> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Sounders Return to Play Hungry Despite Leagues Cup Win - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-sounders-return-play-hungry-leagues-cup-win/ - Published: 2025-09-12T00:53:56.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:18:22.000Z - Author: Qasim Ali - Tags: Analysis, News, Sounders, Brian Schmetzer, Stefan Frei, Andrew Thomas, Pedro de la Vega, Danny Musovski, Osaze De Rosario, Jordan Morris, Nouhou, Yeimar, Cristian Roldan, Jackson Ragen \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2048"\] ![ Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas dribbles against Inter Miami on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025 in the Leagues Cup Final at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Mike Fiechtner / Sounders FC Communications) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/54757927649_155cfb653e_k-format-original.jpg) Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas dribbles against Inter Miami on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025 in the Leagues Cup Final at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Mike Fiechtner / Sounders FC Communications) \[/caption\] It was everything you could have dreamed of for a final. Lumen Field was completely packed with nearly 70,000 spectators, featuring a beautiful pregame tifo from the Emerald City Supporters reminiscent of the most iconic games the Seattle Sounders have ever played in. With Leagues Cup glory on the line, Seattle showed its defensive class against Inter Miami and locked up Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba in a 3-0 statement win. Georgi Minoungou and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi backflipped to their heart's content while practically the whole organization joined the team in the locker room for a wild celebration. In the middle of one of the best runs in recent MLS history since the Club World Cup, the Sounders finally got a moment to let loose and celebrate. Seattle had been playing two games a week for the better part of two months, with the CWC, Leagues Cup and MLS play adding up. With all those competitions in mind, the Sounders have played 36 matches in 28 weeks and will have played 43 fixtures in 34 weeks by the time the MLS regular season wraps in mid-October. With this mountain top residing in the middle of a busy finish to their league slate, it's fair to ask how the Sounders (12-7-8 W-L-D) plan to finish another grueling pack of games en route to an MLS Cup Playoffs run in which they are considered a dark horse contender. ### Historic Precedent of Post-Tournament Play This Sounders core of guys like Cristian Roldan, Obed Vargas, Stefan Frei, Nouhou, Albert Rusnák and more has been in this situation before. The 2022 CONCACAF Champions League took place from February through May, with the Sounders downing Mexican side Pumas UNAM for their first trophy in the competition. But from then on, Seattle went 10-13-4 and finished 11th in the Western Conference. "Internally, as a coaching staff, we talked about it. What were the learning curves from 2022?" Sounders skipper Brian Schmetzer said after practice Wednesday. "It's a shorter runway … I've already mentioned it, first day back again this morning, about seven games to go." Seattle had much-needed time off after their August 31 win over Inter Miami, spending the ensuing Monday through Friday away from the facility. The Sounders got back to work over this past weekend, then had Monday and Tuesday off again before returning to work on Wednesday in preparation for Saturday's return to action. "They needed both the physical rest and mental rest," Schmetzer said. But to truly figure out how Seattle can avoid a repeat of 2022, we need to examine what’s got it here. ### What's Working + Injuries Unlike the identity of this team typically, this is a Seattle side powered by offense primarily. When the Sounders manage to generate more than 1.5 expected goals, they're undefeated at 10-0-4 in MLS play. Seattle is 2-7-4 otherwise. As a result of the extra production, the Sounders have generated the sixth-highest xG in the league, despite missing key pieces throughout the run. Rusnák and Ryan Kent both suffered hamstring injuries in the Leagues Cup while Jordan Morris and João Paulo have been on the mend from longer term ailments. Luckily for Seattle, Rusnák, Morris and João Paulo were all in full practice on Wednesday, according to Schmetzer, though the latter is a bit further behind in his recovery than the others from a meniscus issue. Morris still needs to pass testing for his AC joint injury to get back on the pitch — the team's timeline for his return was initially next week. Rusnák, who was rumored to be available during the Leagues Cup Final, should be ready for Saturday's action in some capacity, per Schmetzer. Considering the nagging nature of ailments pertaining to hamstrings and the like, and the fact that his squad is quite literally winning trophies without the injured, Schmetzer isn't rushing things. "They all want to play," Schmetzer said. "Sometimes you have to save them from themselves." With so many pieces set to return before the October playoffs at this rate, Schmetzer emphasized that the power of this team is in the collective. Simply put, guys will need to push each other regardless of who earns a starting spot back. That said, Danny Musovski and his career-high 13 MLS goals, alongside Osaze De Rosario's coming-out party in the Leagues Cup, have put Morris, the club's all-time goals leader, behind the 8-ball at striker. The Sounders are sixth in xG allowed as well, but are 5-1-6 when allowing 1.0 xG and lower. Despite the best-in-league class displayed by Yeimar and Nouhou all season and the exceptional job that Obed Vargas, Jackson Ragen and Cristian Roldan did in pocketing Messi, defense isn't the same indicator of success for this team that it normally is. Both Waibel and Schmetzer have expressed that it's been an adjustment to think of offense first, but guys like Leagues Cup MVP Pedro de la Vega should give fans some confidence in Seattle's ability to maintain this form. ### Keeper Competition Renewed The Sounders established a clear system with their two keepers in which the elder statesman Stefan Frei, fresh off a July 6 concussion that kept him sidelined over a month, and Leagues Cup keeper of the tournament Andrew Thomas rotated starting duties for the last month or so. In August, Thomas handled five Leagues Cup matches and one MLS game while Frei started in two MLS contests. With only MLS games remaining, however, Schmetzer appears to be on the fence going forward. He confirmed after Wednesday's practice that no decisions have been made regarding the start for Saturday's action against the Galaxy. "Stef has been here for many years, won us a lot of trophies, he was the number one guy. Is he still the number one guy? Yeah, but Andrew could be the number one guy as well," Schmetzer said. As is the case with many of the other positional battles on the team, this ongoing competition could be decided with play on the practice pitch. But no matter how fierce the competition gets for a younger keeper trying to make a name for himself in Thomas and league legend in Frei, Schmetzer is confident in their ability to lift each other. "Stef was so happy for Andrew (after the Leagues Cup win) … Andrew is so accepting that he knows that Stef is coming to end of his career," Schmetzer said. "It's a tough choice for me." At the end of the day, however, this will not be a keeper-by-committee situation much longer. Schmetzer has never purposefully rotated keepers during an MLS campaign, and he doesn't intend to start now. "I will settle on one, and in my mind I know where I'm leaning … performances are going to dictate who's going to play," Schmetzer said. ### Season Outlook It's easy to get content when you win a trophy, but this team has innate counters to feelings of complacency. Despite the loanings of Cody Baker and Travian Sousa, this team is deep at striker, on the wings, in the backline and even at keeper. Every player has to be pushing themselves just to stay on the pitch. The Sounders are 10-1-4 since the June Club World Cup showed them they belong, and with key guys returning from injury soon to buff up the competition, all signs point to Seattle keeping this up. The Sounders will embark on a three-game stretch in just eight days starting on Saturday, but will be coming off a sustained rest period for the first time all season. Schmetzer expects the Galaxy, whom Seattle have dominated this season, to go with younger, more hungry guys in their lineup. But for the rest of this 2025 campaign, the Sounders have all the tools needed to be even hungrier.