There are high expectations for the Sounders in 2025, and watching some inspired play earlier in the year, it was logical to expect Seattle to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the league, especially at home. So when the struggling Houston Dynamo, with their dismal record in Seattle, came to town last weekend, you expected the Sounders to dominate the ball and the game. They did that for the most part everywhere, except on the scoreboard. They possessed the ball and the best moments throughout the game, but the final score was a disappointing 0-0 draw that felt like a loss. There’s a good team under there somewhere, but boy, it’s getting frustrating to watch the Sounders do everything well but fail to get positive results in MLS play. Are we doomed to play like this all year, or can we cope with temporary adversity and turn it around?
Doom take: This team is washed. It depends on a fully healthy squad to excel, and there’s no tactical understanding to do anything when hit with adversity. Players aren’t playing with joy and it shows.
Cope take: With key players out, all the training goes out the window. This puts Seattle behind other teams as they try to integrate different tactics and player positioning. The talent is there on this deep team, it just needs more time to gel. The players didn’t suddenly become horrible.
Goalkeeper
Stefan Frei – 6 | Community – 6.2
Frei didn’t have a lot to do in this one, with the strong defense in front of him limiting Houston’s chances. Stef earned his first MLS shutout of the season. He was credited with a single save as Houston only had six shots, with the one on frame.
What he did: One save, 12/15 passing, and a lot of watching his offense struggle to break down an organized team in front of him. In the few moments when Houston pressured the box, Seattle and Frei handled it routinely. In the 88th minute, the Dynamo had their one weak shot, which didn’t trouble the Sounders.
Doom take: Any keeper could have played behind this defense combined with the opponent’s lack of interest in attacking. This game didn’t do anything to alleviate previous concerns about Stefan’s rust that’s still apparent this early season.
Cope take: This was the kind of lockdown defensive play that pushed Seattle all the way up the table last year, and Frei has started accumulating shutouts, which is a great sign.
Defense
Jonathan Bell – 6 | Community – 6.0
With Nouhou out on international duty, Bell earned his sixth appearance in 2025, this time as a left defender. He had a fairly strong match, combining across the back to ensure a shutout, and he added some interesting play on both ends of the field.
What he did: Seattle defenders were on the ball a lot, and the back line earned the four highest number of touches. Bell did okay with his, completing 81 percent of his passes. Especially in the first half, he got into advanced areas to connect with teammates. His willingness to try complicated passes and dribbles is a double-edged sword.
Doom take: Having a “better passer” on the back left didn’t magically unlock the Sounders’ offense. Some of Bell’s turnovers were in dangerous areas, like his bad choice in the 74th minute, giving the away team unnecessary opportunities.
Cope take: You can’t ignore that some first-half slick passes into the box and connections from the left were Bell trying stuff that almost worked. In the 43rd minute, Jon to Cristian Roldan through Albert Rusnák was one of a number of big moments of which Bell was a part.
Jackson Ragen – 7 | Community – 6.3
Completing 94 percent of his passes, Ragen was a possession machine against Houston, finding teammates and moving the ball around the back. For much of the match, Jackson made safe passes, but he also completed a high amount of longer switching balls, as Seattle furtively attempted to break down the Dynamo defense.
What he did: Jackson was the main back-to-front facilitator, leading the team with 12 progressive passes completed. He added five defensive actions as he was strong on the ball and continually looked to push passes to teammates. While not frequently looking long, he did find Alex Roldan over the top to start one of the biggest “almost” moments of the evening.
Doom take: Expecting a centerback to be your creative force 80 yards from goal every match puts him in a rough spot. Ragen is absolutely elite in possession passing, but is not overly dynamic with his attempts.
Cope take: This wasn’t on the defense, and Jackson and Co. constantly pushed the ball forward for attackers to do something with the ball. The defense held a shutout and did its job well.
Yeimar – 8 (MOTM) | Community – 6.8 (MOTM)
Yeimar was a monster against Houston, removing any chance they had to score. Four tackles, eight won duels, and 11 recoveries were part of a dominant effort that made the Dynamo much less dynamic. He supplemented this with 90 percent passing of his own, adding in a successful dribble stat for icing.
What he did: Everything. Defensively it was the Yeimar show, highlighted by two giant efforts in the 32nd and 35th minutes. Each time the Dynamo thought they had a breakaway opportunity, and each time they were YEIMAR’D with authority. His size, physicality, and speed proved too much for Houston, who had their best chances snuffed by the excellent play from the right center back. Potential big moments like a 22nd minute breakout were cut out before even developing, as Yeimar’s anticipation and interceptions constantly stopped any build out.
Doom take: If Yeimar wasn’t inch-perfect defending both of those plays, this is probably a 1-0 loss for the Sounders, because we don’t stop breakaways and we can’t score on the other end. With many other options, Yeimar touched the ball the second-most times in the match.
Cope take: Ignoring the first match, this guy has been DPOY material, and Nico Lodeiro didn’t want any of that smoke.
Midfield
Paul Rothrock – 5 | Community – 5.7
Paul Rothrock continues to get starts with the other Paul out for the season, and he continues to have a turbulent year. In 90+ minutes on the wing, Rothrock managed a shot and a created chance via a key pass for Seattle, finding a few moments to nearly impact the match.
What he did: Paul tried a lot of stuff, but it rarely worked, ending in a dreary 68 percent passing clip, including zero completed crosses. This, paired with zero successful dribbles, meant he didn’t create a lot on the width, but there were some good moments. In the 61st minute he almost forced an own goal on a pass from Jesús, and some passes were just barely cut out. He did score a goal, one so hopelessly offside as to be laughable and also quite annoying.
Doom take: Arriola out means Seattle needs more from Paul Rothrock, who, outside of half of one game, hasn’t shown the magic from last year. He’s being asked to start when he should be a backup.
Cope take: Give it time. We all know what happens when you doubt the Rock.
Danny Leyva – 6 | Community – 5.8 (off 60’ for Minoungou)
Leyva started as part of a defensive midfield pairing with Obed Vargas on international duty. As the most attack-minded of the back group, he almost always passed forward, and his exceptional switching passes unlocked space on the opposite side of the field. He had 85 percent passing and led the team with three shots.
What he did: Nearly everything was vertical, as Levya constantly looked forward and pushed Seattle into more aggressive posture. It didn’t always work, but his addition to the attack brought some interesting angles. Right before half, he got forward and took a deflected shot with his left foot that forced a big save over the goal.
Doom take: When your most aggressive offensive option for 60 minutes is your backup defensive midfielder who also records very few defensive actions, there may be a big problem, or maybe multiple small ones.
Cope take: Danny Leyva is here to stay, showing a maturity and growth we haven’t seen since … last year when Obed took a similar step forward. Let him cook.
João Paulo – 6 | Community – 5.8 (off 76’ for Musovski)
JP returned to the starting lineup as a pair with Leyva and again showed that these two could hold down the middle for Seattle. His contributions – 92 percent passing, two shots, and a solid defensive effort – were part of the total team shutout.
What he did: JP drifted around and connected passes as Seattle’s defense was stout and moved possession consistently forward, but without urgency. His defense was standard, although he was roasted in the 14th minute and lucky the team didn’t suffer. As he tired the team slowed down through the middle, but it was João who found interesting passes, such as a diagonal ball to Cristian in the 55th into the box, and a through ball for Jesús six minutes later that nearly ended up as a goal.
Doom take: You gotta think that the JP of old would have smashed his chance in the 38th minute. With the ball perfectly backheeled into his run, the entire right side of the goal was gaping, but instead of giving Seattle a lead (and maybe a win), JP put it into the stands. You can be mad at him for missing that, but he’s at least the fourth player on the team to miss a similar one this year, so maybe it’s cursed.
Cope take: JP came back on a smaller number to be a role player, and Seattle just dominated with a role player and a 5th year senior holding down their jobs in the middle. That’s a great output from the “B” team.
Alex Roldan – 6 | Community – 5.8
Alex lined up on the right and there was a high probability of Roldanery down the wing, but that didn’t materialize with any regularity. Instead, his brother pinched in to support an overloaded midfield and Alex was the wide option on the right. He did well to balance the defensive duties and did a lot of tireless running on the right, ending with two shots (both on frame) and some important crosses.
What he did: In the 18th minute, Rusnák put him into space behind on the right, but the cross came off wrong. Alex nearly put Georgi Minoungou in behind in the 80th. Alex’s biggest play came in the 86th as Seattle pushed hard for a home win, and he found the ball in a great spot. His shot was saved, and the Sounders settled for a single point.
Doom take: Alex does a lot of stuff well but nothing exceptional. If the team relies on him to be an offensive catalyst, there’s a big imbalance and severe lack of creativity.
Cope take: Roldan is a tremendous glue guy whose ability to combine adds either possession help centrally or attacking help on the width, and often both.
Attacking Midfield
Albert Rusnák – 7 | Community – 5.7
Rusnák had another of his patented quiet matches where he does many little things that go largely unnoticed. Without enough quality around him, he wasn’t able to change the scoreline on his own. He had 55 touches, a team-high four key passes, and three shots, as he did a lot of good stuff. Unfortunately, Seattle needed him to do great stuff, and the team lacked the needed drive centrally from their highly paid players.
What he did: The four key passes came as part of an excellent combination match; Albert varied his passing from over-the-top looks to Alex or through balls to Rothrock or Jesús Ferreira. The highlight of the night was his deft little layoff backheel to JP right before half, as Alex found him on a cutback and Albert made the pass to set up a huge chance. Multiple times, Rusnák held central areas and made quick passes to find teammates, but other times he was too slow, having multiple shots blocked.
Doom take: Having a slower, methodical playmaker holding the ball in the middle without dynamic players around him to feed off the control that he exerts makes it hard for Seattle to break down defenses.
Cope take: For all the skepticism about Rusnák as a DP, he is one of the best in MLS (currently #2) in key passes, dropping dimes all over the place. We just need some dudes to pick up what he’s putting down.
Cristian Roldan – 6 | Community – 5.9
Cristian started back on the right wing, but instead of combining up the right and looking for combination play with his brother and the midfield, he drifted centrally himself, filling some of the gaps created by Rusnák’s leftward lean and attempting to get Ferreira more into the match. Roldan had 86 percent passing but only 48 touches as he was battered by a physical Houston team constantly hacking him.
What he did: Cristian tried to impact the match by pushing central and switching sides to find the ball, but ultimately didn’t get into great positions himself, robbing Seattle of a wide player. This muted his influence. In the 55th minute he took matters into his own hands, dribbling past FIVE defenders before finding Rusnák to his brother for one of the biggest chances of the evening. He released Jesús from deeper after some subs, showing a different look in the 85th minute that Seattle had been missing.
Doom take: Cristian has been arguably the most important player on the team this season, the engine of the Sounders who connects everyone from back to front and can find the unlocking forward play Seattle needs. So we played him out on the wing, where he had zero shots, zero key passes, and fewer than half the touches of Jonathan Bell.
Cope take: Even battered and bruised from being hacked (fouled about 10 times, four of which were called), Cristian still found a few big moments to impact the match.
Forward
Jesús Ferreira – 6 | Community – 4.9
Jesús started at forward, but played more of a false nine. His movement and positioning showed improvement which meant he stretched the field more than previously. This was tireless work that added verticality, but unfortunately teammates didn’t find him, and he didn’t get to spots where they were looking. This match was much like the ones that Jordan Morris has when Seattle struggles. Ferreira had 37 touches, two key passes, and a lot of nosing around looking for chances but not finding them.
What he did: Jesús made a lot of great runs that weren’t seen, movements that opened things for teammates, or he got into good spots but didn’t find the ball. He also struggled the few times he did get on the ball, especially once in the box when he stole the ball on the six but didn’t try to shoot, instead laying it off for teammates. Some of this unselfishness was apparent, as Jesús constantly made supporting runs but didn’t get much help (and almost zero service) from wide areas. When he dropped into space to try to find the ball in the box, he was greeted by Albert Rusnák, already there. He often ended up drifting far post to be forgotten.
Doom take: Jesús needs connectivity and creativity from direct players around him, which is why he can find KKR for a goal or connect with Alex beautifully in extra time to almost win the game. Seattle doesn’t have the horses or the tactics to facilitate that kind of play.
Cope take: All the little things Ferreira does will add up, just as they did for Morris and others before him. Ferreira just played his first full 90, and had a number of big moments; that should increase as others start to understand his strengths and limitations.
Substitutes
Georgi Minoungou – 5 | Community – 5.7 (on 60’ for Leyva)
Georgi came in for Danny, which was a little surprising when Seattle needed offense and Levya was one of the few players who seemed capable of creating chances. Georgi helped fill this void, tilting the field towards the right as the Sounders cleared out to let him work. He put his only shot on target, but struggled to connect with teammates.
What he did: Minoungou did a good job of making things happen and bringing a kind of offensive chaos that Seattle needed. A nice 82nd minute shot rebounded to Rothrock but was gifted to ECS. Georgi also forced two yellow cards by skinning players and being fouled, even though he struggled to connect passes (0/2 crossing; a dismal 40 percent passing). That end product continues to elude him, and Seattle needed better from the bench.
Doom take: Stepovers are fun, but if they are followed by a pass to the defense, or if the entire offense stops to watch one guy dance around before passing it to the subs warming up, they aren’t that useful.
Cope take: Georgi finally got the Sounders into the deep corner, creating new angles and showing the elite creativity that was missing from the field prior to his arrival. When, not if, he dials it in, he’ll be a potent force demanding multiple defenders and forcing action.
Danny Musovski – 5 | Community – 4.9 (on 76’ for JP)
Danny arrived in the 76th minute to get another attack-minded player on the field at the expense of João Paulo. In his 14 minutes plus stoppage time, Moose had only two touches. He missed his only pass but won a header.
What he did: Musovski got on the ball after a nifty Ferreira move in transition and was cut down in a nice position. The foul earned meant Seattle had a desirable set piece at the top of the box, but alas, it was wasted.
Doom take: Your backup striker option played for 15+ minutes and had the same number of shots as your starting striker. And they both had the same number of shots that I did.
Cope take: Musovski was brought in to create chances, and he did that via the foul and a few strong runs. Seattle needs to look for his aerial threat.
Subs 3,4,5 – (on Never, for No One)
Doom take: With games every week, everyone should be able to go 90, and the staff doesn’t have as much faith in the bench as we thought.
Cope take: The field guys were creating chances, and to be honest, the only semi-attacking sub left was a backup right back signed two weeks ago. Let’s not get too worried about subs.
Referee
Allen Chapman – 5 | Community – 4.7
Chapman had a solid refereeing outing if your last name wasn’t Roldan. He allowed fouls galore to happen in the first half, before predictably cracking down and handing out four yellow cards (all for Houston) within ten minutes in the middle of the second half.
What he did: Called 32 fouls, 20 of which penalized the away team who were on their heels and quite physical. Eventually he gave out four yellows, and wasn’t asked to do a lot of VAR adjacent calls as neither team put up much offense.
Doom take: Chapman clearly got the memo that fouls don’t exist against Cristian Roldan, who was creamed twice in the first six minutes without so much as a whistle. He took a pounding, and yet by the time the ref opened up his notebook it was too late, as Houston pummeled Seattle without a card until the 69th minute.
Cope take: An MLS ref let stuff go in the first half, tightened up appropriately in the second, and didn’t screw anyone with random calls. So what if they don’t call obstruction, no one does! And he correctly told the goalie to stop time wasting. In the 38th minute.
Houston Dynamo MOTM
You hate to see him in another team’s kit, but you love to see him. Nico Lodeiro will forever be our opposing MOTM, as long as he’s in the league. He didn’t provide a ton to write home about in this one, but we won’t hold it against him: A successful take-on, one shot-creating action, and an attempt at an overhead kick that would have brought the house down.
Upcoming: Three away games against Western Conference opponents, starting with San Jose this weekend.
