In previews gone by, I have opted for the occasional “sound” joke whenever we’ve come up against this weekend’s opponents, the Seattle Sounders. “Sounds like we’re going to win!” or maybe after we beat them, “That’s the sound of silence.” Both of those are incredibly clever, I know, but it’s time for me to admit they’re wrong. Flat out WRONG. The Rave Green soccer team is named after Puget Sound, not the waves that enable us to hear. All of my auditory jokes — though hilarious — have been standing in the way of a plethora of more accurate quips about wide, navigable inlets of the sea, wider than fjords or straits, often separating a mainland from an island or a channel connecting two larger bodies of water. That changes today.
Minnesota United (12-6-8)
Run of Form: L-L-D-W-W (All Competitions)
Before Leagues Cup, your Loons were flying high. Three wins, one draw, and one loss in the five matches leading up to the midseason tournament had them fighting with the top teams in the Western Conference, and their 2-1 win over St. Louis sent them into the break feeling good. A fantastic win against Querétaro set the table nicely, but a 3-3 thriller against Club América really drained the boys, who put in a performance that deserved more than the single point they got from that one. Now, their first consecutive losses of the season (San Luis and Colorado) have the Black and Blue with a tough mental challenge to face this weekend, and it’s coming against the last team they want to face right now.
Seattle Sounders (11-6-8)
Run of Form: W-W-W-W-D (All Competitions)
What love I have for the Sounders is due entirely to the legendary Clint Dempsey. Beyond that, there is little that the Washington club and I have in common. That’s why it pains me to say that the Rave Green are among the hottest teams in North America right now, as they haven’t lost a single one of their last 10 matches. Their last loss? A small game in the Club World Cup against PSG, the UEFA Champions League champions. Since then, they’ve won seven times, gone a perfect three-for-three in Leagues Cup Phase One, and drawn just three times. It’s hard to argue with that form, but if Minnesota’s 3-2 win at Lumen Field is anything to go on, the Loons might be among the best teams in the league to present an argument.
Keys to the Match:
Goals Galore
To say that the Seattle attack is firing on all cylinders would not only be cliche, it would be a disrespectful understatement of what Brian Schmetzer’s team is doing at the moment. In the eight games they’ve played since July 12, the Sounders have scored at least twice in every match, racking up a whopping 26 goals in just eight games. That’s an average of 3.25 goals a match, a number that — while inflated by their 7-0 masterclass against the reigning Concacaf champions, Cruz Azul — should strike fear into the hearts of every team that comes up against them during this hottest of goal-scoring streaks. They’ve unlocked the potential of Osaze De Rosario, son of the legendary Dwayne De Rosario; seen late-bloomer Pedro De La Vega finally take his place as one of their most threatening attackers; and gotten 10 league goals apiece out of Danny Musovski and Albert Rusnák. Whether it’s Leagues Cup or regular season play, this Sounders team is scoring by committee, making the most of their talent-packed roster and keeping opposing defenses on their toes. The Loons are tied for the third-fewest goals conceded this season and haven’t struggled too much with individual threats in 2025. This in-form Seattle side is unlike anything they’ve faced this year, though, and will require a level of organization, tactical discipline, and defensive endurance that most teams wouldn’t be able to muster. Good thing MNUFC isn't like most teams.
Not Trying to Be Trendy
Yes, there are two consecutive L’s in the run of form this week; that’s a first in 2025. Your Loons hadn’t lost consecutive games this season until they followed up their Leagues Cup bow against San Luis with a tight loss to Colorado. The marketing voice in me wants to point out that those are two different competitions, but the coach in me says that a loss is a loss, and this isn’t a trend we want to stick with. From a mentality standpoint, this is something the Boys in Black and Blue haven’t had to face this year, making this weekend’s match a very intriguing opportunity to send a message to the rest of the league. A win against this Seattle team would open up a six-point gap between the Loons in third and the Sounders in fourth, while also showing that MNUFC can and will compete with their rivals at the top of the Western Conference as they head down the final stretch of the season. A third straight loss would deal a heavy blow to confidence but could serve as a needed wake-up call ahead of the real trophy chase. As I’ve said before, it takes a lot to be in a position to compete for trophies this late into any season; finding the mental fortitude to rise to the challenge will be key to lifting any of those trophies still available, and Saturday’s game is the perfect first in what will be a long line of tests.
Flexibility: The Double-Edged Sword
When fixtures pile up, squad flexibility is among the most important things a club can have. Talented, capable reserve players enable coaches to rotate the squad with minimal dropoff in quality and tactics, preventing injuries while allowing the team to compete on multiple fronts at the same time. I’ve sung the praises of this Loons squad in the last few weeks, as different players brought their unique skill sets to different matches and showed the real dynamism of this group. Now, though, with the action dying down a bit and the games spreading back out, rotation is about to become much less of a necessity. With a tough final stretch of games that will see the Loons play six more teams currently fighting for playoff positioning, consistent, high performance is going to become more important than ever. Expect to see Coach Ramsay shift back to a more predictable lineup that utilizes his best 11 more prominently than we saw in Leagues Cup, as the team’s most impactful contributors look to power the squad to a historic finish. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the likes of Kelvin Yeboah, Tani Oluwaseyi, Wil Trapp, and Michael Boxall earn starts in each of the last nine MLS matches of the season, with the lineup around them likewise remaining relatively unchanged.
