LAFC provides biggest test yet for Sounders’ homegrown roster

RENTON — As the summer transfer window drew to a close and it was becoming obvious that the Seattle Sounders weren’t going to be able to land one of their top targets, they were faced with a decision.

One option was to settle for someone who they were less convinced was an upgrade over their current options, but would at least temporarily satiate a desire both inside the club and among fans to make a signing. The other choice was to double-down on their internal options, hoping that late-emerging players like Paul Rothrock would be able to continue their trajectory.

They chose to effectively double-down on the organization, only adding Georgi Minoungou from the Tacoma Defiance.

“This is not me sitting in front of you guys and saying ‘We’re stoked not to sign a player and not bringing someone in,’” Sounders GM Craig Waibel said during a press conference shortly after the transfer window closed. “It’s just acknowledging that we weren’t going to compromise for the sake of the locker room, for the sake of the staff and also for the sake of the fans. We’re not going to compromise and bring someone in who they’re not going to watch play soccer.”

It was even less popular outside of Longacres. Fans and national observers alike criticized the Sounders for a perceived lack of ambition, pointing out that they were just one of two teams to fail to make a move during the summer transfer window. While other teams were bringing in high-priced Designated Players, World Cup veterans and flashy youngsters, the Sounders were effectively standing pat on a roster that was largely made up of players who had developed inside the organization.

Fast forward three months, perspectives have likely changed.

Looking only at their results in MLS play, there’s not much to complain about. The Sounders closed out the regular season by going 6-1-2 after the summer transfer window closed and followed that up by beating the Houston Dynamo 2-0 in the First Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. As they prepare to face LAFC in the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday, the Sounders are on a nine-game unbeaten streak in which they’ve allowed just four goals.

They’ve done all this with a roster makeup quite unlike any other team still alive this far into the postseason. Of the 32 players who appeared in at least one match across all competitions for the Sounders this year, 21 were either drafted by the Sounders, came through their academy, or were signed from Tacoma Defiance/S2. Those 21 players, account for about 64% of the total minutes played, 61% of the Sounders’ goals and 57% of their assists. Even removing players drafted by the Sounders, 45% of their minutes and about half of their goal-contributions are from players who came through their developmental pipeline.

Among the other seven conference semifinalists, internally developed players don’t even account for as much as 20% of the minutes or goal-contributions on any team. The two Los Angeles teams — who draw from arguably the most talent-rich region in the United States — actually are the worst in this regard. The LA Galaxy got just about 6% of their minutes from locally produced talent, with Jalen Neal accounting for nearly two-thirds of those minutes by himself. LAFC is even worse, with just 2% of their minutes coming from players who went through their developmental pipeline and none of them reaching even 400 minutes of league playing time.

The Sounders, meanwhile, have five regular starters who either played for the academy or the Tacoma Defiance/S2, with two others having been drafted by Seattle. As many as seven of Saturday’s starters could fit this criteria.