Defiance player made quite a case for first-team contract with impressive hat trick

With it looking increasingly likely that the Seattle Sounders won’t bring in a player from outside the organization before the roster freeze deadline on Sept. 13, it would still seem advisable to inject some new blood from inside the organization.

One player, in particular, is making a pretty compelling case.

Braudilio Rodrigues has long been one of the more intriguing prospects on the Tacoma Defiance roster and started off the season with five goals in his first seven appearances. Although he’s cooled off since then, on Wednesday he gave a reminder that he has the type of skillset that could potentially be the type of spark the Sounders need.

The 23-year-old winger didn’t just bag a hat trick — giving him 10 goals on the season — he did it in impressive style. His first goal was a rocket from 25 yards that easily beat the goalkeeper to his near post.

Rodrigues followed that up with a clean finish of a Travian Sousa cross after a good back-post run.

He finished off his hat trick in impressive style, controlling a pass from Snyder Brunell at the top of the box with a sort of half scorpion-kick kick, then easily beating the goalkeeper to pace Tacoma’s 3-1 win over Sporting KC II.

“I’m still trying to process that,” Defiance head coach Wade Webber said about the final goal. “He spins one way, he goes another, the ball ends up at his feet and he somehow finishes. To get into that position, he’s so cool and calm that you sort of trust him to do it, but you take for granted how tough the whole package is. Those are three really good goals tonight.”

At 23 years old, Rodrigues might not have a ton of growth left in his game and it should be said that he’s pretty much a one-way player. The Sounders would also need to acquire Rodrigues’ MLS rights from NYCFC, who drafted him. Still, the acquisition cost is likely only about $50,000 in GAM and the Sounders probably have that much that will soon expire anyway.

My suggestion is bring Rodrigues in for a contract that runs for the rest of 2023, give him a few chances to make an impact off the bench and give him a test run before making a decision on his longer term future.