Joseph Lowery
Where we left off last year
2024 season: 57 points, 4th in the Western Conference, 7th in MLS
Last year started slowly for Seattle with just one win in their first nine games, but the Sounders hit their stride during the second of the year and went on to make a deep postseason run.
Sound familiar? Yeah, well, it should. Outside of 2022, the Seattle Sounders have finished in the top four out West in every single season since they joined MLS in 2009. Along with LAFC, they are the model of consistent excellence in MLS.
Now, that’s not to say everything went perfectly for Seattle last year. Even setting their poor start aside, big-money Designated Player signing Pedro de la Vega struggled with injuries. When available, it rarely seemed like manager Brian Schmetzer had a great sense of where to use the $7.5 million man. While the defense was best-in-class, the attack struggled — a fact that came back to bite them in the Western Conference final against the LA Galaxy, where they generated just 0.4 xG, according to FBref.
It was a year without a trophy. They don’t love those in Seattle.
