign that they're getting these results without necessarily looking like the team that was, you know, lighting everyone up during leagues cup last year.
00:11:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think the Tigres results is ah is a great example of that, where that's them at their very best, right? Getting three goals against a Tigres team who had no interest in having any of the ball, especially after they scored.
00:11:18
Speaker
And that's what the Sounders can do to to an excellent team like Tigres, who, I mean, excellent maybe is a stretch, but a very good team. They would be they would be very they very, very good and MLS team, right?
00:11:29
Speaker
um But yeah, I mean, against St. Louis, like like we said earlier, like for the first 15 minutes, they were clearly the second best side. They got pretty lucky, I think, to... I mean, I don't want to say it was lucky because the execution was great. The ability of Rusnak to spot how wide open Christian was and find him on the first one and then repeat that again on the second one. But those are mistakes the better teams probably aren't going to make, right? So...
00:11:54
Speaker
but they found their way into the game. And once they had a foothold, they were able to to take control of it, you know, and that's the important thing. ah But I do think as Jordan Morris gets more comfortable, you know, being back at full strength now, I mean, he seems like he's pretty much fully back. He doesn't, it doesn't really seem like they're managing his manage too much anymore.
00:12:15
Speaker
um As I think Albert, you know, is starting to look much more like himself. um He's, he's obviously got an injury he's dealing with. That's probably, he's going to be dealing with. for you know the rest of the season most likely um But he looks very much like himself. I think that his struggles earlier in the year were somewhat overstated. I mean, he was still statistically one of the better attacking players the Sounders had, um but he clearly was not as sharp as usual. That's starting to improve. Jesus continues to look great as a creator, but he's also starting to look a lot more goal dangerous, which I think is really important.
00:12:49
Speaker
Yeah. um So yeah, five shots in the last two games, which right is more than he had all season. Yeah. I mean, I think at one point he had like single percentage point digit, single digit percentage point XG for the year, you know? So he's, he's looked much more gold dangerous last few games, which makes sense because they're playing at home. Right. So that certainly helps things, but I clearly, I think this team can be better and will probably need to be better and plenty of games of seasons.
00:13:20
Speaker
um And these are good games to sort of find yourself, right?
Sounders' Tactical Success
00:13:24
Speaker
Like now that they've got some more home games against some weaker teams, ah that's, you know, that's, that's a nice time to remember who you are and who you can be as an attacking team. And,
00:13:35
Speaker
They certainly have have shown that over the last couple of games. I love how much more dangerous on set pieces they look this year. i love how much less dangerous the opposition looks on set pieces this year.
00:13:48
Speaker
ah So, yeah, i'm I'm excited to see what the team can do once they sort of get back into the groove and the the season sort of normalizes a little bit after the front loaded road schedule.
00:14:00
Speaker
Yeah, you know, ah you're talking about Albert Rusnak sort of his slow start. You know, he's now at.45 goals per 90 across all competitions. That's basically his his career average. Yeah, that's ah basically what he's did the last two years.
00:14:19
Speaker
And, you know, you add in the assists, he's very much on pace for a very normal season for him. right And that's, you know, that's that's what I, you know, people get all wrapped up in in sort of like the stats early on in the season. And it's like, yeah, but one or two good games could totally change that. And here we are. Yeah.
00:14:37
Speaker
He's right back to where we would have expected. But ah yeah, I mean, i I think it's I'm taking it. I'm choosing to take it as a positive that, you know, like, A bunch of stuff has come out recently that has been showing how the Sounders are probably overperforming a little bit their underlying numbers in terms of their what they you would expect them to be getting points-wise and what they're actually getting. And I'm taking that as a positive in part because the name of the game, frankly, is to overperform your underlying numbers on the road.
00:15:09
Speaker
If you can do that... you're going to have a good season. Right. And that's usually what ends up being the difference between the good teams or the the best teams in the league. And the mediocre ones is the ones that are catching a few breaks on the road. We're finding ways to win extra points when, you know, when a tie is probably the fair result or finding a win. And when a a loss is the fair result, they're finding a way to tie and the Sounders, you know,
00:15:34
Speaker
through their first five road games, that's exactly what they are doing. And then at home, they're taking care of business. Yeah. And, you know, and if you're in the, and I mean, the Sounders by the metrics should have won both of their home games. And if you can do that, if you can put yourself into position to win your home games and to get more points than you should be on the road, that's the, that's how you put together a shield contending season. And, you know, it's it's too early to get caught up in in the shield. But I do think it's worth noting that the Sounders now going back to the Club World Cup last year are 22, 5, and 9. That's sample size that includes road games.
00:16:19
Speaker
And they're getting over that. Those 36 games are averaging 2.08 points per game and they're scoring two, two goals per game ah over the course of a whole season. That's a 71 point season and a 74 goal season.
00:16:34
Speaker
Sign me up for that every single time. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that's, uh, it It is too early to be talking seriously about the shield, but I mean, the last few years, it hasn't been too early to say, well, they're probably not winning the shield this year. Right. Like 20, I feel like 2021 was the last time. Yeah. was the last time that it was the last time they have to start like this. Yeah.
00:16:57
Speaker
And so that's, you know, that is a, that's great. That's a, that's a big improvement. And, and I think because that's been the thing the last few years, like last year, even though the attack was better, even though they were more fun to watch this, this, it was a slow start and they didn't really turn it back on until after leagues cup. And the thing that the two things people have been really asking for the last few years is we want more attacking soccer. We want more goals, even if it means giving up some, you know, something defensively. We saw that last year. They gave up a little too much defensively a little earlier in the season and and that cost them. yeah
00:17:30
Speaker
This year they've maintained, ah at least at home, where where you would expect to see the bulk of the scoring, they've maintained that style of play without having a defensive regression ah from where they were towards the end of the year. And so that's that's really important. And I think in terms of the overperformance, right, we're still in the very small sample XG situation.
00:17:48
Speaker
yeah Part of the season. And so yes I don't really think there's any sense in reading too much into into that at this point, because I think ultimately that San Jose game probably accounts for the majority of the performance.
00:18:01
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, that's game where the underlying data says you should have lost and you figure out how to win. That's definitely part of it. And just not going to apologize for having a game like that. You know, every team going to have a couple games like that a year where they should win. The Sounders will probably have games where they should win that they lose.
00:18:17
Speaker
And that's that's just the way it goes. But yeah, I think this is ah ah clearly a very good team. um I don't... the The thing it's... Not to come back to this again, but the thing that's crazy is...
00:18:29
Speaker
I don't know how good they are in comparison to Vancouver and San Jose yet. Right. I just don't know. There's part of me that doesn't expect San Jose. Even though they're 3-0 against those teams. Sure. No, it's true. It's true. I mean, it's... But when I watch those teams play... I know what you mean, yeah. They seem really, really, really good, you know? And in a way that... Like, I haven't seen the Sounders reach the heights that I have seen San Jose and Vancouver reach this year.
00:18:56
Speaker
would with that. But... By the same token, they haven't fallen apart in the way those teams have at times this year, right? Like the Sounders didn't haven't had a game as bad as the one like San Jose blew that game in San Jose, right?
00:19:09
Speaker
um Right. Vancouver blew that game up in Vancouver in the Champions Cup. And the Sounders have not done
Consistency and Strategic Edge
00:19:15
Speaker
that. And I mean, that is ultimately the the it's kind of like we talked about earlier with past Sounders teams that maybe you were at their very best better than this team. They threw games away.
00:19:30
Speaker
Maybe that's where the Sounders have the edge over those teams who, you know, can run with anybody, but also are are prone to, you know, giving one away every now and again.
00:19:41
Speaker
Yeah. And, you know, i watch Brian Schmetzer's postgame speech that he gave to the players. And, you know, in his signature style, it's not fiery and it's not, you know, it's not over the top, but he does a really good job of sort of illustrating what it is that they do differently. And it's just sort of,
00:20:01
Speaker
this sense of camaraderie, the sense of belief that even if we are rotating five guys, we still are, our expectation is that we should win and we should probably win handily. And, and I do think there's something that there's a secret sauce here that I don't think is always getting properly appreciated, especially by the outside media that, you know, Brian really has, know,
00:20:27
Speaker
created something special with the Sounders. And it it seems trite and it seems, you know, it seems cliche, but he does really deserve credit for putting something together that's really quite special right now.
00:20:40
Speaker
I don't know how long it will last. I'm not really allowing myself to get too caught up in that. but the team as constructed right now, I think is a contender and I have, I don't have any obvious knits to pick with the roster.
00:20:58
Speaker
Like you can, you can certainly find ways to spend money if you want, but I don't know that a player from outside the organization would be doing a better job than Tino Lopez.
00:21:09
Speaker
I don't know that, you know, uh, anyone from outside the organization would be doing better than Snyder Burnell. ah You know, you can kind of like the of the, the players they've signed relatively recently, Peter Kingston came off the bench in this game.
00:21:24
Speaker
They dropped Christian rolled on back to center back. Peter Kingston did not look remotely out of place. No, like very confident, had a little bit of sauce. And this is a guy who,
00:21:39
Speaker
by all rights should probably be out of professional soccer. Like a couple of years ago, he was contemplating, he was seriously contemplating leaving professional soccer and he stuck around and he won himself a contract this year and he looks great doing it.
00:21:56
Speaker
This is a team that still is missing Pedro de la Vega that hasn't gotten a fully functional Jordan Morris yet that Yamar has missed a lot of, a lot of games. And these guys are going to come back and they're, they're probably going be able to return to something like their full form.
00:22:13
Speaker
I I'm, I'm optimistic about this season, even with all, you know, like there's legitimate complaints about the way that this, this ownership is spending money on the team, but God damn it. They also are getting a lot out of the players. They have, i had a lot more time for the complaints this time last season when it was another slow start, when the offense hadn't really picked it up yet, when they had clear holes on the roster and,
00:22:43
Speaker
I don't, I don't care at this point. Like tell me where they can and should upgrade right now. Tell me where they have a spot, a roster spot where they should, they can go out and spend a transfer fee and bring somebody in from outside of the league.
00:22:58
Speaker
Yes. They could sign a U22. i mean, i'm just extremely skeptical that the U22 is worth the money. Like I got to take Adrian side on this one and like, look at, look at the player i know the players you just read off.
00:23:13
Speaker
that they have had come in and step in that have done better than all the other U22s in the league. i know. yeah But most of the other U22s. But a lot of them, yeah. I mean, ah like, if Snyder Brunel...
00:23:24
Speaker
ah You know, like the the joke was made if if he was, if it was spelled S N E I J D E R and he was coming from, from Holland. no everyone would think this is like the smartest move the Sounders have ever made. ah You know, and you can kind of, you know, if was a day Rosario had been so signed straight from the Ukrainian premier league, people would be like, yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
00:23:48
Speaker
Yeah. That's not to say that like I don't want them to spend more money. so Certainly, I do. When they have the opportunity to spend money, i want to see them do it. But I just am completely unconvinced that there's a reason to do it right now, that they have an opportunity to do it right now in a way that is truly meaningful. Especially, they they have this huge supply of GAMs.
00:24:10
Speaker
they could upgrade players from within the league who are just going to be inherently less risky than going and signing who are going they're going to be able to fund under the salary cap and people are going to get pissed off if they do that at mid season. And I'm, it's going to be frustrating to see. And, and like, if you want to say if Pedro de la Vega can't get healthy this year and he can't make an impact,
00:24:32
Speaker
and you want to have a conversation in the offseason about whether or not they should you know sell him at a loss or potentially even buy him out and go sign somebody else, I think we can have that
Roster Satisfaction and Team Spirit
00:24:43
Speaker
conversation at that point. right I think that's totally reasonable. But right now, today, all the DP spots are spoken for.
00:24:49
Speaker
They're stacked it at all the you know positions that I would really consider to be important. I just... I just don't know what you want them to do other than spend, like not to use the line that everybody hates to hear, but like other than spending money for the sake of it. I just, I'm really not sure what it is, what it is you want them to be spending money on at this point.
00:25:10
Speaker
I'll tell you, there's one, the one move that I have heard people suggest as a possibility, and it's not really, it's technically not possible right now, but if for some reason Hugo Kuypers becomes available ah because Chicago goes out and signs Robert Lewandowski or something like that. Yeah. Yeah. I would hope that they would figure out how to make that possible. Uh, if that means extending Jordan or whatever it has to, has to happen, but that's like an example of the kind of move you might be able to theoretically make within the league. And, you know, that would be pretty exciting. And I, I'm certainly not against making internal signings from within MLS. Uh, and I, I do think that this front office deserves some benefit the doubt too.
00:25:51
Speaker
Uh, yeah. at least ah as far as the talent evaluators and, you know, the, that part of it, I think they've done really good work. They've created an environment where, you know, players are succeeding and it's, it's even wilder to consider that the guys they got rid of Georgie Manungu, Reed Baker, Whiting, Obed Vargas, all are doing well. Like they are, you know, in their own way, they are all, uh,
00:26:22
Speaker
getting opportunities and making the most of them. Reader Baker Whiting started in Azteca for Nashville in a historic win for Nashville. ah Georgie Manungu looked very good against Miami over the weekend.
00:26:35
Speaker
You know, these are, these are good players who would presumably raise the, raise the, the baseline for the Sounders, but I don't know if they would be playing a lot because right now there are, you know, I don't know that,
00:26:50
Speaker
Reed Baker Whiting would be beating out Nuhu. I don't know that Georgie Manungu would be taking minutes away from Areola and Rothrock and whoever else. So it's, it's, you know, I don't know. It's ah it's funny because on one hand, it's like, I do want to see the sounder spending some money and I'm frustrated that if there doesn't seem to be a lot of money to spend. But on the other hand, I'm like, I don't know where are you going to spend it?
00:27:11
Speaker
Right. I think that you can absolutely simultaneously hold the position that you The Sounders should spend more money in a general sense. They should be willing willing to take big swings when they have the opportunity to spend money.
00:27:25
Speaker
They should be willing to do it, right? And that right now, it doesn't make a lot of sense to try to do that because there's just not an obvious spot where you can upgrade given the realities of the roster.
00:27:39
Speaker
Like you said, if they can... get Jordan to, you know, to sign an extension and they can bring somebody else in as a, as a DP, um, then maybe, maybe that makes sense to do, especially if it's somebody like Kuypers who, you know, knows the league well, you have a pretty good sense is going to be ah a good fit. It's not going to be a bust.
00:28:01
Speaker
Uh, yeah, maybe that makes sense, but, uh, who knows if Jordan's even, even wants to do that, you know? Right. Um, So, yeah. And who knows if the Sounders want to do something like that with some of the unknowns about the roster designations and and what all that's going to look like in two years. You know, it's but yeah, it's it's a
00:28:24
Speaker
I'm almost tired of talking about it because I know, know. It seems like something we could, there's so much fun to watch. We shouldn't know. that's fair. We should be talking about how well they are playing right now. Uh, and they are possible. It's impossible to ignore the fact that it's still a constant topic of conversation. It is. Yeah, it is. Uh,
00:28:45
Speaker
Anyone else from this game though, that stand out to you? You know, I was really, i thought, ah I thought in some ways it was a big step forward for Snyder. I thought it was, you know, Tino Lopez again was, was very good. It may have been Kalani low key. One of Kalani's best games. Yeah.
00:29:02
Speaker
He just did not really put a foot wrong. I think Tino playing as well as he did without Jackson Reagan next to him is really impressive to me because that's kind of been the thing, right? is like As good as he's been, he's had arguably the best center back in the league next to him, and he's been able to just sort of concentrate. And Alex is a very good center back in his own right, but he's not Jackson Reagan, right? and so Right.
00:29:28
Speaker
I thought that was a really impressive performance. um He's really the guy that that I was most excited about coming out of that one. I have to share kind of a funny anecdote from the locker room. So, uh, speaking of Alex rolled on, so Christian rolled on was talking to us and he was being asked about playing center back. And he's like, yeah, I know it's, uh, it's, it's a tough position to play and we needed help back there, blah, blah, blah. And he's like, you know, Alex has done really good.
00:29:54
Speaker
And then he, you can kind of see him look over his shoulder and, ah And something's going on there and and he' he continues to praise Alex. And then I turn around and I see Alex and he's just like making these big gestures of like, oh, thank you so much for shouting me out. And it was just these big, big gestures. And it was like kind of I'm sure it was him giving his brother a hard time for ah for sharing the spotlight. But, you know, Alex does deserve.
00:30:21
Speaker
a lot of praise for his seat. And like again, it's just amazing. You know, you look at his growth curve and this is a player, again, another player who was close to being out of the team, maybe out of professional soccer and just sort of like worked his way back in And, you know, he's, he's one of the best right backs in the league. I think I'm comfortable saying, but more than that, he's just one of the better defenders in the league. he He can play a variety of positions. He's made the transition to center back. Look way too easy.
00:30:55
Speaker
Like yeah way, way, way too easy. yeah We have seen a lot of players struggle with that transition and he is made it look like it's not even an issue. Yeah, I mean, the I know one of the the side conversations today in the Discord was about Brad Evans making that transition and how he, I think, eventually was ah quite a good center back, but struggled so much early on. Early on, yeah.
00:31:18
Speaker
And, yeah, there's been none of that with Alex. Hopefully we're not jinxing him, but ah he's just he's played there you know a decent amount. At this point, I don't know. he he He's been there enough now where it's like yeah he can have normal struggles, but he's... Right, right. I'm unconvinced that converting him to center back full-time is is a great idea um for a host of reasons, but having that as an option is is really a just a luxury.
00:31:49
Speaker
you know it's it's It's so nice to have somebody who not only Alex can go and play that position effectively, But you also have a right back who he's not at Alex's level, but he's I'm sure a lot of teams would love to have Kalani as they're starting right back.
00:32:04
Speaker
You know, mean, so just yeah, just to have that luxury. And as you said, it's a luxury that the Sounders always seem to find themselves having. Right. They've always got somebody who you feel comfortable can step in and do a job at pretty much every position on the field.
00:32:19
Speaker
And it doesn't seem like a coincidence at this point. Yeah, it it does not. It really does not seem like a coincidence at all. um they They're just churning it out. You know, Tino Lopez right now, I think it's something like the second best rated player on footmom. Like, a it's crazy.
00:32:42
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Andrew Thomas is the number is the top rated goalkeeper, think. Yeah. It's nuts, man. It is nuts. It's, yeah, I don't know. this is a it's ah It's a fun team to watch right now, and hopefully people are getting into it.
00:33:04
Speaker
You know, it was a decent crowd on Saturday, but not a huge crowd. i don't think they're selling the i don't i For some reason, i don't they don't seem to be selling the Hawk's Nest yet.
00:33:17
Speaker
I assume that's a ah that's a rate, you know, like there's something to do with how much of it can be opened or something. I don't i don't know. um But it is you know, I would like to think people are going to be coming out to games soon.
00:33:34
Speaker
Like it's a, it's a fun, i don't know. It's a fun, there's a good things going on at Lumen right now, I guess is what I'm saying. ah Despite all the the silliness that's going on around ah elsewhere.
00:33:48
Speaker
But all right, well, I think we should probably take a break. ah We have a big announcement or, you know, a notable announcement to make.
Sounder at Heart's Media Expansion
00:33:55
Speaker
um I'm going to be sharing the interview I did with David Goss over at SoccerWise.
00:34:02
Speaker
Sounder at Heart is teaming up with Kickback Media to be doing some partnerships. We'll talk about that a little bit. But you're going to see a little bit more stuff from SoccerWise and Kickback Media.
00:34:12
Speaker
in the in in our channels. And so we're going to talk about that a little bit. And then Aaron and I will we'll close it out and ah get back to you. All right. You're listening Nos Arietes.
00:34:26
Speaker
Sounder at Heart has been around in one form or another since 2009. In 2026, though, we make a pretty significant evolution when we go analog. Yes, that's right. In the year of our Lord, 2026, we are publishing a real-life magazine. We're calling this thing 4, as in Sounder at Heart 4.0. But we're stylizing it as IV because we absolutely love Roman numeral. And if you want to refer to it as IV, that's cool, too. The first issue has a comic book-style cover that was hand-drawn by local artist Kevin Newber. I could not possibly more proud of the work everyone put into making this
00:35:09
Speaker
i could not possibly be more proud of the work everyone put into making this and I think you're going absolutely love it. If you'd like to get your hands on one of these limited edition copies, we're currently selling them for $15 on our website. Get yours now. Nos Adietes admittedly is not exactly known for our spicy takes, but that doesn't mean we want our food to be mild.
00:35:28
Speaker
Spice up your life with Hacks and Ferments. Handcrafted in Georgetown and made it with the best local ingredients from across the Pacific Northwest, they specialize in unique small batch fermented hot sauces and vinegars.
00:35:40
Speaker
Haxan Ferments brings bold flavors and natural fermentation together for something truly special. Whether you're a heat seeker or just looking to elevate your cooking, you'll find something you love at haxanferments.com.
00:35:53
Speaker
That's
00:35:59
Speaker
And right now, if you use the code sounder at heart, that's all one word, at checkout, you will get a free hot sauce with your order. Again, go to hacksandferments.com, use the code sounder at heart at checkout for a free hot sauce with your order.
00:36:17
Speaker
Hacks and Ferments is a proud sponsor of that Sounder at Heart podcast network.
00:36:24
Speaker
Well, hello, everybody. Special segment here for us. David Goss and Jeremiah Ocean, someone you know very well has already been on SoccerWise with me. He is the editor of Sounder at Heart. We have both been in the content minds of the soccer world for a long time. And we are very excited to announce that we are going to have a partnership going forward between Kickback Media and Sounder at Heart. Sounder at Heart, one of the biggest local coverage and um platforms in the soccer space in North America, doing an incredible job covering the Sounders, the Reign, everything else below that and in between. Not Ballard FC because Ballard lost to Vermont Green in the final, but everything else. alongside it And Jeremiah, I'm very excited for this partnership. We've been talking for a while about doing something like this, and i am very excited to sort of have our first steps as we get into it. Yeah, I'm excited too. I think this is really cool to have two sort of independent outlets coming together.
00:37:28
Speaker
You know, we've been trying to partner with various other independent outlets just to come up with different ways that we can drive audience and and hopefully some money. So this is, this felt very natural to me.
00:37:41
Speaker
And I think for us, you know, sort of what we have talked about is Sound Art Hardy is your source for anything Seattle, Washington, Cascadia, all of that soccer that you want. And then we have SoccerWise specifically up into our first touch shows in Kickback, which can give you sort of a national vibe or an international vibe, um, as we get into some big soccer, that's going to be coming to North America. So we're going to be doing some crossovers on the audio side, social side, um, written side as well, uh, over the next few months. And, um, As you said, this is something we've all thought about for a while and Sound Art Heart has done some incredible work and we are in an interesting spot. And I think we wanted to talk a little bit about where media sort of sits around the game yeah in North America because You had the experience of the SB nations going away and finding your feet on your own and and building what you guys have built. And then obviously for me, building up soccer wise and it becoming kickback median where we are. We are very passionate about the idea that the fans in this region deserve high quality coverage and consistent coverage, but it is not so easy to come by. It isn't, you know, and that's it's, you know, it is sort of a depending on your perspective, the state of soccer media right now, like we were just talking before we started. And in some ways it is, it feels like really bad and dark and like you see outlets closing and doing all these other things. But on the other hand, you do have all these independent outlets like ourselves, like ah like you guys who are doing real journalism and aren't.
00:39:18
Speaker
part of a you know a team apparatus like the like sounder at heart doesn't take you know despite what people seem to think so under her just take money from the sounders uh and you know and it it is worse in ways but it is also like there's this opportunity and i do think it's better and i think this is sort of an example of something that just wasn't possible a few years ago frankly yeah Yeah, it's an interesting take on it because the other side for me, and I think back to when the SB Nation sort of issues occurred, which I think was early 2023, which you were coming out of a season in which you had 28 unique local broadcasts in Major League Soccer, which had sideline reporters and hosts and analysts and people that lived in market and went to training and thought about and talked about teams as a job.
Challenges in Soccer Media
00:40:08
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And you had an SB Nation blog across all those 28 teams that was covering those teams and was an opportunity in the platform for people who wanted to get into things.
00:40:18
Speaker
Newsrooms as well. I mean, Washington Post and Steve Goff, like that was something we thought would never end and we hoped it wouldn't. um And so it just felt like I think a few years ago, there was more of a environment and it was more spread out and there was more varied coverage and more options. But in saying all of that, as you say,
00:40:39
Speaker
you know, having team broadcast is not the perfect way to cover a team because they are connected to the team and there are things that they're not going to cover, which I think now as you have independent sources, you have the ability to do that. Yeah. I think you have, you like, I think you have more real news being broken in some ways. I mean, like the guardian is another example of an outlet who wasn't really covering MLS even a year ago.
00:41:04
Speaker
And now they have a really robust North American, ah You know, whole coverage that, you know, that's not just MLS. It's the U.S. national team. It's NWSL. You know, so I do think you have and that's real. You know, and like I don't want to be too, i you know, too, too weird about it. But that's like real journalism that they're doing. They're actually calling people. They're writing stuff that is not. with the expectation of it being from a fan perspective. And I, and I do think that fan perspectives are super important. Sounder at heart is leans into that really heavily, but it's, I do think that there's value in, in that, you know, the athletic is still doing good MLS coverage, uh, But you're right, on ah on a granular team-by-team level, there just is not as much of it as there used to be. you know I know as well as anyone that SB Nation wasn't exactly paying full-time wages to anybody covering MLS, but they were providing an opportunity, and that offered and they and they created a framework, and they had a platform, and you know you could still do those things independently, but it is harder, yeahp and it and it creates some barriers. And, you know, so I'm not I'm not trying to be Pollyanna about it and say that things are better than they've ever been. But I just think that sometimes we forget how bad they used to be.
00:42:21
Speaker
You know, they how they they could be really bad. Like there was times, you know, we go when we both got into this 2009, 2010, 2011. There were virtually no full time jobs covering MLS at any level for sure. Anybody. 100 percent. yeah And so the fact that there are now some is, you know, in in some ways an improvement.
00:42:40
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I was never full time working in the contract way I did at MLS. And it was always cobbling together five things and doing college basketball games and working as a security guard at a museum and watching games in between. Yeah. and I think we've all had that experience. And that probably never goes away because part of all of this is some of the issues in the business model of journalism and media and all of that, which is bigger than what we are trying to figure out as individuals ourselves. And that's something that is just happening in the world. And the soccer space has caught up in it, but because there's not legacy stuff, there is not as much to fall back on. And of the things I've always said is like,
00:43:21
Speaker
what I want to build is I want an MLS or NWSL fan to have, if they want to, the experience that an NFL fan has, which is like, I opened up my phone today and Ian Rappaport telling me where every NFL draft player is going to visit to have a meeting. And I can turn on a TV right now and watch about the NFL and it's 19 months away and I don't care about it and it doesn't matter. But And maybe the NFL is a bad example, but like that's an option that exists for fans, which hasn't existed for North American soccer fans, I think, in the past. No, it it hasn't. And at the same time, I also, you know, I do look at the way that MLS is somewhat, you know,
American vs European Soccer Media
00:44:01
Speaker
i I do think in a lot of ways these are the good old days of covering MLS because, you know, I look at the way that Europe is and the way that coverage works throughout Europe, which is yeah much, know, there's much less access, but there's also like less...
00:44:18
Speaker
Like, honestly, like you look at English media, there's not a lot of like real journalism going on in English media covering the teams there. Like there is not. Yeah, because they're so far removed. They're so far removed. There's not a lot of B coverage. You know, there's not a lot of that, kind you know, and it and it ends up getting more tabloidy. And there is this more of a sort of like. ah confrontational relationship between the media and and the teams that you don't necessarily see in American media. And I like, for me, I like the way that American media covers sports a lot better.
00:44:50
Speaker
I think it tells more interesting stories. And i you know, I think there's something to be said about like creating the world that we want to to live in. And, you know, I used to say this ah a lot early on when I started covering the Sounders is, you know, there was a lot of bemoaning how sports talk radio wasn't really covering the Sounders. And I, you know, I took that two ways. One is, yeah, it would be nice if the Sounders were part of the mainstream conversation. But in the other way, i don't really love everything that sports talk radio brings to the table, right? Yeah.
00:45:22
Speaker
and it And it does sort of like create this sort of like whoever is the loudest and whoever is the, you know, has the most outrageous take gets the most attention. And I do kind of like that we haven't had to play that game so much ah at Sounder Heart. And I think that's one of one of the things people like about us. Now, I suppose that also limits our ceiling.
00:45:42
Speaker
Like we'll never be, you know, so I don't know. But it. Listen, if you're not covering Pulisic cheating scandals, like what? Yeah, you know, that was how big can you possibly? I did. I will say that was that's ah been a real eye opener for me.
00:45:54
Speaker
I didn't know who this woman was that apparently was his girlfriend. i thought when she was talking about Raya, I thought that was ah another person. Like there was so much like I got to tell you, I've never felt older than when I looked at like the Instagram post there. And it's like, I don't know any I don't know any of this. I don't like I was so lost. I thought I was reading like a different language. It was pretty funny. Hey, at least you knew Instagram. At least your ad, the floor is high enough. I did recognize that it was an Instagram post. Yeah.
00:46:22
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. No, I, I, I totally get what you're saying because I think we have both had the experience talking to players, talking to coaches where they're like, yeah, you know, like I never did this before in my career. And obviously the locker room is its own debate and one that I think should be open, which is, I think people should have access, but yeah,
00:46:42
Speaker
ah shouldn't be in that space and it should be organized so that players then have to talk in other spaces. And I've always said that, but the idea of it, the like psychology of what it all is, is having players and coaches be open to interacting with media, which is then the opportunity to interact with fans in their market. And it's not something in Europe, like it straight up is that interview in the hallway in front of the Carling cup, like, but you know, background, right. For 90 seconds. And then a post game presser at a dais. And like, that is the interaction for many of these teams. And where for us, there's opportunities to do remote calls from home and, you know, podcasts, appearances and social stuff and to be at trainings and to interact with players. And I'll give it an easy example.
00:47:36
Speaker
The coverage of Paul Rothrock comes from the fact that you all get to be around him and you know what he's like. Right. And that has been endearing to fans. It's been endearing that it's made him a bigger story maybe than he would have been on top of the success. And of course, um Brian Schmetzer calling him better than Messi or whatever happened there. And that's not possible in a lot of markets in other sports, but also in soccer around the world. Well, and i think, you know, talking to Paul, I think one of the things that I appreciate about him is that he recognizes that this is an opportunity for him to tell stories, to tell stories about himself. And he feels comfortable that, you know, credit to him, he feels comfortable sharing these things with us. And I don't know that if he only saw us...
00:48:17
Speaker
after he scored goals. Like if that was the only time we saw him was like when they happened to pull him out of the, you know, to give us a post game 90 seconds, like you said, there's, I really don't think he would feel comfortable talking to us about, you know, what's going through his head and how he, he tells himself these, these narratives and he kind of creates this whole story around himself, which I think is a really sort of, uh,
00:48:41
Speaker
vulnerable place to put himself in and he, but he's willing to do that because he, he understands there's something else going on here. And I love that about American soccer media, that it does still feel like you can make connections to players that you can make connections to coaches. You know, I just think about some of the ways that Brian Schmetzer interacts with the media and I mean, frankly, there's I don't know that there's another soccer coach in the world who's doing that stuff. Who's like giving the way he writes people's name down so he could repeat it back is like, yeah, next level. Right. Exactly. Like that stuff that he's constantly, you know, there are times where I almost feel like he's he almost acts too familiar with us because i I'm like, do you not realize that this is being broadcast to like the world? But I appreciate at the same time, I appreciate that he doesn't seem to care like that. He he's going to give Nico and I a hard time just because he knows we have a rapport. You know, like, does ah do I think that he, you know, loves us unconditionally? No, like he he treats us like we're just sort of part of the whole ecosystem. And I don't think that's the case, you know,
00:49:49
Speaker
You know, the one of the funniest things about um about Ted Lasso is the Trent Krim. Trent Krim. That character is like, look, that character does not exist. and That's like an American archetype that they grew into England. Like there's no way that trent the Trent Krims of England are interacting with the Ted Lassos of England in that way. like yeah Like that's a much more American interaction that they're having. Yeah. And yeah, and and yet that is sort of one of the things that we get to do with Brian Schmetzer a lot. And I yeah i think that Sounder at Heart does a good job of accessing that and playing into it and creating an ecosystem around the club that is different than what you're going to get anywhere else. And I think that, you know, a lot of local soccer media is doing that kind of stuff.
00:50:38
Speaker
Yeah. And there's great work being done across the U S across Canada. um We obviously lucky enough in our season previews. And yes, I understand we did not hit every team. I have heard many times. I went through a lot of people.
00:50:53
Speaker
I don't want to, now you're going to make me name the teams that I, that's like my ultimate shame. I wake up at three 15 in the morning. I'm like, I know didn't do CF Montreal. Yeah. Nope. We did Montreal.
00:51:05
Speaker
We did Montreal. My shames are Portland. You never talked about That is good. That is gold. My shames are San Jose, I think is actually one of them. All right. um But that was part. A lot of that was like, we were waiting on, I think Vancouver actually as well. We were waiting on signings to be made and games to happen and stuff like that. And we did not get back around to some of them. So I apologize for that. But over the last two years, we've talked to someone from every team and,
00:51:30
Speaker
these people are doing incredible work covering their teams. um And so that's why we like to highlight it. And we like to tap into that knowledge and the relationship that someone local has and a knowledge and understanding is always going to be different than it is national. And I get that, right? I'm a Mets, Jets and Knicks fan. And whenever someone finally talks about one of my teams, cause we're maybe good or we're so bad. I listened for 15 minutes. I'm like, well, you're an idiot. You don't know anything that's going on. You don't understand. it doesn't mean what it means to you. Like Zach, I'll stop talking about my team. So I get it for some people and other people. I think our hope is that we can help be a better fan of the whole league and, and not just knowing your opponents and all of that, but like one of the things that MLS that we always had was numbers went down into MLS cup sometimes, right? Because people cared about their teams, but they don't care about the league, which you're not intrinsically supposed
Growing Interest in the League
00:52:21
Speaker
to. But I would hope that if you enjoy watching Sporting Kansas City enough and they lose to San Jose and San Jose goes and loses to Seattle and Seattle goes and loses to LAFC. And then you want to watch the final because you want to watch the best, but you also are into the storylines and what it means yeah for team building in the future and all of that.
00:52:39
Speaker
So we're trying to help people have that experience. And then, you know, I think going forward, the dream would be that we also are helping other local sources pop up and other people get into the game and other people have platforms to write and report and record and do whatever they want to do um in the future. So, yeah. This is just a first step, but it's one that we're really excited about. We've talked about it for a year plus just back and forth on random conversations. And we were finally able to get something established to to start from. And if people have ideas of what they want to see us do together, feel free to send them over. And yeah, but I'm really, really excited. Jeremiah, anything from you? No, I'm just really, i think this is a great sign of things moving forward. I really hope that this continues to grow. And I'm looking forward to being able to to do more work with you guys and to get our yeah to get ourselves out in front of people that we might not have otherwise gotten in front of.
00:53:37
Speaker
Yeah. So, um, yeah, so we will continue to be doing some crossover stuff. Um, you'll continue to see us on each other's feeds on each other's socials and, and platforms and all that type of stuff. Uh, but I know you have to head on a nice little trip to Mexico. You're flipping with the team. So as the Sounders come back, come yeah I'm going to leave. There's always got to be some Sounders presence in Mexico. So, presence inside of Mexico. And fingers crossed that because we're pre recording this that CCL is going okay in one direction or not. And maybe we'll all be back in Mexico for a final sometime soon. But yeah, this is a really exciting moment for us. So happy to be with you to launch it and have a good trip. Absolutely. Thank you.
00:54:30
Speaker
Welcome back to Nos Arietes. So Sounders have another game this weekend. They're playing FC Dallas, who I think is a pretty good avatar for the Western Conference this year. This is a team who is three one and four They've only lost one game.
00:54:50
Speaker
They have a plus-5 goal difference. They've scored 17 goals. They're averaging 1.63 points per game And they are seventh best in the Western Conference.
00:55:04
Speaker
Yeah. Insane. Yeah. Completely insane. Yeah. the The Western Conference right now is wild. There are currently five teams averaging more than two points per game.
00:55:18
Speaker
There are four teams who are on pace for 71 points more. That's crazy. one points or more ah that's crazy Yeah.
00:55:29
Speaker
And the Eastern conference is obviously more normal, but I mean, Nashville is, yeah. Nashville is going crazy over there. Uh, just a lot of really good teams this year and some historically shitty teams this year.
00:55:45
Speaker
Yes. And then some more mediocre ones are decent ones like Dallas. There are, let's see one. There are four seven teams,
00:55:57
Speaker
with one win through eight games. That is yeah a lot. Pretty bad. Yeah. But FC Dallas, FC Dallas is looking like a pretty good team. i don't know if we know how good they are yet. They have only played two road games. That certainly helps their, their record.
00:56:21
Speaker
ah They're one-on-one on the road. So that's, you know, that's throwing some things off a little bit. And i guess maybe that's one of the things that's throwing things off in general is that the home road splits are all over the place in part because there's a whole bunch of teams that are, you know, like the, the white caps, I think have only played one or two road games because of, they're going to go on a long road trip here in a minute.
00:56:46
Speaker
And, and then there's a, but there's a whole bunch of teams that have, have that are like that, where they haven't played a whole lot of home games, but Here's Dallas. ah You know, they're coming off a cup of two ties. One of them was against St. Louis at home. So maybe that that tells you something. But they, you know, they tied decent Galaxy team to to they have in their their one road win was a four zero win over D.C. United, who is very, very bad.
00:57:17
Speaker
yeah they you and But their only road loss was to LAFC, and it was a respectable 1-0 loss LAFC. They've played a lot of kind of crazy games. they They beat Toronto 3-2 to open the season. They had a 3-3 tie with San Diego. They had a 4-3 win over Houston, and then they had this 4-0 win over DC United. So it's a team who seems to...
00:57:44
Speaker
have some gaps in the back, but can definitely score goals. Yeah. Yeah. I haven't, I haven't watched them a ton this season, but um they, they look like they will be a handful, you know, as I feel confident with the Sounders ability to, to handle pretty much any,
00:58:06
Speaker
uh, any opponent at home, but I don't think it's going to be an easy one in terms of the attack. Um, Peter Musa is a very good player. I mean, uh, very fair to say, i think i underestimated how good he would be. I'll yeah raise my hand there. He's been excellent. He's been ah he's been a really, really good signing for them.
00:58:23
Speaker
Uh, and yeah, so that's, that's going to present a challenge, but, I don't know, man. i mean, like if we were going to Dallas, I would be very, very happy with the draw, but these are the, like to be an elite team.
00:58:37
Speaker
so this is like two They have to win. Yeah. You have to win games like this at home. And, uh, it, it maybe is not going to be as much of a walk in the park as you know, the, the three and a half, we'll call it other home games I've played this year.
00:58:54
Speaker
uh, But it's still a game they they need to win. I mean, I don't think FC Dallas is better than T-Grace, you know? No. No. Going to be a slightly different game state, I think, for for most of it. But I think if the Sounders can dominate a team like T-Grace the way they did on Wednesday, that, you know, they should expect to beat a team like FC Dallas.
00:59:16
Speaker
But, you know, maybe they shouldn't expect to beat them 4-1, I guess. Maybe not. Maybe not. I'd accept win. a two zero win yeah that works too. But yeah, Peter, Peter Musa definitely is the, the main focal point of this offense. He is,
00:59:33
Speaker
You know, he's he's kind of the whole package. he He can hold the ball up. He can run behind. He's good with his feet, good his head, good in the box. He is a handful, and the Sounders will have to be very aware of him.
00:59:46
Speaker
But Logan Varrington, also a very good forward. ah He's someone who has given the Sounders trouble in the past, if I remember correctly. ah But he is, you know, they they basically run a three five two with both of those two guys up top and they don't necessarily have a whole lot of playmakers, but they, yeah you know, they generate enough. They, they figure things out.
01:00:10
Speaker
um Yeah, this is, I'm, I'm expecting the Sounders to have, you know, their hands full with this one. Yeah. the Interesting, interesting team in that they have 16 goals this year and they have, I think five goal scorers.
01:00:25
Speaker
yeah yeah So very, very top heavy in the attack. I mean, that's maybe not like crazy abnormal, but they definitely have their offensive focal points. I think it's fair to say.
01:00:38
Speaker
And yeah, yeah it's You know, I mean, the Sounders only have five, I guess, unique goal scorers as well. But they have 10 goals. But they have 10 goals. So, yeah, I think if you can sufficiently keep Moussa under wraps, you know, and and prevent him from dominating. um You're probably going OK, but that's that's obviously easier said than done.
01:01:02
Speaker
But yeah, I still I still i think this is a game you have to be really disappointed if you don't get three points from it. Yeah, I mean, I think at this point, every home game that they don't, you know Albert Rusnak made a comment.
01:01:15
Speaker
and the post game where he basically said, you know, you play well on the road and that's great. But if you don't turn that, if you don't turn around and get maximum points at home, it doesn't really feel like you're, you know, yeah you're not getting the most of it. Like you, you have to, you have to get max, you have to win these games. You, you know, yeah it's all fine and good to have a bunch of home games left, but if you're not,
01:01:42
Speaker
playing elite soccer at home, you're not going to, you know, it's going to be tough. It's going to always be tough. and And the Sounders have definitely had in in the recent past seasons where they were elite on the road, they did everything they needed to do to be shield contenders on the road and and weren't able to back it up at home. And that doesn't look to be the case this year. You know, they look great at home so far, but they've played two league home games. So that doesn't tell you a whole lot.
01:02:09
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. Well, I don't know if i have much else to say on that front. I think that's about it. Yeah.
01:02:20
Speaker
We'll have ah another show over the weekend. i mean, on Friday to discuss anything that happens this week. As usual, we're kind of getting back into the swing of things here. i appreciate everyone sort of having patience with my absence. You know, I don't i don't do that very often, but this time of year, my kids are on spring break. So, you know, this year we went to Mexico and got to enjoy that. So I i appreciate everyone understanding, even if you didn't.
01:02:49
Speaker
Yeah. But ah yeah, um Aaron, it is a pleasure to be back recording with you either way. And I think we're going to get out of here. ah On behalf of Lickit and Aaron, I am Jeremiah Shan. want to say thank you to our sponsor, Full Pool Wines, of course, and say thank you to our subscribers and let everyone know also,
01:03:13
Speaker
that we are getting ready to really, I think we're we're getting very close to officially taking orders for the newest issue of four of the sounder heart magazine. It's going to be focused on the world cup.
01:03:28
Speaker
So be on the lookout for that. And with all that said, this is no side yet. This part of the sounder heart podcast network. Remember you'll never get alone.
01:04:07
Speaker
Let's go and Sounders.