'Everything's On the Table:' Sounders' Schmetzer May Need Some Outside Help
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2048"]
The Seattle Sounders huddle during an MLS game against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Mike Fiechtner / Sounders FC Communications) [/caption]
Brian Schmetzer seemed a tad impatient.
After a 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday, the longtime Seattle Sounders coach fielded many of the same questions he has been dealt over the franchise-worst seven-game MLS losing streak his team is enduring. Themes varied from a stagnant attack that has posted 20 goals in 18 games to the concession of a late indirect free kick that rubbed salt in the wound. And of course, Schmetzer was asked whether he needs help during this current summer transfer window (expiring Sept. 2) from GM Craig Waibel and majority owner Adrian Hanauer.
Schmetzer, ever the company man with his ties to the Sounders dating back to the 80s, has typically stood pat on those questions.
On Sunday, he began to crack.
"As far as Craig and Adrian and feeling pressure, yeah, they feel it," Schmetzer said. "I don't need to say anything."
He then went on to challenge the media present at Tuesday's training session ahead of Wednesday’s duel with Austin FC on the topic. When asked whether he was surprised at the lack of summer signings, Schmetzer said, "Maybe stuff hasn't been leaked out yet. Maybe you guys aren't doing your job. So maybe you guys need to dig a little deeper."
The team at Sounder at Heart has reported on talks the Sounders have been in with prospects like Danish striker Casper Tengstedt, but so far there hasn't been a particular move that's come close to fruition. Whether Schmetzer was bluffing or hinting at a future present for his lineup on his Tuesday birthday remains to be seen.
For now, Jeremiah Oshan of Sounder at Heart shared on Bluesky that his sources within the team confirmed "we are close" on some kind of move, so Schmetzer may actually be hinting something soon.
Getting to how Schmetzer is managing his current squad, he no longer seems beholden to the 4-2-3-1 formation Seattle has made its identity.
"We ended the game with a different formation, so everything's on the table," Schmetzer said. "I wish I could look down on the bench, and, you know, (Sebastian Gomez) is the first attacking sub that we got… then there's (Tacoma call-up) Xavi (Gnaulati), then there's Osaze (De Rosario)."
Schmetzer, ever the proponent of "next man up," had a moment of using the term "I wish," hinting at more pressure toward Waibel to bring someone in. The 7-8-3 mark Seattle finds itself at in MLS is poor enough to have it three spots out of the playoff picture, and every position is feeling the heat either from lackluster performances, devastating injury issues or both.
What Changes Can Schmetzer Make Right Now?
Schmetzer already hinted at changing the formation, and indeed the Sounders went to a 3-4-3 look with a heavily rotated roster last Wednesday against Chivas de Guadalajara in the Leagues Cup finale.
Seattle was out-possessed heavily, but led 1-0 off an early set-piece goal. The Sounders, playing with four active Tacoma Defiance players in its starting XI, kept a very dangerous Chivas team off the board through the 60th minute, and did so with hard defending and a willingness to step on the front foot in its defensive form.
So that change in formation - made to ease the pressure on young players in the defensive midfield - could be one avenue for Schmetzer to take in changing the current situation.
But the attack is struggling, even when the younger midfield is able to get the ball to the attacking third. That region of the pitch is where Schmetzer has focused the critique in the days since the Vancouver loss.
"If you look back and you see the plays that (Snyder Brunell and Peter Kingston) made early on in the game, we were able to break the press. But then nothing was happening in the higher parts of the field," Schmetzer said Tuesday. "The momentum and the confidence that maybe those young kids have started to deteriorate."
In the attacking third, leading scorer and winger Paul Rothrock struggled with his service while striker Danny Musovski was dispossessed in key spots. Attacking midfielder and designated player Albert Rusnák also had a moment or two of playing a key pass through too early, but talked about not taking enough risks postgame.
Schmetzer didn't see his team vying for space in behind enough to produce real chances; Seattle finished with 0.3 xG and no shots on frame. The Sounders' only corner came in the final minute of stoppage time.
"There always has to be movement ahead of the ball, and there's basic principles that you play. If a player's under pressure, you have to come and help him. If he has time and space, stay away, look to run in behind," Schmetzer said on Tuesday. "I haven't been consistent with who's the starting number nine… some of (the miscommunication) comes from that.
"I would also say that guys like Cristian (Roldan) have dialed this in, and guys like Snyder (Brunell) and (Kingston), those guys need to do it."
There's a lot there, but Schmetzer isn't shying away from the fact that his young pivots don't have it all figured out. From a glance, Brunell fits the mold in that position, but Kingston is a more natural winger/outside back who is being forced to fill that complex spot with Cristian Roldan and Hassani Dotson sidelined for a few more weeks. Alex Roldan slotted in at center back yesterday, but he looked solid as a fill-in pivot last week against Querétaro.
Moving the versatile player into that spot could prove to be a faster fix than leaning on a young pairing, but Schmetzer seems intent on letting his Defiance signees learn hard lessons.
In terms of movement ahead of the ball, the Sounders have always thrown numbers into the box en masse when they're at their best. Seattle's franchise-best scoring season in 2025 wasn't built off fancy strikes from distance; it was Musovski tap-ins and Rothrock putbacks.
The Sounders simply aren't overwhelming the opposing box, and with just one corner on Sunday, it's not like Seattle can bail itself out with set-piece execution. Seattle is going to need some bravery, and perhaps a move to a formation that is better equipped to deal with the counterattacks associated with a failed risk could motivate its offense to step on the gas.
Losing is Hard.
"I think it's one of the hardest parts about the job and in sports, that's what we have to do to be elite and to be successful," full back Kalani Kossa-Rienzi said of taking risks on Tuesday. "When you're losing like this, it's harder to find that confidence."
Slumps in soccer are perhaps more epic than those found in any other sport. It certainly doesn't help that Seattle transferred key depth pieces like Georgi Minoungou, Reed Baker-Whiting and Danny Leyva earlier this year, but getting out of a slump takes some manufactured bravery.
We’ll see what the Sounders are made of with Austin at home on Wednesday, followed by a Saturday road date at Cincinnati. It’s worth noting the latter could see multiple long-term injured players make a return to the team sheet, including Cristian Roldan.
