The Seattle Sounders are in dire straits. And with a club-record seven-straight losses after Sunday night’s 2–0 defeat to Cascadia Cup rivals Vancouver Whitecaps, legendary manager Brian Schmetzer is calling for improvements to the team’s roster.
“We need a little bit more,” Schmetzer said when asked about potentially calling up 19-year-old striker Mark Bronnik from the second team to help the Sounders’ attacking production struggles. “Bronnik is a nice kid... I know who he is. He's got some good starting points, good young talent, but [MLS]is a bit much of a jump, in my opinion.”
Appearing incredibly dejected at suggestions on how to halt the team’s record-long skid, Schmetzer mentioned sporting director Craig Waibel and majority owner Adrian Hanauer by name, regarding potentially improving the roster before the summer transfer window closes on Sept. 2.
“As far as Craig and Adrian feeling the pressure, yeah, they feel it,” Schmetzer said, noting that the Rave Green have fallen short of the Cascadia Cup regional title in every season since 2021. “I don’t need to say anything.”
Cheeky, cheeky.
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Thomas Müller buries the indirect free kick inside the box! pic.twitter.com/AnswH0c4nS
While the Sounders’ roster makeup isn’t entirely flawed, the team has been beset by injuries, including a new hamstring injury to star attacker Jesús Ferreira early on in the loss to Vancouver.
If he’s out for an extended period of time, he would join Jordan Morris, Hassani Dotson, Yeimar Gómez, Paul Arriola, and Cristian Roldan on the sidelines, as well as DP midfielder Pedro De La Vega, who reinjured his quad and is out for the season after a brief 13 minutes in Leagues Cup play against Mexico’s Querétaro.
The combination of key absences has hit the Sounders hard, and those stepping into the squad have been unable to maintain the level Sounders fans have come to expect from the defending Leagues Cup champions.
“It’s a tough moment for us right now. I think at the end of the day, we as a team still need to stick together, and I think that's what we're trying to do right now,” defender Alex Roldan said. “This club has high expectations; the city, the fans have high expectations, and we’re not meeting them right now. The fans in the city don’t deserve this. We need to look at ourselves and do a better job.”
Reliable Talents Out of Form
It was evident on Sunday that the Sounders’ ongoing struggles have impacted how the players show up mentally in games. They missed key chances and couldn’t take control of the game at any point, despite Vancouver’s tentative approach in the final third.
For many of the Sounders players, it’s been a massive dip from last year’s fifth-place finish in the Western Conference and run to the Leagues Cup title. Danny Musovski, for example, has just one goal in 17 games, after scoring 14 in 2025, and he missed several key opportunities against Vancouver. He was replaced midway through the second half by Osaze De Rosario, who also failed to match the levels he hit in 2025.
“We need more production,” added Schmetzer. “I’m not going to hide it, but you know, we're trying to do the best we can with the kids that we're putting out there... I don't know if I need to inject more life. I need to figure out a way to get those guys to believe that they can win. Get them to simplify their game again.”
The Sounders have just over two weeks to improve the roster through transfers, but could add free agents after the Sept. 2 deadline. Things will have to improve soon, though, if they want to avoid missing the MLS Cup playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.
