The Sounders continued rolling in 2025, welcoming Antigua GFC to Lumen Field on Wednesday night, and dismissing them efficiently by a score of 3-1. Like Charlotte’s goalie, the Antigua keeper had a great performance, or the game might have been even more lopsided. Seattle created massive chances throughout, and the match was never in doubt after Pedro de la Vega’s first goal put them up big in the aggregate, but it was great to see the Sounders continue to dominate and score in the second half. The waves of attack included vital contributions from the deep Sounders bench, with coach Brian Schmetzer having multiple options at his disposal. This meant plenty of room for rotation, as some incumbent starters were given the night off, and others had managed minutes, in a tidy, professional two-leg performance.
CCC form: Antigua is admittedly not the best team in the competition, but Seattle thoroughly dominated the play both away and at home, ending with a 6-2 aggregate scoreline. The competition level will ramp up next week, but seeing Seattle’s tactical flexibility and the depth shown in these two matches gives us some hope for a long run in the Champions Cup.
Goalkeeper
Andrew Thomas – 6
Thomas earned his first start of the year and overall was pretty good. A nice catch in the first five minutes showed good command of the box, and he ended with four saves on 17 shots against. He was a little shaky on a number of occasions, including a poor clearance in the 77th, and needed help from the crossbar 10 minutes later to keep the goals against at one. He did what needed to be done, kept the shots he saved clean, and did an average job at organizing the back and being a distribution point. Although the opponents got a lot of shots, Thomas wasn’t forced into any overly acrobatic saves or tough positions, which was a good indicator of a “bend but don’t break” defense in front of him.
CCC form: Thomas didn’t make anyone forget Stefan Frei with this performance, but he did grant Frei valuable rest time that he has rarely received in his career.
Defense
Jonathan Bell – 5
Bell started out on the left of the defense, and then was moved central after a late sub replaced Yeimar. Over the course of his 90 minutes he was quite disorganized, struggling to maintain defensive shape. He was often well ahead of Jackson Ragen, and the Antigua attack continuously found space in that gap on the left of defense. Jon was beaten by not one but two players in extra time of the first half, offering the opponents a lifeline back into the series. Giving up the equalizer right before half was potentially massive, the kind of mistake that will hurt the Sounders against tougher competition. Especially concerning was his inability to adjust to the positioning requirements on the left, which forced Ragen to play more on his side of the field, exposing both.
CCC form: This wasn’t the Jon Bell of last season, and I was expecting much better play.
Jackson Ragen – 6
Ragen started centrally before moving to the right near the end of the match. The defense didn’t seem very set, especially in the first half, and Seattle conceded a lot of shots. Ultimately the 17 shots, five on target, only ended in a single goal, but Antigua created a ton of pressure at times, and Ragen was exposed attempting to cover on the left in the first half. Too bad he couldn’t finish the golden opportunity off a perfect Jordan Morris setup in the 45th minute; had he put the ball in the goal instead of the Hawks Nest, the 2-0 scoreline would have killed off this series even sooner. A good 1-v-1 play in the 84th minute was the kind of defense he is capable of, even in tight quarters.
CCC form: Ragen has played every minute of the season so far, and the defense is conceding over once a match. This is not on par with their efforts last season, and it’s worth watching how they (hopefully) improve.
Yeimar – 6 (off 57’ for Nouhou)
Yeimar played 57 minutes and I had few comments, a significant improvement over the previous CCC match. His 41-touch outing included only seven defensive actions, and he wasn’t asked to make a tackle all match. This type of quiet performance is fine for a defender. The majority of Seattle’s defensive struggles while Yeimar was on the field were from other teammates’ mistakes.
CCC form: Yeimar’s performance was greatly improved over the last appearance against this team, and he continues to regain the form expected of him.
Alex Roldan – 7 (off 81’ for Kossa-Rienzi)
Alex Roldan’s 2025 continues to be an enigmatic affair, as he is effectively playing as a hybrid central midfielder. Against Antigua he was very active, accruing 86 percent passing as he combined in the right channels and fed the ball consistently forward into the attack. He was dribbled past twice and lost five duels, but was a positive possession force with excellent runs forward in the 43rd and 52nd minutes. In the latter one, he snuck in the back side and headed across from a great João Paulo pass.
CCC form: Alex is thriving in the half spaces and showing excellent tactical understanding of how to be the glue piece that this team needs. He still attempts a few unnecessarily risky passes every match, but he’s adding to the team in small, important ways.
Defensive Midfield
João Paulo – 7
João Paulo started and had a few moments in the first half where the rollercoaster performances from last year were in evidence. A number of poor touches and decisions were highlighted by a terrible fumble in the box on a short pass from Thomas in minute 28. On the flip side, an inspired charge into the box and an almost perfect cross necessitated a brilliant keeper effort in the 19th to get an essential finger on the ball and prevent Jordan Morris from scoring. The second half was almost all upside plays, as JP settled in well, combining time and again in possession (95 percent passing), culminating in a brilliant step up in the 88th minute to steal and deliver a gorgeous assist to Pedro.
CCC form: Having a player with JP’s skill as a backup, able to not only eat these minutes, but perform at a high level, is absolutely thrilling.
Danny Leyva – 7
While JP was possessing the ball and earning 12 defensive actions, Leyva was pulling the strings that drove the offense forward. Exhibiting calm control of the pace of the match, Leyva repeatedly turned to the attack, glided into dangerous areas, and distributed forward passes with abandon. His ability to move after the pass was excellent, turning 10th and 16th minute give-and-goes with Morris and de la Vega into opportunities. This vision and connection was on display as he put Jordan through on the first Sounders goal. Defensively, Leyva leaned on JP and Alex to cover spaces in the middle, and with only two defensive actions, was more of a positional defender like how Albert Rusnák played defensive mid. There was plenty to learn from, but Danny appears to have considerably upped his level of play as well as his confidence.
CCC form: If this is any indication of the player Danny Leyva will be in 2025, the Sounders will have an embarrassment of riches as central options.
Attacking Midfield
Paul Arriola – 7 (off 57’ for Rothrock)
Once again, Arriola got a start in CCC, and once again, he delivered all over the field. The wide attacking movement of the Seattle system is an excellent fit for the way Paul moves, and he was influential throughout his time on the field. His connection with Jesús Ferreira is apparent, and they worked a smooth give-and-go in the 40th minute after an excellent anticipation steal from Paul earned counter-attack space. A 48th minute steal was another example of quick transition as Arriola immediately set up the attack and Seattle nearly scored. Finally, five minutes later, he again combined with the Messiah Ferrari, ending with Paul finishing clean, putting the match fully away.
CCC form: Paul adds that bit of skill, tenacity, and killer instinct that we lacked at times last year, and he’s reaping the benefits of his hard work and tactical understanding. Being in the right place combined with great technical skills is a recipe for success in this offense. The third-highest scoring player in the tournament isn’t a full time starter for Seattle.
Jesús Ferreira – 8 (off 74’ for Minoungou)
Although he only showed up in the stats with one assist, Jesús could have had five or more. He was straight dealing against Antigua, pulling all the strings centrally and adding a calm creative vision that played with pace but fully under control. Throughout the match, Jesús was fantastic at creating opportunities, starting with a curling shot on goal in the first 10 minutes. He found Morris in the 34th minute for a big chance and repeatedly drove forward to find chances centrally. He wasn’t given the payoff due to multiple errors and poor finishing from teammates, but finally found a willing runner and clean finish in the 53rd minute. After bursting into the attack up the left side, Ferreira calmly found the high percentage chance and Arriola cashed it in.
CCC form: The stats will come, especially if he plays anything like as well as he did against Antigua.
Pedro de la Vega – 8 (MOTM)
While Jesús was creating chances via vision and calm control, Pedro was offsetting that with impressive movement and even more impressive ball control. Starting with a 13th minute heelie nutmeg, PDLV put forth a dazzling display of movement and balance. His 24th minute goal came after a direct charge on goal, instinctive first-time shot, and then (unlike last season) the balance, control, and persistence to stick with the deflected first shot and smash home the second. His improved ability to deal with physical challenges has already paid off multiple times this year directly in goal scoring moments. There were still plenty of things to work on, like when he chose the more difficult option of beating five guys instead of finding the open teammates. Those moments can be frustrating, but when he pairs such errors with a lovely run forward and a finish in the 88th minute, it’s worth the tradeoff. He wasn’t perfect, but he scored twice and was a menace all over the field.
CCC form: Pedro has burst onto the CCC scene, being arguably the best player in the tournament so far, leading the golden boot race after two matches. As he filters out some of the errors, he should have the opportunity to achieve even more.
Forward
Jordan Morris – 6 (off 46’ for Musovski)
Although he only played a half, Jordan Morris was more than Antigua could handle while he was on the field. Consistently getting in between the center backs and creating havoc, he was thwarted no less than three times by incredible goalkeeper play, and another few times by the assistant ref. While he didn’t get credited with either a goal or assist in this match, he was the driving force that created the space for all the other players to succeed in the first half, and it was his run in behind and pass to Pedro that created the first goal. Only the original shot being blocked denied Morris earning an assist.
CCC form: Jordan created a goal and nearly had multiple others, and also got some rest. He should be available this weekend in some capacity if needed.
Substitutes
Danny Musovski – 4 (on 46’ for Morris)
Musovski played a critical role in this match: get Jordan Morris rest. In that way, Danny was awesome. When it came to soccer, he was not so awesome. The movement and ability to get into great positions was again in evidence, and Musovski worked hard to find the ball in the box, resulting in three shots from excellent positions. What he did with them was underwhelming, as he didn’t put any of them on target, instead offering ECS some souvenirs. This poor finishing from big chances and dreadful 20 percent passing accuracy meant Danny didn’t make a strong case for future minutes. On the plus side, he got into some spaces many players wouldn’t have even gotten to, and PDLV’s final goal could have been a tap-in for Danny who was wide open in the middle had Pedro chosen to pass rather than hit a tough far-post shot.
CCC form: Someone has to be the lowest performer, and that was Musovski in this one.
Paul Rothrock – 5 (on 57’ for Paul Arriola)
The Paul for Paul swap was a drop in production, as Rothrock continued his slow arrival into the 2025 season. He was very good in possession, finding clean passing and combination with teammates while making a number of strong runs. His 92 percent passing unfortunately didn’t include any completed crosses and he was unsuccessful on both dribble attempts. Rothrock was one of the players who let Ferreira down, as a perfect through ball that left Paul v. the keeper was won by the keeper in the 73rd minute.
CCC form: Not expecting Paul Rothrock to carry the load offensively is the perfect “lull you to sleep” strategy for when he adds the little things he does right to better execution of those few things he’s struggling with.
Nouhou – 5 (on 57’ for Yeimar)
Nouhou subbed on to get in some running and to give Yeimar some deserved rest. He lined up on the left with Bell and Ragen to his right, and solidified the defense on his wing. Nouhou finished with a clean 94 percent passing, but he wasn’t as solid in some nervy moments as Seattle defended via a mass of players in their own box on a few occasions. His strong play earned a yellow card for an opponent, and it was nice to see a solid 90th minute cross.
CCC form: Nouhou has been consistent thus far in 2025, although it was surprising to see him fumble a 77th minute trap, a technical error he rarely makes.
Georgi Minoungou – 5 (on 74’ for Ferreira)
Adding Minoungou to a match in this gamestate seemed almost cruel, but it did let Seattle remove Ferreira from the match to preserve his legs, while also giving Georgi some game time. He did not disappoint, almost immediately offering up an excellent cross that nearly earned an assist. In the 76th minute he was put through, and again terrorized the defense in the 82nd, running at tired legs with abandon and finding creative ways to get the ball into the attack.
CCC form: Georgi is exciting due to his mere presence and ability to create offense in a snap, and the depth of this team means he can develop at the pace that best supports his success.
Kalani Kossa-Rienzi – 5 (on 81’ for Alex Roldan)
Giving workhorse Alex Roldan a small respite was KKR, who was recently signed to a short term contract that allows him to play in a number of matches for Seattle while remaining on Defiance (for now). He entered late and played a central role, eager to run while showing good coverage in the middle of the field. Immediately after entering he had a lovely central run, but the attack fizzled. For all his hustle, he lost possession a number of times in an uneven performance.
CCC form: There haven’t been enough minutes so far this season to determine what Kalani can bring.
Referee
Selvin Brown – 4
This was a significant dropoff in referee quality compared to the group we had in Guatemala, as the theme of the night seemed to be “no call.” There were numerous calls that were missed or card-appropriate fouls not given as cautions. Other calls were just hard to understand, and at times the match looked poised to devolve into peak Concacafery. The aggregate game state likely limited this, and cooler heads prevailed even when Seattle’s most expensive player was grabbed around the neck and wrestled to the ground by the opposing keeper.
CCC form: This guy made everyone miss the referees from the first leg. The four cards against Antigua were more than deserved, and they should have been given out much earlier than the 58th minute.
Upcoming: MLS road match against an RSL team that just got knocked out of this very competition.
