Nos Audietis (Jeremiah Oshan)

The Seattle Sounders didn't exactly put their best foot forward in their U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 match against Louisville City, but they did advance. In the process, Andrew Thomas may have earned himself a permanent place in Sounders Open Cup lore with his shootout performance in which he saved three shots and then slammed home the game-winner himself.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

That was not what the Sounders needed or were really expecting was it? Coming off a disappointing loss to the Earthquakes, and needing a win badly, the Sounders played much better but still had to settle for a 1-1 tie with FC Dallas.

The Sounders have now not scored more than one goal or won consecutive games at home in about three months. This while playing good by almost all the underlying numbers. Still, the sounders head into the Leagues Cup break not in an entirely awful position, fourth in the West and only one point out of second. We put it all in perspective and assess the Sounders' chances in Leagues Cup.

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

It's been nearly three weeks since we last recorded a proper show — not counting last week's oral history of the Red Card Wedding — and a lot has happened. Most recently, we had three games in eight days that saw the Seattle Sounders extend their unbeaten streak to a franchise-record 11 games but only claimed five points in the process. Jeremiah and Aaron, though, find plenty of reason to be optimistic while singing the praises of new signing Victor Rodriguez.

This week's music: "Star Blazers Theme", Perry Como - "Seattle", Hounds of the Wild Hunt - "Ragged All Week", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him. Music used in the sponsor reads: LASERS - "Amsterdam"

The Club World Cup came at a particularly inopportune time for the Seattle Sounders. Despite being about midway through their preseason, however, the Sounders acquitted themselves well and actually looked like the better team for much of their loss to Al Ahly. We discussed this game, expressed some frustration with Brian Schmetzer's substitution patterns and looked ahead to the regular season while also taking a wide range of questions from listeners.

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) Sponsor read: James Woollard

There is nothing normal about this season, from the schedule to the congestion to ... the world. So, maybe in that very specific way the fact that the Seattle Sounders suddenly can’t beat the Portland Timbers at home makes ... sense? OK, that’s probably a stretch but neither Jeremiah nor Aaron seem too worried about a deflating loss, assuming it doesn’t snowball into a string of bad results.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Well, we made it. A regular-season like none before and hopefully one we’ll never repeat is in the books. All things considered, I think this has to be considered pretty successful. The Sounders finished with their best-ever goal-difference, their best points per game since 2014 and put three players on Best XI. They’ll go into the playoffs among the favorites to go to a fourth MLS Cup final in five years. Yet it’s also been a very strange year that hasn’t felt as fulfilling as all this would suggest for obvious reasons.

Jeremiah and Aaron discuss the season as a whole, look forward to the LAFC playoff match and try to figure out an appropriate new nickname for Lumen Field.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

We encountered several technical difficulties in attempting to get this week’s show into your earholes, but we like to think it was worth it. Richard Farley joined Jeremiah in the first segment and they basically broke down the Colorado Rapids series while looking head to the MLS Cup matchup with Toronto FC.

Both basically agreed that while TFC is scoring in bunches, their defense leaves plenty of room for question marks. Conversely, this is a Sounders defense that has allowed just three goals in five playoff games. The prospect of this being a bit of a shootout seem reasonably strong.

As usual, Jeremiah and Aaron close out the show with a question-and-answer segment. Enjoy.

A chat with OL Reign defender Sam Hiatt on the team's strong start, her growth as a player, and her representation as a Filipina-American athlete.

It’s been three weeks since we last record and, wow, has a lot happened. The Sounders have played four matches, going 1-0-3, made two huge signings and, most recently, suffered one particularly painful loss.

By now, you’ve surely heard that Chad Marshall has decided to retire, effective immediately. The decision, best we can tell, was a bit sudden, but also somewhat forced by the knowledge that there was some degredation going on in his surgically repaired knee. Marshall was one of just two players remaining from the Sounders 2014 double-winning squad, was still one of the best defenders in the league at the age of 34 and was genuinely considered one of the most popular player among teammates.

Luckily, it looks like the Sounders are in a good position to cover for his loss. Roman Torres has been playing well, going 90 minutes in all three games last week. The Sounders also have signed Marshall’s expected longterm replacement, Ecuador international Xavier Arreaga. Arreaga was one of two deadline day signings, with the other being Joevin Jones.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!

In this week's mailbag episode, Jeremiah and Aaron dig into the Cody Baker vs. Nouhou debate, try to assess the general mood around the team and give suggestions how to better close the gap with Liga MX.

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Full Pull Wines

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

Sure, the Sounders lost last week, but that was with a roster that was missing 13 players due to international call-up, injury or suspension. Both the left back and defensive midfield positions featured starters who had yet to start at those positions this year, Luis Silva was playing as a No. 10 for the first time since 2017 and the centerback duo had played together just once before. The resulting 2-0 loss was hard to watch, but also a rather pointless exercise in terms of trying to learn much from.

So, I think we’re probably going to focus more on the results of the two previous games: a 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers that came after I was derided for even believing the Sounders had a chance and a rather bizarre 4-3 win over the LA Galaxy in which the Sounders blew leads of 2-0 and 3-2 before grabbing the late winner.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

The Seattle Sounders aren't quite dead, yet, but they are very much on life support after dropping two points at home against FC Cincinnati. We discuss how big of a deal it is that this 13-year of playoff qualification might now end.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Time has lost all meaning so it’s perfectly understandable that you might have missed that this was supposed to be the week that the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers met for the first time this year. You may have even noticed that the two teams’ websites have been doing all sorts of content about it, including an oral history of their first-ever meeting of the all-MLS era.

We figured that was a reasonably good excuse to invite our good friend Richard Farley back onto the show. We talked about that game, what it meant for the rivalry and, oddly enough, a lot about the Michael Jordan documentary. It was fun.

Later in the show, Jeremiah and Aaron expressed some deep skepticism over the plan to bring all 26 teams to Orlando for some sort of tournament.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

At one point in this week’s show we were asked “what one word would you use to describe this season?” Our best answer: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

It has been a wild season, and it’s going to continue for at least one more game. The Seattle Sounders have gone to depths they’ve never before experienced and managed to come out of it in reasonably good shape as they’ll be hosting a Knockout Round game.

To help Jeremiah and Aaron make sense of this crazy season, we brought back Richard Farley onto the show. They talk about the Sounders’ chances at making it all the way to MLS Cup, what Brian Schmetzer still needs to do in order to get the fulltime gig and they answer your questions. Enjoy.

It is not hyperbole to observe that Wednesday's game is quite possibly the biggest in Sounders history. In order to mark the occasion, we're joined by longtime friend of the show Richard Farley.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Say what you will about the consistency the Seattle Sounders have shown over the past few months, but we can probably all agree that they’ve never been quite as entertaining as they were during the last week.

The Sounders registered their first seven-point week and did it in particularly interesting style, twice coming back from two goals down to earn points. The last of those was obviously the most exciting, with Jordan Morris bagging a 90+4’ winner on Saturday.

As if that wasn’t enough, though, the Sounders also have some drama to deal with after Raúl Ruidíaz and Nouhou both got themselves suspended.

Jeremiah and Aaron talk about it all.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

Jason Anderson, formerly of Black and Red United but current with Pro Soccer Wire, joined us to give us some insight into D.C. United, a team that appears to be a lot better than their record would indicate. Not only do they have one of the league's top scorers in Christian Benteke, but they also have the most active defense. Should be interesting!

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

Jeremiah is doing this week's mailbag episode solo. He talked a lot about the future of Nicolas Lodeiro and his assessment of Héber's performance.

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

Coming out of a week that was pretty darn depressing and only seem to get worse as it wore on, the Sounders put together a workmanlike win that should calm any lingering concerns that this season was poised to go off the rails.

A quick recap: First they lost 4-1 to the Timbers, collapsing in a way we’ve never really seen. Then on Wednesday, Raul Ruidiaz goes down with yet another hamstring injury, that night Jordan Morris plays 88 minutes for the USMNT in an ultimately meaningless friendly that ultimately kept him out of startering consideration and then on Saturday we find out that Nouhou was a last-minute scratch due to some migraines. Through about 75 minutes, the Loons made life pretty difficult, setting up shop in a midblock and refusing the Sounders any sort of transition opportunities. 

But rather than get over-anxious or settle for a tie, the Sounders found a bit of magic through Fredy Montero and a perfectly hit shot from Albert Rusnak to secure three points.

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 We're here to tell you that it's not only good, but right to be insufferable.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

In which Jeremiah plays out an analogy that compares the Timbers winning MLS Cup first driving a "For All Mankind"-esque space race for North American soccer dominance. Richard Farley joined us, too.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Sounders look dominant in their first-leg match against Liga MX's Club León.

Thanks to our sponsors Full Pull Wine and Watson's Counter!

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Just about the entire American soccer world is in town for MLS Cup and boy did we take advantage. Among the guests on our triple cast of the Will Bruin Podcast: Bear With Us, Nos Audietis and the Sounder at Heart podcasts were Brad Evans, Taylor Twellman, Jimmy Conrad, Bobby Warshaw, Mike Chabala and Erik Friberg.

We hung out at Hellbent Brewing, drank some beers, talked soccer, Impossible burgers, mattresses and Brian Schmetzer’s genius. Enjoy!

The days and weeks are running into one another, but that hasn’t stopped us from recording another one of our patented “podcasts.” It’s now been about six weeks since the Seattle Sounders last played a game, and amazingly we still have things to talk about.

Among the topics of discussion this week were a call from ECS not to play any games until it was safe enough for not only players, but also fans to be in attendance. We also discussed the Seattle Times’ story that looked back on the decision-making process that resulted in the Sounders playing their final game despite a looming pandemic.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

We're now five games into the 2017 season and the Seattle Sounders' offense still hasn't hit its stride. Sure, there was a three-goal outburst against the New York Red Bulls, but after a pair of ties in which the Sounders only scored one goal, it's fair to at least ask if there aren't more systematic problems.

With FourFourTwo's Richard Farley joining us, we decided that the struggles aren't anything worth losing sleep over quite yet. After solving all the Sounders' problems, we moved on to some more general soccer talk including the 2026 World Cup bid and various Champions League goings on.

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Should Albert Rusnak replace Nico Lodeiro? What about Cody Bake for Nouhou? How much off-season change should we expect?

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

Two weeks of YachtCon: Back to School is now officially in the books. To help us close things out, Sounders GM Garth Lagerwey hung out, shared some insight into his philosophy, teased the hiring of a new sporting director, drank a couple beers and ate a bunch of spicy hot wings. A good time was had by all.

Our interview with Seattle Sounders Brand Ambassador and Broadcast talent, Brad Evans. It's a rather long interview, the full version of which is only available to our Substrack subscribers. This is an edited version.

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

We've been pretty good about sticking to an every-other-week schedule. But after the Seattle Sounders dropped an ugly 4-1 decision to the Chicago Fire on Saturday, we felt it was better to do a quickie and get that out of our system.

There’s no sugarcoating the situation the Sounders find themselves in, 10 points in 10 games simply isn’t good enough. But upon rewatching, this game was more frustrating than deflating. There were so many big calls that could have change the game that went against the Sounders and some actual quality play from the boys in Rave Green up until the third Fire goal.

Still, the Sounders find themselves needing a result badly on Wednesday against Sporting KC. Maybe this will get them there.

This week's music: "Star Blazers Theme", Perry Como - "Seattle", Hounds of the Wild Hunt - “Ragged All Week”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Music used in the sponsor reads: LASERS - "Amsterdam"

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!

Jeremiah and Aaron field questions ranging from a potential change to two strikers, how the Sounders might use their U22 roster spots, what’s going on with Cody Baker, how well the Sounders managed their fixture congestion and what they think of rumored signing Ryan Kent.

***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

We usually meet with Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer a couple times a year. The last time we talked, the global coronavirus pandemic was just setting in. Now several months later there are still many questions around how this will all affect the Sounders. One effect we do know about is the decision to close the 300s to season-ticket holders. We talked about man of those things in this episode.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

All things considered, waiting eight years to win a championship doesn’t seem that bad. Rather, it was the uncertain nature of when it would actually happen that made it so tough.

Now that we have the mildly elusive Philip Anschutz Trophy in our possession, though, it sure is nice, right? There’s a mild debate raging outside of the Sounders-phere as to how deserving we are. Aaron and Jeremiah essentially dismiss the discussion out of hand, pointing out that how you win the cup is an academic argument and takes nothing away from simply having won.

They also spend a fair amount of time discussing the Victory March, which was just about perfect.

It's been far too long since the Seattle Sounders last won a match and the fanbase is growing a bit restless. But that's not the only reason. There have been growing reports of stadium staff possibly overstepping some of their directives, further enflaming passions. Of course, referee Drew Fischer didn't exactly help the situation either, handing out a highly questionable red card toward the end of Sunday's match.

Jeremiah and Aaron go on a couple rants about these things but do find time to talk about the actual game as well as answer many of your questions.

This week's music: "Star Blazers Theme", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him. Music used in the sponsor reads: LASERS - "Amsterdam"

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

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It's our weekly mailbag episode. We try to figure out if the Sounders have completely lost any edge in the rivalry, try to determine which players were most missed, explain what's going on with Xavier Arreaga, and try to help a St. Louis City fan figure out how to avoid becoming an asshole.

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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.

We’re trying something a bit different today. Fresh off the news that ETR has been put on some sort of potentially permanent hiatus, Armchair Analyst Matt Doyle joins the show to go through the entire Western Conference’s offseason so far. Spoiler alert: He really likes what the Sounders have done but isn’t quite as down at the LA Galaxy as we’d like him to be.

***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

Much to our chagrin, the Seattle Sounders will be playing a Game 3 of their best-of-3 series after falling to FC Dallas 3-1 on Saturday. The match started off pretty much disastrously, with Dallas getting two goals inside 20 minutes.

To their credit the Sounders played much better over the next 70ish minutes until a Jackson Ragen giveaway allowed Dallas to score an ultimately meaningless insurance goal. During those 70 minutes, though, Jordan Morris looked about as good as he’s ever looked, scoring one goal, having another waved off for a questionable offside and just giving the Dallas defense all sorts of fits.

There was also a penalty not given despite VAR’s recommendation and a few other good chances for the Sounders to equalize. All in all, a disappointing but hardly disastrous result. We discuss.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Watson's Counter

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

We wanted a test and we got one. Unfortunately, it’s hard to escape the reality that hte Sounders failed it pretty badly, falling 3-0 to LAFC on Saturday.

I think the scoreline was probably a little unfair as the Sounders generated several good scoring chances, had a legit penalty shout waved off and gave up two goals they shouldn’t have, but they were very obviously second best either way.

The Sounders are now 0-5-5 against the six teams ahead of them in the West, which certainly suggests they have a ways to go before they measure up to those teams.

Mark Kastner joins Jeremiah to discuss how the Sounders move on from the loss and head into Leagues Cup.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions", "Observed without knowing" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

The Sounders are back in the Western Conference finals. It’s the fourth time in five years and the fifth time in seven years that they’ve been here. That’s something that hasn’t been accomplished since the halcyon days of D.C. United going to each of the first four MLS Cup finals. The Sounders will now host Minnesota United on Monday with a chance to go to their fourth MLS Cup final in five years for a chance to win their third MLS Cup.

Jeremiah and Aaron discuss the 1-0 win over FC Dallas while also looking ahead to Minnesota United.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Sure, it was only a half of inspired soccer AND it didn't even get us a win, but it was enough for Aaron and Jeremiah to be bullish on the rest of the regular season.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Because Jeremiah and Aaron are apparently committed to never recording together again, this week it was Aaron’s turn to run the show. He and Likkit discuss an actual, honest-to-goodness victory as the rumored addition of Raul Ruidiaz.

But don’t worry, Jeremiah made an appearance in the middle segment. He sat down with Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer to discuss the state of the team, its struggles and where he hopes they are going.

This week's music: RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!

The last time the Sounders visited the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park -- almost exactly one year ago -- there was a fullblown fan protest over the team's refusal to fire president Chris Klein. The stands weren't quite empty, but they were eerily quiet.

The scene the Sounders should expect on Saturday should be entirely different. Ryan Rosenblatt -- our resident Galaxy expert -- says that since Klein's firing that fans feel like they can enjoy themselves again. It probably helps that the Galaxy are a lot of fun to watch as well.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

It's a podcast miracle! Our tech provider was able to recover the lost QA audio! Here it is just in time for Saturday's game.

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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)

Jeremiah is once again joined by Niko Moreno as the Sounders get ready to face Real Salt Lake in their second league match of the season. Niko provides some analysis of Real Salt Lake’s early-season struggles and thinks this is a good opportunity for the Sounders to finally break their winless streak in Utah.

Perhaps more interestingly, Jeremiah and Niko discuss Pedro de la Vega’s performance against Antigua and specifically some of Brian Schmetzer’s comments after the game. Although he walked it back a bit on Friday, Schmetzer somewhat called our de la Vega for some possibly unnecessary flair that may have contributed to Antigua’s goal. 

Niko also let us know about some drama surrounding Cruz Azul as the Sounders prepare for their next Concacaf Champions Cup opponent.

***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

The Sounders’ scoring woes extended into another game, as they settled for yet another scoreless draw, this time at home to Orlando City. The Sounders have now gone scoreless in three straight home game and have been shut out in 4 of 5 overall. 

The Sounders are still somehow in third place and only three points out of first, but this is becoming increasingly brutal to watch.

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

Somewhat remarkably, the Sounders still find themselves coming out of the Gold Cup break undefeated through 13 games. They’re sitting atop the Supporters’ Shield standings with 29 points and have easily the best goal-difference at +15. More remarkable than all of that is they’ve managed this while missing as many as six potential starters for solid chunks of the season.

Their latest win over the Houston Dynamo came without Nicolas Lodeiro, Stefan Frei, Nouhou, Shane O’Neill, Cristian Roldan and Will Bruin, which isn’t even a complete list. 

We talk a ton about that but also get into things like Leagues Cup and whether or not we should care.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Jamon Moore of Quakes Epicenter joined us to preview Wednesday's match against the San Jose Earthquakes and explain how Luchi Gonzalez has managed to improve the woebegone franchise.

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It has been about 15 months since we last recorded an episode of Bear With Us. Don't worry, we're now all fully vaccinated and feeling good.

Will catches us up on what he's been up to all this time, what he thinks of the Sounders' new formation and how he feels his teammates have come together during this trying time.

Of course, we also found some time to offer some advice.

Musics: "Bumped into Bigfoot" - Bedford; "Cutthroat" - prod. by Syndrome

Mark it seven. This was quite possibly their ugliest result of the seven-game win streak, but either way it counts as three points. More than that, it moved the Sounders into fifth place in the West, knocked the Timbers out of playoff position, ended a four-year winless run in Portland and was also the most significant test the Sounders have faced as of late.

There’s obviously still plenty left to go, but it’s certainly worth asking if the Sounders should now be considered an elite team and a serious cup contender?

This week's music: Sesame Street - "National Association of W Lovers", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!

For the fifth time, we've hosted something we lovingly dubbed YachtCon. Frankly, this one is going to be tough to top (which won't stop us from trying).

Not only did we have an absolutely stellar panel of guests -- Brian Schmetzer, Jess Fishlock, Bethany Balcer, Bill Predmore, Brad Evans, Will Bruin and Garth Lagerwey -- but we finally had a venue that was all ours. Hale's Palladium felt just about perfect and we have some amazing ideas that we think at least have the potential to smooth out any rough edges.

Among the highlights were Schmetzer talking about the "hazy" days of the CISL's Seattle SeaDogs, the players all facing off in an epic game of "Line 'em Up" and Lagerwey explaining some of the intricacies of the new CBA. 

In addition to having wonderful guests, we also raised a significant amount of money. We're still going through the full accounting of everything, but it's looking very likely that when it's all said and done that we'll exceed our $10,000 fundraising goal. All of that money will go to the Seattle Children's Autism Center, which they use on buying Big Red Safety Boxes for their families. If you'd like to contribute more to the cause, you can give a tax-deductible donation here. If you act quickly, you can still contribute by placing an order for one of our jerseys by filling out this order form: men's, women's.

On a more personal note, it should be said that for all the talk of MLS's potential growth, events like this should be treasured. There might not be any teams in the world of the quality of the Seattle Sounders and Reign FC who are participating in a grassroots, fan-centric event like this. We also owe a big thank you to SB Nation, who agreed to cover most of our expenses this year and played a huge role in helping us reach our fundraising goal.

But enough talk, If you weren't able to attend and would prefer to watch the highlights, check out our YouTube page. Otherwise, you can listen to the podcast version of the show 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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Jeremiah is joined by Ari Liljenwall and Niko Moreno to reflect on Nico Lodeiro's illustrious Sounders career.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

The Sounders just finished playing seven games in 21 days, but did not escape remotely unscathed. In addition to losing Paul Arriola to an ACL tear, Pedro de la Vega and Jordan Morris also went out with muscle injuries. 

In “What we learned this week w/Niko” Jeremiah and Niko Moreno discuss how the Sounders managed all those matches and how well positioned they are to overcome them.

They also think now is the time for the Sounders to use some of their flexibility to bolster the roster.

***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

YachtCon ended up being nearly three hours, so we broke it up into three episodes. This is the first of those episodes and it runs through the Seattle Reign panel.

The Seattle Sounders are stuck in a bit of a rut right now, not necessarily playing badly but definitely not playing well. They're losing a lot of one-goal games these days and that's making it a little harder to have a strong opinion. We talked it through.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Jimmy Mack of KC Soccer Journal and No Other Pod joins us to provide some insight into Saturday's opponent, Sporting KC. Just like the last time these two teams faced, Sporting KC comes in on a 10-game winless run. Unlike last time, the underlying numbers suggest Sporting is just as bad as their record suggests.

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Full Pull Wines

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

It’s hard to accurately describe just how frustrating Saturday’s result was, but I’ll try. Facing a team that was pretty awful by both the eye and analytics test, that hadn’t won in like three months, the Sounders managed to find a way to lose despite scoring first.

There were all sorts of problems in this game from subbing patterns, to a lack of discipline to a passive defense and a punchless offense. Jeremiah and Aaron do their best to look for ways forward, but are mostly frustrated with the state of things.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

The Houston Dynamo have been one of the surprising teams this season, sitting fourth in the Western Conference after a horrible 2022. But they've only claimed five points on the road. We talked to Victor Araiza of The Striker to get his sense of the situation.

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

Ryan Rosenblatt joins Jeremiah and Richard to discuss the World Cup draw and to share some of his experiences while following the USMNT around Concacaf.

Since last we met -- all of two weeks ago -- the Sounders' season has taken a rather frustrating turn. They are now winless and scoreless in three straight and suddenly the playoffs don't seem quite as assured as they once were. We're pretty sure the difference mostly comes down to health but that is not itself a complete answer. We give our thoughts.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Following his end-of-season press conference, Jeremiah sat down with Sounders GM Craig Waibel to go a bit more in depth. Waibel shared his thoughts on the Sounders’ season, some of the plans for the offseason and his excitement about an international-heavy 2025.

***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

One of the breakout stars of MLS Season Pass is former MLS star Sacha Kljestan. As one of the lead studio analysts, he’s proven himself to be clever, entertaining and well researched. We are thrilled to have him join the podcast and help us preview the Western Conference final. Kljestan knows the Galaxy particularly well, both having played there and having a brother who still works in their front office. 

***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

Every time we record, it seems like there's more good news. We could definitely get used to this. The latest bit is a string of positive results that has seen the Seattle Sounders win three times in nine days, part of a four-game winning streak and a run of seven wins in 10 matches.

Crazy as it seems, we're talking about a team that's currently one win away from clinching a playoff spot. The Sounders, once hamstrung whenever they were missing a key piece, managed to beat the Vancouver Whitecaps on the road despite effectively playing without four of their top offensive threats. Yep, we're starting to believe this team is shaping as something special.

We also talked to Sean Okoli, who you may remember as a Sounders Academy product, former Sounders player, but more relevantly the recently crowned USL Golden Boot winner. He also happened to play for FC Cincinnati, one of the more interesting stories in US Soccer this year after they broke all sorts of attendance records.

Of course, we also find time to answer your questions.

Finally, the Sounders turned in a performance we can find reasonably encouraging. No, the result wasn’t quite what we would have wanted, but the 2-2 tie at Sporting KC was a good result no matter the circumstances. It was an especially good result when you consider KC came into the game leading the Western Conference, while the Sounders were the only team without a point or a goal and were missing several starters.

This week's music: RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!

I’ll be totally honest, as of a few days ago we didn’t think we were going to try to squeeze in another episode before YachtCon Prime (by the way, it’s on Saturday and tickets are still available).

But it somehow just didn’t feel right to not record an episode before the start of the season, which … wow, it’s Thursday. That’s crazy.

So that’s what we did. I won’t sit here and try to act like I know anything about the opponent. What I can tell you about Santa Tecla is that they got here by winning back to back Salvadoran league titles. They’re currently in second, coming off a game on Sunday and will have to play another game on Friday. I have no idea how they’ll prioritize this game, but then we don’t really know who the Sounders are flying to El Salvador either.

This week's music: "Legend Has It" - L'Orchestra Cinematique, Perry Como - "Seattle", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

We won MLS Cup. Again. This time at home. It was an almost magical experience, all the way from the pregame scene at Occidental Square to the mood inside the stadium to the play on the field.

Don’t listen to what anyone else says, the Sounders absolutely deserved this. They’ve been the best team in the postseason and showed it again against Toronto FC.

Jeremiah and Aaron get into that as well as looking ahead to what this offseason might have in store.

(audio file replaced 11-14-19)

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

With a pretty big lull in the schedule, Jeremiah and Aaron are doing their monthly mailbag. Among the questions they tackle: Who should have played more? Who should the Sounders move on from? What positions should Sounders prioritize for upgrade? How will the Sounders finally beat LAFC?

With Matt Doyle on vacation, Backheeled’s Joe Lowery joins Jeremiah on the latest episode of “How the West will be Won.” Joe has been particularly impressed by San Diego FC and is still quite down on Austin FC. But more than anything, he thinks the West is about as wide open as it’s ever been.

***

If you like what Joe has to say, consider becoming a Backheeled.com subscriber. You can also support Backheeled by becoming a Sounder at Heart Advocate, which comes with a complimentary subscription to Backheeled.

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

Jeremiah and Aaron treat February’s mailbag episode a bit like a preview of the season. With that in mind, they pick about a dozen items to give their over/under prediction on. They, of course, answer a bunch of questions on subjects like our breakout candidates, the next candidate for sale and which position they might target for a U22 signing.

All questions for this episode were submitted through Discord. Subscribers on the “Supporter” tier or above are entitled to join. Please email us for an invite.

***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

Are the Sounders making us fall in love with Leagues Cup? No, not quite, but they have at least made us emotionally invested in this run they're on. The win over Pumas was a ton of fun and that comes on the heels of a solid performance against the Galaxy. Jeremiah and Aaron discuss the match while also expressing their frustration with the summer transfer window and the season-ticket fiasco.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions", "Observed without knowing" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

Yep, we're kinda in the dumps just like you. Jeremiah and Aaron went light on recap and focused more on some of the bigger-picture frustrations that are making the Sounders so little fun to watch. Consider this a venting session.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

We’ve only played on league game and this season already seems to be taking us on a roller-coaster. The Seattle Sounders were in prime position to come home with a lead in the Concacaf Champions League series with Olimpia, only to be forced to settle for a 2-2 tie. They then fell behind in their home leg, only to find themselves seemingly cruising to advancement only to fall in penalties.

The MLS home opener saw them fall behind the Chicago Fire, then storm back to win 2-1 on a 93rd minute goal.

In between all that, we hosted an exceptionally successful YachtCon that raised more than $10,000 for Seattle Children’s Hospital Autism Center.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

After a few weeks of disappointing results but some play that was at least decent at times, the bottom kinda fell out in Vancouver. The Sounders started slow and never really got on track in losing to the Whitecaps 2-0, their fourth straight loss against Cascadia Cup opponents.

This one was among the most depressing, not necessarily because of the scoreline but because of how bad the Sounders looked throughout. The fight that has at least always been there was nowhere to be found, there were sloppy passes throughout, a lack of creativity on offense and just some generally uninspiring play.

The guys try to diagnose the problem and see if they can't figure out a way this gets better.

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

The Sounders finally scored a goal at home. It only took 405 minutes, but they did and it was enough to snap a five-game winless run. As luck would have it, they also moved up to second in the Western Conference table thanks to LAFC losing to the LA Galaxy, allowing the Sounders to inch ahead on goal-difference.

The goal, it should be said, was very well-taken. It started with Obed Vargas driving forward to find Nicolas Lodeiro, who worked a 1-2 with Léo Chu, who then found Albert Rusnak for a left-footed finish from about six yards out.

Sure, it came after the Houston Dynamo were reduced to 10 men but we are in no position to be questioning goals at this point.

Is everything fixed? Of course not. But it sure is a lot more fun to talk about wins than a scoring drought.

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

It wasn't necessarily intended as a Martin Luther King Day episode, but the time of Jeremiah's conversation with Sounders Academy goalkeepers coach Joshua Ford and Head Strength and conditioning coach Sean Muldoon worked out pretty perfectly. Ford and Muldoon have been two of the bigger behind-the-scenes forces in terms of helping raise awareness of various social justice causes among the Sounders. Perhaps most notably is their efforts to bring attention to Manny Ellis' murder, a case that has highlight all sorts of concerning law-enforcement behavior.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

 This is the first of at least three YachtCon 22.5 segments. We'll also be sharing interviews with Garth Lagerwey and Adrian Hanauer before hopefully getting together for an IRL even this summer. enjoy.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

With preseason set to begin next week, now seemed like a good time to get some our very full mailbag out of the way. Joining Jeremiah on the show is Tim Foss. They discuss what Raúl Ruidíaz needs to do in order to stick around; share when they think Longacres will be open to the public; explain when it's time to panic about the Pedro de la Vega transfer and so much else.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

To help pick up the pieces from the Sounders’ 3-0 loss to San Diego FC, Mark Kastner joins the show with Jeremiah. They point out that San Diego’s press wasn’t nearly as effective as the pundits seemed to think, but also acknowledge that the Sounders aren’t doing nearly enough to create scoring chances. 

In this week’s power rankings, they assess blame for the slow start.

Unlock Your Health Insights with BodySpec! Get your full-body scan for just $50 with promo code SOUNDER. Discover detailed data about your body composition. Don’t miss this exclusive offer.

***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

We're back with our good friend Will Bruin, who we found out is busy updating his resume. We also found out that he was recruited to play on Sacha Kljestan's Des Moines Menace, although he's not quite ready to lace up the boots again. We're going to try to make this a monthly feature for as long as Will is otherwise unoccupied. 

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

The Sounders seem to have a really annoying knack for losing to teams in really bad form. They actually played reasonably well in this one and created a ton of chances, but is there reason to be worried?

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Watson's Counter

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

When last we talked, the Sounders had just lost to Sporting KC and we were openly wondering if it was time to admit that they might just be a bad team.

You’ll have to pardon the whiplash, but two games later we think that was probably an unfair conclusion and are now wondering the opposite. 

No, a 2-0 win over Minnesota United and a 2-2 draw with the Houston Dynamo doesn’t suddenly make us think the Sounders are MLS Cup contenders, but it is some evidence that this team might be a bit better than they had been looking.

The draw with the Dynamo was weirdly even more encouraging, not because the Sounders played better but because they looked so awful in the first half and still managed to come back. That’s what good teams do!

It's probably too early to say the Sounders are a contender, but they sure do look a lot better than they did two weeks ago and we're OK calling that progress.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

Just a few weeks after announcing his retirement as a player, Will Bruin is ready to start dabbling in pundritry. We were thrilled to bring him back for what may be the first of a revived series (that's still very TBD). In the meantime, we talked about how his post-playing career looks and he gave us some insight and impressions of Saturday's opponent Austin FC.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

Although they don’t exactly ignore Saturday’s 1-1 tie with the San Jose Earthquakes, Jeremiah and Aaron spend most of the show discussing the impact of Ryan Kent’s addition and how that could ultimately impact the way the Sounders play. 

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

If the 5-0 win over CF Montreal felt like the breaking of the dam, the 0-0 tie at FC Dallas suggests there wasn't all that much water stored in the first place. Jeremiah and Aaron try to make sense of what we can make of the Sounders.

Sponsors

Full Pull Wines

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

"Diversions" audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

In so many ways, 2016 has been the worst season in Seattle Sounders history. It started with one of the most tumultuous offseasons in their brief history as they lost several fan favorites, including Obafemi Martins. It continued with frustrating loss to Club America in CONCACAF Champions League and into the regular season with three straight losses, a 6-12-2 start and a week spent in last place. Even one of the biggest highlights — signing Nicolas Lodeiro — was preceded by nasty negotiations with Boca Juniors and followed by Clint Dempsey’s heart issues.

There were off-field issues as well, starting with the whole mobile-ticketing fiasco and several public disagreements between the front office and supporters groups.

Given all that, it’s not shocking that Adrian Hanauer still has mixed emotions heading into Saturday’s MLS Cup, as he admits that he takes each failure personally.

We talked to Hanauer in his Pioneer Square office above The Ninety on Thursday for what we feel is some interesting insight into a season that may well end on the highest high in Seattle soccer history.

As it turned out, Jeremiah had a chance to interview Garth Lagerwey the same day our normal show was released. We are planning to release that full interview next week. But as the interview was wrapping up, we got word that Roman Torres' red card had been rescinded.

Being that we already had Lagerwey on the record, it seemed like a good chance to get his thoughts on not only the successful appeal, but his thoughts on how VAR is currently being used. 

With the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers set to meet in the U.S. Open Cup for the first time since the game we've dubbed "The Red Card Wedding," now seems as good a time as any to share a project we've been working on in conjunction with Soccer Made In Portland. 

This is only a teaser trailer, but it we're hoping to release the full thing within the next couple weeks. For now, though, we've got interviews with Ross Fletcher, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle, Andy Rose, Nat Borchers and Jack Jewsbury in the can. They had some wonderful perspectives on the proceedings of that fateful night.

For now, here's a taste of what's to come.

Music credit: The Rains of Castamere

Yes, Jeremiah and Aaron discuss the most recent Sounders’ loss, but they also unveiled a new feature they’re tentatively calling ‘power rankings’ in which they choose a topic surrounding the Sounders and … rank them. 

In their first power ranking, the look at potential sites for a new Sounders stadium. Spoiler alert: they are not really loving the idea of moving from downtown Seattle to Longacres.

They also talk to Kelyn Rowe about playing for Ballard FC in tonight’s U.S. Open Cup match against Spokane Velocity.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

It wasn’t always pretty and it wasn’t always good, but the Sounders secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. The Sounders actually managed to make the most out of their stretch run, winning 3 of 4, including their final two by a combined score of 7-0. The only problem is that they lost Clint Dempsey to a red card, which comes on the heels of losing Gustav Svensson in the penultimate game and Osvaldo Alonso the game before that. They also played the final game without Victor Rodriguez, although it sounds as if he’ll be ready for the playoffs.

Despite all this, the Sounders actually seem pretty well positioned to make another run. Jeremiah and Aaron discuss that possibility before interviewing Gonzalo Pineda and answering some questions.

This week's music: "Star Blazers Theme", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!

It’s the dog days of summer so you know what that means, the Sounders are on another patented late-season run. Their 3-1 win over New York City FC closed out a nine-point week and they are now riding a six-game unbeaten streak that has seen them pull within five points of the final playoff spot. A week ago, they were 11 points behind the pace. Just to make things a bit more interesting, the rumors of Paolo Hurtado potentially joining the squad are as strong as ever, meaning they could be added another DP-level talent just in time for the stretch run.

Oh, and season ticket renewals just came out with small increases or in some cases, some decreases along with the announcement of all sorts of perks.

This week's music: RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!

No matter what happens from here on out, this has been one of the most enjoyable seasons in Sounders history.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Remember all those good vibes from a couple of days ago? Those seem to be pretty much gone after the Sounders looked very flat in a 2-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes. Going with a very lightly rotated lineup, the Sounders looked like a team that was not at anywhere close to its best. Mark Kastner joins Jeremiah for this quick pod.

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

The Seattle Sounders haven’t played a match since March 7 and we have absolutely no idea when they might start playing again. Thus is the new world we’re living in.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you don’t have lots of questions. Jeremiah and Aaron do their best to answer them and hopefully provide you with a bit of a distraction.

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)

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Jeremiah and Aaron take a bunch of questions from listeners that inquire about Brian Schmetzer's contract situation, whether advancing in the Leagues Cup is actually desirable and what we want the starting lineup to look like going forward.

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Watson's Counter

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

Ok, now we are cooking. Since last we met, the Sounders have added six more points and are now riding a franchise-record tying five-game winning streak and are now unbeaten in eight, a span of games in which they’ve collected 20 of 26 points. As we record this, they are three points out of the sixth playoff spot with a game in hand on RSL and just four points shy of fourth-place LA Galaxy.

They got here courtesy of a rather amazing 2-1 win over Minnesota United in which they scored twice in stoppage time and then followed that up with a professional 2-1 win over Western Conference-leading FC Dallas. That last win is particularly notable because it’s the first win of this streak that doesn’t really need any qualifiers.

This week's music: RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!

That was not much fun. While the Sounders managed to stop their losing streak against the Timbers and picked up their ninth shutout of the season, the match itself was a pretty massive letdown. Not only did it end in this rivalries first scorless tie of the MLS era, but there simply wasn’t much action. The Sounders only took five shots and the two teams combined for just .6 expected goals. It was ugly.

As someone who has suggested the Sounders’ performances have mostly been better than the scoreline suggests, I have no such defense in this one.

We discussed all that while making some time to talk about the ramifications for Messi coming to MLS.

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Watson's Counter

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

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

For the third class of YachtCon, we welcomed Cocktail MD was joined by Will Bruin to learn the history and origin of punch, found out that beer cocktails are a thing and crafted a classic Old Fashioned, with a bit of a twist.

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That was not exactly the performance we were hoping to get from the Sounders, but to act as though winning the game is anything short of a positive is rather silly. Jeremiah and Aaron break it all down and look ahead to what Game 2 might look like.

It’s been a few weeks since we last recorded, and as they are wont to do as of late, the Sounders won all three of the games since then. One was the home game against the Houston Dynamo, and they followed that up with back-to-back wins on the road just four days apart in Orlando and Houston. They’ve scored nine goals in those three games, never trailed and generally look like a team ready to make a deep run in the playoffs.

They head into Sunday’s regular-season finale with the Earthquakes having won 13 of 15 games and are now in position to do no worse than fourth as long as they can get a single point at home against the league’s worst team and can still do as well as second.

We mostly got sidetracked and talked about the Sounders’ 10-year run of playoff qualification and got a bit ahead of ourselves talking about the postseason. But we also brought on href="https://twitter.com/MattDoyle76" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Doyle, aka MLS Analyst, to talk about the Sounders and give him a chance to admit how wrong he was about Brian Schmetzer.

This week's music: "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!

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.

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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)

Lo’ and behold the Sounders are heading into another busy week riding a four-match unbeaten run. Yes, that’s a season best and they are actually looking reasonably good doing it.

The latest result was easily their most convincing, as they scored their first shutout win of the season by beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0. Neither of the goals were particularly well constructed -- Nico Lodeiro scored a penalty and then got a brace off a whipped-in ball that badly fooled the Whitecaps goalkeeper -- but the Whitecaps never really threatened.

Jeremiah and Aaron discuss the win, as well as Raul Ruidiaz’s debut, Magnus Wolff Eikrem’s release and the rumors around Paolo Hurtado.

This week's music: RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia"

Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.

Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!