Match Preview - Seattle Sounders
Game Info
Kickoff: 6:09pm CT
Watch: Apple TV
Location: Q2 Stadium - Austin, TX
All-Time H2H Record
Austin FC has a 1W-3D-5L record against Seattle Sounders.
The first leg of this regular season series was back in June, a dominant 2-0 win for the Sounders at Lumen Field. Austin’s lone win against Seattle came back in May of the 2023 season, a 2-1 victory behind goals from Gyasi Zardes and Ethan Finlay.
But that single win was on the road, so as the Sounders arrive at Q2 Stadium for the fifth time ever, they’ll be looking to keep their undefeated record in central Texas intact while the Verde and Black hope to send Seattle packing with a loss in ATX for the first time.
Seattle Sounders Recent Form
As we took a peek around the Sounders independent media landscape this week, there are some surprising questions being asked of a squad that won Leagues Cup just three weeks ago in dramatic fashion, dismantling the Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami by a 3-0 scoreline. That victory made Seattle the first MLS team to win all five major trophies (Supporter’s Shield, MLS Cup, US Open Cup, Leagues Cup and CONCACAF Champions League) available to clubs in this league.
The Sounders have played two league matches since then, most recently a 3-1 road loss to Inter Miami on Tuesday. That loss followed a home collapse to the last place LA Galaxy, with Seattle squandering a two-goal lead to ultimately share the points. It’s certainly fair to be unhappy with that two-week down turn, especially giving up a lead to the Galaxy, but the Sounders faithful are holding this team to what’s maybe an unrealistically high bar.
The rematch against Messi and crew was a bit of a trap game on paper. Inter Miami had revenge on the mind, was back in their home stadium and the Sounders rotated to start the match, with very few of their “locked in” starters playing more than 60 minutes.
As the Sounders die-hards debate about lineup decisions and who should start in net, one thing they seem to have found common ground on is that this upcoming match against Austin is a cakewalk, with multiple fan podcasts calling it a “guaranteed win.” Remember back when we were circling games on our late summer stretch that had teams like DC United, LA Galaxy, Sporting KC, and CF Montreal on it? Yeah, well we are those teams to Seattle (or at least, that’s what they clearly believe).
Do I think that is entirely delusional? Not exactly. This Sounders team is loaded with talent top to bottom and has one of the deepest rosters in the league. Utilizing a 3/3 build, Seattle’s DP spots are occupied by Pedro de la Vega, Jordan Morris, and Albert Rusnak. They have utilized their TAM to make room for the services of Paul Arriola (though he tore his ACL in the first month of the season), Jesus Ferreira, Yeimar, and Cristian Roldan – all routine, high-quality starters for Seattle.
The depth continues from there with players like Danny Musovski (who leads the team with 14 goals), Jackson Ragen, Nouhou, João Paolo, Alex Roldan and Jon Bell. Their supplemental roster includes players like Paul Rothrock (three goals and five assists), Obed Vargas (three goals and one assist), and Reed Baker-Whiting. All of them provide valuable minutes and allow coach Schmetzer and his staff to adjust starting lineups with minimal talent drop-off. As a cherry on top, Seattle still has all three U22 Initiative slots vacant, so they’ve got a clear avenue to improve this roster even more this offseason.
Currently sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference with 45 points from their 29 games, Seattle finds themselves two spots above Austin FC, making this an important game for both clubs. While the last two teams Austin has played ranked 29th and 30th in possession, Seattle employs drastically different tactics. They control the ball well, owning the fifth highest average possession at 53.7%, and can matriculate the ball up the field with masterful control and impressive efficiency.
The rigor of balancing the MLS regular season and winning a tournament trophy is in the rear view now and Seattle can focus their full attention on securing a top five seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Their demanding fan base is itching to get back to winning ways and they’ve deemed Sunday’s game in Austin as the place to start.
Austin FC Recent Form
What a week it has been as an Austin FC fan! Truly the lowest of lows followed by the highest of highs. After the absolutely disgusting performance against FC Dallas in Frisco, Austin FC found a way to advance to the club’s first ever US Open Cup championship game thanks to a gutsy win in St. Paul against the Loons.
I am not sure there are many things to take away from that Minnesota game that will apply to this matchup with the Sounders. The starting XI rolled out by Nico and his staff in Wednesday’s semifinal was tailored for a knockout matchup against the masters of the MLS smash-and-grab. Knowing that Minnesota head coach Eric Ramsay utilizes the most possession adverse style in the league, Austin chose to roll out a safer, more defensive unit that was equipped to handle the Loons speedy wingbacks on the counter while also being able to play with the ball at their feet in possession. This meant Guilherme Biro, Oleksandr Svatok, and Diego Rubio to the bench in favor of Zan “Big Tex” Kolmanic, Mateja Djordjevic, and Julio Cascante. The inclusion of the latter two meant that Austin was starting three centerbacks to pair with their two fullbacks in Mikkel Desler and Kolmanic.
The team was clearly instructed to allow the Loons to possess the ball more than they intended to. Austin’s defensive shape remained stout throughout the contest and when the Loons pushed forward, ATX found opportunities to strike on the counter attack. Major credit must be given to both the staff and players for not only having a great game plan, but also executing that game plan so well.
The rest became history in what was one of the greatest Austin FC matches of all time. Not one, but two goals in the waning moments, one in first half stoppage time and the other in the 120th minute, propelled the Verde and Black to their biggest win in the club’s history.
But that title game doesn’t happen until the first of October and Austin has two important league matches before they square off against Nashville SC for all the marbles, starting with this game against Seattle who are also fighting for playoff seeding.
I expect to see a return to the formation we have most used since the loss of Brandon Vazquez with the potential for some moderate rotation. We know that Desler is dealing with a lower body injury and his substitution against Minny in the 64th minute was baked into the game plan. Depending on how his body responded, we could see Desler come off the bench, but either way I am not expecting 90 minutes from Austin’s preferred right back. Myrto Uzuni, Brendan Hines-Ike, and Dani Pereira all went the full 120 minutes, with Ilie Sanchez also clocking 84. ATX paid a heavy physical toll to win that game, but it was well worth it. I could see Austin giving Wednesday’s hero, CJ Fodrey, his first ever start up top in place of Uzuni. I would also not be surprised to see Hines-Ike headed to the bench in favor of Djordjevic, and Dani being spelled by Dubersarsky.
The one thing that I will be keeping an eye on is if this team has emotionally moved on from their glorious win on Wednesday night. Riding that high is the best feeling in the world, but you have to put your feet back on the ground after some well-deserved celebration, otherwise a team like Seattle will embarass you in front of the entire MLS world on Sunday Night Soccer. Austin has not won anything yet, and taking your foot off the gas in this game that is a true “six-pointer” is not the response that Verde fans want to see as they welcome the team back to Q2 Stadium this weekend.
Injury Report
This is an estimate until the league releases official injury reports on Saturday afternoon.
ATX:
Brandon Vazquez (Out - Knee)
SEA:
Pedro De La Vega (Questionable - Knee)
João Paolo (Questionable - Knee)
Ryan Kent (Doubtful - Knee)
Paul Arriola (Out - Knee)
Seattle Sounders Players to Watch
Jesus Ferreira - Austin fans know him too well. The talented FC Dallas homegrown has found himself positioned all over the place since joining the Sounders last offseason. He can be deployed at the striker position, attacking mid and both wings. No matter where he lines up, he is a threat and feels right at home at Q2. In fact, Ferreira is the leading non-Austin FC goal scorer at Q2 Stadium due to his success with FC Dallas and the USMNT. With more weapons around him than he ever had in his entire tenure with FC Dallas, Ferreira does not have to shoulder nearly as much offensive load as he has in the past. His positional awareness and timing of runs are two of his best attributes, as Austin was reminded of when he opened the scoring just before halftime in the June meeting at Lumen Field. He has an elite feel for the game and was meant to play it at a high level.
Austin FC Keys to the Game
You Ain’t Won Nothing Yet - Austin FC has to remember that despite the awesome accomplishment of advancing to host the US Open Cup final, there are important games left on the regular season schedule and this is one of them. Digging deep to find that intensity that has kept Austin afloat all season will be a challenge, but it will be necessary against this talented Seattle club. Despite winning a game in comeback fashion for the first time all year against Sporting KC a few games back, I would prefer not to start this game down one (or two goals) and that begins with coming out locked in and ready to execute the game plan. It’s time to secure the first ever home win against the Sounders – LISTOS!
Predictions
ZG - 2-2 Draw
E - 1-1 Draw
