Nos Audietis

The general consensus seems to be that the Eastern Conference is far better than the West this year. While that may true in terms of depth, the reality is that the top four or five teams in the West can stand toe-to-toe with their Eastern counterparts.To help make that case, we brought back Backheeled.com’s Joe Lowery, who also shares some of his early end-of-season award picks.You can support Joe’s work as well as ours by upgrading your membership to the Advocate level or above, which includes a complimentary subscription to Backheeled.Sponsor

The Seattle Sounders are just two points ahead of the Portland Timbers and haven’t beaten their biggest rivals at home in the regular season since 2017. Those are pretty good reasons to win. But Jeremiah and Niko argue that the reason this game is so important has less to do with statistics and more to do with vibes. The Sounders need this game just to get things moving in a positive direction again.Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.Sponsor

The Seattle Sounders did a lot of things right against the Vancouver Whitecaps. They also did some stuff wrong … and picked up a couple of injuries.With Aaron out of town, Tim Foss is filling in. He and Jeremiah discuss the latest Sounders disappointment and look ahead to the final three games of the season.Sponsor

With Obed Vargas out for at least the next two games while he’s at the U20 World Cup, the Seattle Sounders are looking for a replacement. The top candidate appears to be Snyder Brunell, who has played quite well since joining the first team this summer.Jeremiah and Niko discuss what Sounders fans can expect from the 18-year-old, weigh in on the other position battles and give an update on potential European interest in Vargas.Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.Sponsor

The Seattle Sounders have suffered their first two-game losing streak since the Club World Cup and haven’t won in three. That’s obviously bad news, but there’s plenty of reason to think this slump is temporary. The underlying numbers still like the Sounders and now they’ve got some home games.Sponsor

The Seattle Sounders appear to have a bit of a goalkeeper controversy. It’s not that Stefan Frei has played poorly as much as it is he’s failed to firmly take hold of the spot. Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer effectively confirmed the tenuous nature of the battle between Frei and backup Andrew Thomas on Friday.Jeremiah, Niko and Tim discuss that as well as the brewing position battle in the attack as Pedro de la Vega, Albert Rusnák and Jordan Morris all return to the fold.Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.Sponsor

The Seattle Sounders lost 3-1 to Inter Miami, a game they played on two days’ rest and required a cross-country road trip. The result was pretty predictable, if we’re being honest. But what Jeremiah and Aaron point out is the degree to which it’s a problem is mostly a result of dropping points on Saturday.That sets up a final five-game stretch in which the Sounders have virtually no margin for error if they want to secure home-field advantage through the first round of the playoffs.Sponsor

Cristian Roldan has been mostly an afterthought when it comes to the United States national team, even when he was one of the final players to make the 2022 World Cup roster. But after being a late addition to the most recent camp and helping the USA beat Japan 2-0, it looks like he might be solidifying his spot.Jeremiah and Charlie Boehm discuss Roldan’s place in the USMNT and more broadly what the situation looks like about 10 months from the 20w6 World Cup. They also discuss the Sounders’ position as they head into the final stretch of the 2025 regular season.Follow Charles Boehm on BlueSky and read him on MLSsoccer.com.Sponsor

Jeremiah and Niko recorded “What we learned this week” just a few minutes after the Leagues Cup Disciplinary Committee issued their suspensions to Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Tomas Aviles and Steven Lenhart. That’s a good start, but it’s not the end of the punishment as more will surely be coming.They also discuss the coaching masterclass that Brian Schmetzer put on during the entirety of Leagues Cup.Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.Sponsor

Jeremiah and Aaron are a little late to their August mailbag but they banged it out today. Before they get to the listener questions, though, they need to address Luis Suarez’s apology and Inter Miami’s empty statement. They weren’t impressed.In the mailbag, there’s lots of stuff about the impacts of the Leagues Cup and the future of the goalkeeping position.As a reminder, all these questions came from our private Discord, which is available to all subscribers at the Supporter ($75/year) level or above. If you’d like to upgrade your membership, you can do so here. If you’re already a Supporter or above and want to join the Discord, shoot us an email.Sponsor

From the buildup all the way to the celebrations, the Sounders did just about everything exactly right in the Leagues Cup final against Inter Miami. It went so well that Jeremiah was inspired to do a solo pod talking about it. Enjoy!Sponsor

Diego Valeri, as much as it pains us to say, is one of the greatest players in MLS history. Now, he's generally considered one of the most insightful commentators on MLS Season Pass. Not only has he called dozens of Inter Miami games over the years, but he also has experience playing in front of packed houses at Lumen Field.We figured there were few people better to share some insights into Sunday's Leagues Cup final than Valeri.Sponsor

Inter Miami may be led by Leo Messi and the “Barca Boys”, but given the level of competition the Sounders have faced this year there’s no reason they should be intimidated. The Sounders have been playing as well as anyone in North America over the past couple of months and will be at home.To discuss the game, Jeremiah and Niko are joined by Sounder at Heart’s Tim Foss for this week’s episode of What We Learned This Week.Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube. Follow Tim Foss on BlueSky.Sponsor

Of all the former assistant Sounders coaches, few have a place in fans’ hearts and minds as Gonzalo Pineda. After playing here for two years, Pineda joined the coaching staff in 2017 and was Brian Schmetzer’s top assistant until he was hired as Atlanta United’s head coach midway through 2021.Pineda’s teams were never quite as successful as they seemed like the “should” be but they always played expansive soccer and actually posted a positive xGD in all three of the seasons where he was mostly in charge.Niko and Jeremiah spent an hour talking with Gonzo about his philosophy, his thoughts on the Sounders and what he hopes to do next.Sponsor

Jeremiah and Aaron give their impressions of the summer transfer window, that recently closed with no moves being made. They’re definitely frustrated but also somewhat understanding of different aspects of the move. Believe or not, they attempt to have a nuanced conversation.Later in the show, Jeremiah talks to MLS Season Pass color commentator Maurice Edu to preview the Leagues Cup semifinal against the LA Galaxy.Sponsor

Friend of the pod Matt Doyle makes his triumphant return to discuss the recently closed transfer window, how it affects the Western Conference race and the Leagues Cup. Believe it or not, he doesn’t think the Sounders’ lack of activity hurts them too much.You can read Matt Doyle every week at MLSsoccer.com, watch his tactical videos on Bluesky and subscribe his new “Tactics Free Zone” newsletter.

Another summer transfer window has closed and for the fourth straight year, the Seattle Sounders failed to sign anyone from outside the organization. The Sounders are extreme outliers in MLS and it’s no wonder why many fans are getting frustrated.Jeremiah and Niko express their own frustrations and while they defend the relative competency of the front office, they also want to see some things change.Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.Sponsor 

The Seattle Sounders are two wins away from qualifying for Concacaf Champions Cup and three wins away from winning their ninth trophy of the MLS era. Unsurprisingly, MLS Season Pass’ Brian Dunseth sees this as a huge opportunity.Dunseth also shares some of his thoughts on what went through his mind while calling Pedro de la Vega’s wonderstrike against Cruz Azul and what he thinks of the Sounders’ roster-building strategy.Sponsor

It was a busy week in terms of injury updates with possibly the most notable change being Stefan Frei getting back to the point where it looks like he'll be starting on Saturday. Jeremiah and Niko discuss that as well as explain what's going on with Ryan Kent, Albert Rusnák and João Paulo.Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.Sponsor

The Sounders are in the midst of a 10-game unbeaten streak that includes an eight-game run in which they’ve scored 26 goals. To say they are playing well doesn’t really do them justice. Jeremiah and Aaron discuss if this is the best the Sounders have ever been and have the receipts to make the case.They also take a look at the remaining schedule and try to assess how high they can reasonably finish in the Western Conference.Sponsor