Nos Audietis

So, uh, that happened. For the better part of 70 minutes, the Sounders basically controlled the match against the Portland Timbers and looked likely to end their three-game losing streak. But then Dairon Asprilla scored an admittedly impressive bicycle kick, revived the crowd and sent a bolt of energy into the Timbers. 20 minutes later, they were 4-1 winners.

It was the fourth straight time the Sounders had lost to the Timbers, the first time that’s ever happened in the rivalry’s history; the Timbers beat the Sounders by three goals for the second time in three meetings, a losing margin the Sounders have only suffered two other times since the start of 2019; they’ve now outscored the Sounders 11-2 in those four games; and the Sounders gave up more goals in that 20-minute span than they had in their previous 700 minutes this year. 

It was not surprising that Brian Schmetzer was about as mad as I’ve ever seen him in the postgame, saying he’s not even sure if the Sounders can consider this a rivalry anymore. 

We unpacked the collapse and how the Sounders move forward.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here. All background music used is royalty-free content licensed via pixabay.

Stumptown Footy is dead, long live Stumptown Footy. As you probably know by now, Vox decided to stop funding most of their MLS sites a couple months ago. Most of them are moving forward in new formats. Stumptown Footy is one such site.

We caught up with Sam Svilar to get the lowdown on their new life as a newsletter (currently parked at StumptownFooty.Substack.com until the URL license switches over) but more relevantly about the state of the Timbers. 

Things are not so good in the Rose City, where they come into this match riding a six-game winless run. It's not just the top line numbers that look bad, either. The Timbers' season high for xG is 1.1, a mark the Sounders have topped in 5 of 7 games

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here.

Get to know OL Reign assistant coach Scott Parkinson in our first "Coffee & Valkyries" of the 2023 season. Scott talks about how he met OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey, their first stint working together at Utah Royals, his time as head coach of Gotham FC, and reuniting with Harvey for 2023 and more.

This is the mailbag episode ahead of Week 7 of the MLS season. If you'd like to get your questions answered in future episodes, please shoot us an email at [email protected].

In this episode, we answer questions about who has been a bigger surprise so far in 2023, what do we do with so many hot players and so little starting spots, and we wax poetic about our next matchup against those dudes to our South.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here.

This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)

St. Louis City SC came at the kings and they missed - big time. The latest to game the throne were flying high coming into the matchup with the Rave Green sporting a 5-1 record, 1st place in the West and sitting above the Sounders. Seattle pulled STL back to earth behind Josh Atencio's first MLS goal (a golazo/a banger/a wonderstrike/rightfully Goal of the Week) and left the visitors wondering what happened after that 3-0 rinsing. Raul Ruidiaz came off the bench and quickly doubled the lead leaving Brian Schmetzer some more sleepless night ahead of the Portland matchup. At least Coach has some things that might help him combat that - the team is perfect at home still and they are back at the top of the West.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here.

This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)

St. Louis City surprised not only the pundits but even their own fans by starting the season 5-0-0, eclipsing the Seattle Sounders' record for best-ever start by an expansion team. Even after losing last week to Minnesota United, Saturday's match still offers plenty of intrigue.

To get a better sense of the team the Sounders will be facing, we reached out to Matt Baker of the podcast Flyover Footy. He gave some real insight into what makes City tick.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here.

This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)

This is the mailbag episode ahead of Week 7 of the MLS season. If you'd like to get your questions answered in future episodes, please shoot us an email at [email protected].

In this episode, we answer questions about the quality of the Sounders opposition, the Sounders' midfield, what we should expect lineup-wise, the concern over MLS Season Pass subscriber numbers and decide who's the biggest complainer among MLS head coaches.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here.

This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)

The Sounders won their second straight game, again going on the road to beat the LA Galaxy. Again it was Leo Chu and Jordan Morris providing the offense and staking them to a 2-0 lead. This time, however, the Sounders had to hold on for dear life in the second half, narrowly escaping with a 2-1 win.

Still, a win is a win, especially on the road and the Sounders will now be playing for first place this weekend when they host St. Louis City.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here.

This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)

We caught up with Ryan Rosenblatt, our resident LA Galaxy expert and the author of ESPN's MLS Power Rankings, to find out what's going on with the once-proud franchise. We discussed the supporter boycott, Chris Klein's rocky tenure and who the Galaxy expect to have back this week.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here.

This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)

We're trying out something new and making the question-and-answer segment its own episode. Let us know what you think.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

If you'd like to become a subscriber to our Substack, that can be found here.

This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)