WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Welcome back to What You Need To Know, a match preview for Austin FC fans to check in on their next opponent.

Austin FC Interim head coach Davy Arnaud & asisstant coaches Terry Boss, Beto Gonzalez, and Albert Ferrer. Photo courtesy of Dante Valencia (DYV Media)

OPPONENT: Seattle Sounders

KICKOFF time: 8:39 AM, US Central Time

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX

History vs. Austin FC:

Seattle are 4-4-2 (W-D-L) against Austin FC all-time and 3-1-1 at Q2 Stadium. Last season Austin FC won this fixture 2-1 thanks to a 90’+6 match winner from Myrto Uzuni.

Recent Matches:

Seattle were trounced 5-1 by the Portland Timbers last Thursday in their first game back from the World Cup break. They currently sit sixth in the Western Conference on 24 points in 14 matches.

Players to Watch:

Jesus Ferreira
The former FC Dallas player and (I think) the only player to ever taunt The South End, he is back in a Seattle uniform where they have moved him out of his customary striker spot. The Sounders have needed him to connect play and try to create for others more so than seek goal opportunities for himself, and he is currently second on their team in assists.

Paul Rothrock
Their starting left winger and current leading scorer is where a lot of the Seattle attack is focused. They try to get him in space and on the move to break down a defense. With Mikkel Desler out for this match, Austin will have to figure out ways to get more than just Jon Gallagher defending him. 

Nouhou
The Cameroonian fullback and Seattle’s captain has taken over team leadership, especially with their current injury list that includes oft-injured Pedro De La Vega and both Roldan brothers. He leads all Seattle field players in minutes played thanks partially to only one Yellow Card on the season (he had 5 last season and 10!! in 2024). 

Keys to the Match:

We’re back, back in a Q2 Groove
With the US, Canada, and Mexico hosting the World Cup, MLS took a couple of weeks off due to a myriad of reasons, and this 1) helps MLS teams plan for future seasons where these breaks will be normalized, and 2) came at a great time for Austin FC. 

To (unfortunately) remind everyone of the first half, Austin FC are 14th in the Western Conference and on a four-match winless streak (0-1-3) where they had a -9 Goal difference. Changes were made, most notably Nico Estévez was fired with Davy Arnaud named the interim for the remainder of the season until Jim Curtin takes over in 2027. Also out is Dani Pereira, the club’s first draft pick, in what is one of the highest GAM returns for any player in MLS history.

This team has struggled mightily, to say the least, and if ever a team needed six weeks to get healthy (Owen Wolff and Brandon Vazquez especially) and to regroup, it was this team. The question is whether Davy is able to get better results out of this roster and can get a team that played listlessly into a team that competes every match. Before the break, he stated that “I wish we could play tomorrow,” but in the recent open practice added that it was “a mistake” because this team needed a lot of work and needed a reset.

Point A to Point B
The departure of Dani Pereira to Montreal brings up a big question for Austin FC: How do they get the ball from the defense to attackers? The Austin FC central midfield now consists of:

Ilie Sanchez

Joseph Rosales

Owen Wolff

Nicolas Dubersarsky

Besard Sabovic

Ervin Torres

Jorge Alastuey (maybe?)

We’ve seen these players for at least half a season and in most cases more than that, and for a team that struggles to get the ball from back to front, what combination of the above are able to shield a leaky defensive backline and also get the ball forward into Austin’s attacking players?

The Heat is Here
Austin, Texas is in full summer mode:

This match was delayed an hour due to the heat on Wednesday, and while in the past World Cup every match had a Hydration Break, even in an AC-controlled dome stadium, this is the kind of heat a Hydration Break is meant for. How both teams adapt to the heat will matter a lot, even after the sun has gone down.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
Seattle Sounders: 2

WRITTEN BY: SCOTT SPECHT