Coming to you live from our Relliot Avenue studios of Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM. This is Sounders Weekly with your host Jackson Felts.
Good evening, everybody, Welcome into Sounders Weekly, Jackson Feltz Here it's gonna be with you on what finally feels like the end of summer. Fall is here. As I look outside and see cloudy, rainy skies, it feels like fall finally, which means we are getting close to playoff time for your Sounders and listen before anything else, I do think
we are squarely in playoff positioning. It's just now a matter of how high of a seed the Sounders can get, and boy, the efforts to get a top four seed got it quite a hit on last Wednesday night one week ago when they hosted the San Jose eight earthquakes at lumin Field. We'll get into that match, but if you don't know, I mentioned top four seed, listen. Nine teams make the playoffs. There's a play in game between the eight seed and the nine seed. Sounders are well
above that right now. I don't think they're going to be in that playing game, but there's a playing game between the eight seed and the nine seed and then it's one versus eight or nine, two, seven, three, six, four, five, and it's a three game first round playoff series. They instituted this change last year the Sounders got past Dallas in three games. It's back again this year. To listen, I mean, players were pretty frustrated by the change. I
still personally don't like it. I love single elimination. Maybe it's the you know, American football fan and me, but I love one game to decide at all, at the very least home and away because that does have soccer you know, undertones and connections. It's probably the wrong word, but listen, that is part of soccer. Home and away, two legs to decide it. And we, of course MLS did that for a long time before going to single elimination.
And now it is this three game series in the opening round and that is followed by single elimination following that. So it's a very weird setup, but it's the setup we got. And a top four seed is so important because if you are a top four seed, then you get to host two of those three games in that opening round. So hopefully the Sounders don't end up as say a five seed, and two of the three have to be I don't know at Colorado or RSSEL or
Seattle's opponent this coming weekend, Houston. Really quick on that Houston Dina match. We're gonna be talking about it a lot tonight. Our guests are gonna be including Stephen Frye as well as Ari Lillianwall And in just a few minutes you're gonna hear from Alex Schroldan your Sounders right back. They're all gonna be talking about the game coming up against the Houston Dynamo, who are really fighting right with
the Sounders for a top four seed. I mean, this is a true six point game where if Houston wins, it's three for them and that is effectively three away from the set in this West Race, and if it's three for the Sounders, it's taken three away from Houston. So this is a true six pointer here this coming weekend, you will be able to listen to that match right here. We're putting it on the FM this coming Saturday night.
It'll be a seven o'clock Providence, Swedish pre match show seven thirty kickoff right here ninety three point three KJR FM for Sounders and Houston Dynamo. You know, also watch the match five MLS season pass on the Apple TVP and listen in Spanish language on l Ray thirteen sixty. This is a big one against Houston, and I'm eager to talk to Ari Lillienwall about exactly what Houston's all about, how they've made this charge, and what the Sounders need
to worry about. We get some good thoughts from Alex Scholdon and Stephan Fry on him as well, because Houston's a team that I know a little bit about. Kearski is a tremendous player. They might be missing one of their better offensive players, so how that factors into the game planning for Stephen Fry is going to be interesting. So we will talk extensively about Houston coming up as
the night goes on. Listen, we should spend a couple minutes here talking about San Jose in that game one week ago, and I do want to move on from it. You're all gonna hear a nice breakdown, I think from Alex Roldn on what happened on the last goal for the Earthquakes, because as I mentioned off the top, it is two points dropped for the Sounders. They got out to the lead in that game, and they really for
a lot of the second half. I was watching in the press box alongside some good friends, including mos Vito Mardeire of cascadiasports dot net, and we're all kind of talking how this doesn't feel like a two to one game right now, And the Sounders were leading two to one while in control run a play was going their way.
Everything kind of felt like, gosh, it feels like the Sounders are leading three to one right now, or it feels like they're playing against the team that's just effectively given up and isn't even interested in trying to make it a two. And the Sounders had so many chances to put it away. And that's that's really the frustrating bart is in that San Jose game, you get so many moments where it does feel like there's three one finally,
and that just never ended up coming. And there's a variety of reasons, one different one for every single chance. But the end of the day, it does come down to the I think the lethal aspect of this offense, needing to shut the door, needing to just hammer a team when they're down. I mean San Jose, They're gonna get the wooden spoon this year. They are the worst team in Major League Soccer by far sixty five going into this game. This is a wild stat going into
that game, sixty five goals given up. That's more than double that that the Sounders had given up of thirty two, so they this is a terrible defensive team. I said in the pregame show, I thought this could have been the game for Pedro d Levega to have his coming out party. He did get his first career MLS assist, by the way, so that's great. That weird ricochet that kind of comes off of his shoulder or hip that redirects to Jordan Morris for his first of his two goals.
So that was great for Pedro. But still I thought this was going to be the breakout game. I thought this was be gonna be a game where the Sounders could get four goals and could make this an absolute blowout against the worst team in Major League Soccer, and
that just didn't happen. I need to see more of that lethal aspect of this team down the stretch in these final four games, because certainly they're gonna be in games I think you know, whether it's in these next foard to round out the regular season or in the playoffs, there's gonna be a moment where they may be leading by a goal and you got to put a game away, And that was frustrating that they didn't. But honestly, the biggest frustration comes with just kind of, you know, the
brains turn off for a moment. San Jose's on the break and they just completely flip it with the Boba C's cross and the goal there at the end eighty ninth I want to say, or eighty eighth minute to make it to too Alex Roldan in a few minutes, so we'll talk about it. But I mean, really, the weird part about that goal is the fact that it is the role Don Brothers who you're looking at here.
It's Christian who loses a Bobasee on the cross where he just runs right by him and Christian loses his man, and then the guy who scores the goal, I'm blanking on his name at the moment, but whatever, he just runs by Alex rolled on and roll Don loses him.
So it's it's a frustrating situation where it's the role Don brothers who essentially you don't give up that goal because you know, I think very much so the game probably lulled him into a little bit of a sleep where listen, if we're in the press box feeling like god, it feels like san Jose doesn't even want this, and it feels like this is just cruising to an easy, slow, boring Yon two to one win. The players might have felt that as well. And you know, clearly you just
get caught sleeping. San Jose steps up, then make a good play and Bata being about a boom, it's in the back of the net ands two too. And unfortunately, you know, Brian Schmenzer we talked about this in the postgame show a week ago. He had made all these substitutions where then you're entering ated time of the second half and you don't have an Albert Rusnak on the field, you don't have some midfield horses that can go win you the game in the what five minutes or so
of added time. So that was, you know, there's frustrating elements of not putting the game away, of giving up that goal when the brain shut off, and then not having your horses to be able to get the winner there in the final few minutes. So yeah, there's levels to it, right, there's levels to the frustration. But ultimately it is two points dropped. It should have been three points. It should have been a win. It turns into a draw and now the Sounders quest for a top four
seed has become quite a bit harder. So that will now come and continue against Houston this coming Saturday. Once again, we'll have the pre match show seven o'clock kickoff at seven thirty on Saturday. Right here, ninety three point three KJR FM. Let's quickly hear from Alc Schuldan before. There is some very good news around Sounderland that came down this morning. Let's quickly get all the San Jose thoughts out of the way and then we'll move on and give you the good news. So I had the chance,
was it Monday out at training? The team was actually off today. They're practicing on Monday and Tuesday and then Thursday and Friday before the Saturday game, so that training on Monday had the chance to catch up with Alex Chroldan. We did talk about that play, we did talk about the San Jose game, but we did look forward ahead to Houston and the final four games of the season. Here was a conversation with Alex Roldan after he got a weekend off because of course the Sounders did not
play last weekend. So here's catching up with Alex Troldon after a couple of days off.
At this point of the season, you know, we all need somewhat of a break mentally and physically, So a few days off and coming back recharge and hopefully with this week of training we can prepare for our next match out.
You mentioned the recharge coming after a game like San Josean win today, Is that one of the games where you feel like you do need a little mental We have time to recharge certainly.
I mean, you know, our our goal was to win that game, especially you know, with where we are understanding and where they are, it's a game that we must win. We were in sharp, we uh, we gave up a lot of opportunities that I think we could have capitalized on, and you know, overall, it was just a game that we need to move past and and you know, focus on the next one because those were three points that we certainly needed it.
We could have had it.
Well.
You mentioned not being short why weren't you sharp before we move on.
For a minute.
Yeah, we went over the film and I think positionally and tactically we were just not in the right spots some with some of our players. You know, obviously with beppel back and and uh trying to get that that cohesiveness with him. He hasn't played much this year and so and he's still learning this league. But other players as well. We just weren't in our right spots so that we can you know, fully capitalize. That's what the
coaches emphasize and set during the film session. So and then when we're not in our positions and when we're not in our spots, it's it's difficult to find each other and know where we're supposed to be at. So moving forward, you know this this next match, we need to be a little bit more disciplined. And then I think that was a message for that was.
The out of position. This is something that happened on that last play where they scored obviously to make it too too.
It was a combination of things. I think, you know, the ball gets gets circled around, we step when we don't need to step, and then the ball gets played in behind for to have a free look at crossing and then you know, my guy as I was looking at getting behind, kind of gets by me and I'm step Lay. So you know a lot of components to that, but I think, you know, we as we look back at it, there's definitely things that we could have done collectively to avoid that.
Well, let's move on because we now we can completely move on from that game. All right, Houston coming up this Saturday. They're a team kind of right around you guys in that table right now. So how much of an emphasis is is? Alright, this is a true six pointer here.
Yeah, you know, they're they're looking really good too. They you know, possession based team who have a great attack. And so it's gonna be a test for our for our back line, our full defensive structure. So, like I said, it comes down to us being disciplined, because I think when we're disciplined defensively and offensively, you know, there's there's very few teams that can really control the game over us. And so that's the goal, that's a that's what we
need to accomplish in this next game. And to to make sure that we come out of there with three points, do.
You allow yourself at all to look at these next four in the regular season to see, all right, you know, how many points can we get out of this? You know going you know, home road road home. Do you allow yourself to look ahead at all?
Past?
Houston was certainly looking ahead of it at our fixture, But that doesn't necessarily mean that we're focused on that. We're focused on the next game. I think Houston, who is right right next to us on the table and especially at home, there are three points that we need to have and we taken game by game, and I think that they're the next opponent that we need to treat with respect because they're a good team and play to our best effort to get to three points.
All right, well, good luck Saturday, go get three points.
Thank you.
It's good stuff there from Sounders right back, al stroll don really quickly before we move forward, I'll mention that Sounders FC Soccer is presented by Providence Swedish, the official healthcare partner of Sounders FC. So listen with San Jose's now in the rearview mirror. Probably won't other than mentioning it with Ari here coming up in a moment, and
we obviously have to talk about that. I don't want to spend too much more time on that tonight, but there is very good news in Sounderland that came down this morning. In case you haven't heard, this came through some breaking news at about nine am this morning that the Sounders have signed Jackson Reagan to a new contract. It's a three year deal through the twenty twenty seven season,
has a club option for twenty twenty eight. This is, of course, to your center back from here in Seattle, who's now had one hundred and six it says appearances in Rave Green. He's really, I think turned into an absolute Locke defender. I would say the first half of this year was a little bit shaky. We saw some inconsistent performances, some passing that was certainly not at the
level we needed it to be from Jackson. But he's really, you know, gone back, I think in the last few months or so to the twenty twenty three and frankly twenty twenty two Jackson Reagan when he came onto the scene taking Javier ariaga starting spot, and then he really has just kicked into high gear, especially last year and said this is my position, and I think he's kind of come back to that, and he's obviously been a lockdown defender here through this really good run in the second half.
Of the season.
I should say, really, you know, for the most part of these last since late April, and there was there's the great statistic that the Sounders are eighteen four and five since the end of April against teams not named LAFC. And of course you can say, well, what about LAFC, But LAFC is just LAFC. But eighteen four and five and that run that, you know, the defense has been very good in Jackson Reagan has been very very good as a part of that. So congratulations to Jackson Reagan.
A well deserved contract extension.
There.
He's gonna be making many many more appearances for the Sounders tomorrow. He's gonna be meeting with the media tomorrow, I should mention as well. I will probably try to stream that on my Twitter at Jackson on Radio. So follow me on Twitter at Jackson on Radio and I'll be streaming that Jackson Reagan press conference as he talks about his contract extension. So congrats to Jackson. Now he
must focus on facing Houston this Saturday. Let's get a breakdown of the Houston Dynamo, what they're all about, what the Sounders need to worry about. We're gonna shot with Ari Lillionwall of MLS Soccer dot Com, and we are of course going to talk with Stephan Frye. Nice long conversation about nine minutes with Stephan Frye. That's gonna be coming up later tonight. It's all here on Sounders Weekly.
We're rolling along here on Sports Radio ninety three point three KJL.
Now back to Sounders Weekly on your home for Sounders FC CLS Sports Radio ninety three point three kjr FM.
Welcome back, Sounders Weekly.
Good to have you with us here on Sports Radio ninety three point three kjr FM. Good to hear from Alex Scholdan in that previous segment. Still have a nice long conversation with Stephen Frye coming up in a little bit. Let's quickly tell you that twenty twenty five season memberships are on sale now. You can join the Sounders FC Legacy and secure your spot with the best fans in
MLS now. As a member, you'll have access to our most fan friendly benefits, including MLS season pass ticket flexibility, access to our new training facility and clubhouse, plus more. Learn more at soundersfc dot com, Backslash tickets, Backslash memberships coming up right here. On our Sounders weekly show tonight is our good friend MLS soccer dot com writer and editor, as well as most of the podcast lobbing scorcheres alongside Noah.
Ari.
Lillianwalla joins us right now, as he always does. Ari, good to have you back on my friend.
How are you I'm good, Jackson, How are you doing.
Good, buddy, I'm good.
Let's quickly get the vegetables out of the way and talk about San Jose. I didn't go down into the locker room. I was doing the postgame show. But I imagine dropping two points and having San Jose score, you know, the worst team in the league score at the death, and having a two to two result. I imagine for you writing that up, and for the guys in the locker room, it was not a pleasant atmosphere one week ago.
Yeah, I think everyone was pretty frustrated by that result. I think there's a big sense that it was a missed opportunity as Seattle is kind of fighting for one of these top wor spots in the West. Here you have this home stand going on right now, and this is a San Jose team who they beat Seattle earlier this season, but they're on track to Wooden Spoon this year. They're at zero point six points per game right now,
they've lost twenty two games. They have a negative thirty two goal differential, and on top of that, in the game itself, you were ahead of them and on top of them for a lot of the game and really had a good performance performance good in us to win, but just two pretty unfortunate concessions, and you drop two points at a point in this season where you know you're jostling for a playoff positioning and you have these games at home, so those points matter in the scheme of playoffs seating.
All right, Ario, let's move on from San Jose. I think we all do, certainly the players do as well. It's the Houston Dynamo coming to town this Saturday. And you know, we talk about this race for fourth place in the Western Conference because Houston right now is fifth, right above Seattle, with forty eight points from Seattle's forty seven, and you know we just mentioned those two points could
have jumped them. So what is this Houston team all about I know they could be missing an offensive you know, star for them. But you know why is this going to be a very difficult match for the Sounders this week? Yeah?
Because the Dynamo are actually pretty good. You know, when they hired Ben Olsen, who was the coach for DC United's for a long time, I don't think it was lauded as this great hire, but he's done a better job I think than people realize down there. And it's not just playing Benny ball. You know, those GEC United teams were known for playing kind of conservatively and defensively and mucking up the game and punching above their weight.
But if you look at how the Dynamo have done it, They've spent big money on a few players and they play really good offense. They play great team soccer. If you look at some of the best team goals that have been scored in MLS over the past two years, you see the Dynamo on there a surprising amount. Now you mentioned Hector Herrera, I think who you're referring to who He's the cornerstone that everything is built around. One of the best two way midfielders, one of the best
passers in MLS. He's injured right now. I believe he's working his way back from hamstring injury, so I don't think he's expected to play in this game. But they have a pretty solid foundation around him as well, and they're pretty good defensively. They've only conceded thirty three goals this year, and they've been a very good road team. They have eight road wins this year, which I think is the most in the West. So yeah, no, this
isn't gonna be an easy game at all. This is one of the better teams in the West outside that top four that Seattle is coming across in this game.
Yeah, Herrero is seventeen assists this year, so missing him is the big one. The road thing very much interests me, and I'm kind of connecting the dots here. You mentioned how mucking things up, and you know, statistically in terms of goals scored goals against the right around Seattle in both of those categories. Is their road record a product of because they like to make road games just really miserable for the home team.
Yeah, that's a good question. I can't say I've watched enough of their road matches this year to know how they do it, but I will say like it is a departure from the Houston teams of the previous years before Ben Wilson got there, where they were known for being a very good home team and using the elements unforgiving elements of Houston to their advantage to great effect, and then not being able to take results on the road.
And they really like put that on its head this year and have become one of the better road teams in the league. And I think that's probably because they're better on offense than they were in past years and they don't have to rely on Benny Ball tactics at all. They're just a legitimately good team that can actually do it away from home.
Well, Sounders defense only to step up against them here coming up this Saturday. We'll quickly mention as part of talking about the Houston Dynamo that our Sharp Vision opponent Alec each week here on Sounders Weekly is presented by Sharp Vision, Modern LASAC and Lens, the official LASA partner
of Sounders FC. I will have more on Houston coming up later on, but are defending wise, Sounders will have a test against that kind of team overall aspect, and one of the defenders that they were able to just lock in. We talked about it a few minutes ago here on the show. Jackson Reagan contract extension three through
twenty twenty seven, club option for twenty twenty eight. You know, as we look at the Sounders, you know, the view from thirty five thousand feet over the course of just more than twenty twenty four, but over the course of you know, this decade. Really Jackson Reagan's supplanting himself and kind of establishing himself as a lockdown defender.
Certainly a deserved contract.
We don't know what the number would be, but it's a deal that locks in I think one of the key players and one less piece for Craig Wible and company you have to worry about in what should be a busy offseason ahead.
Yeah, I think it's a good move. I think it's I think it's one that, like you said, Jackson Reagan has kind of emerged as a cornerstone player for this defense. He's a local kid, so there's that aspect to it as well. And really, what I like what I've seen from him this season is he's kind of added the attacking aspect to his game. He had a few assists last year, and then this year is the first year where he's really started to get on the score sheet
with regularity. I still think he has the potential to develop his game and add more of a set piece threat to it with like the just the height and physical imposing presence that he's got. So really, what a great find from flipping an MLS Super draft pick for him for his rights from the Chicago Fire to be in one of the better up and coming young center backs in the league.
I would say, yeah, Chicago really blew that opportunity because they had him, they drafted him, and then for some reason or another they just didn't see it working out.
And Chicago absolutely blew it.
All.
Right, let's we always go around the league with you, and one of the things I absolutely love about your Lobbing Scorches podcast with Noah is your sections where you kind of talk about the winners and losers from around the entire league. And I'm definitely using it to get more knowledgeable about the other teams in MLS. So for this week, when including the weekend where the Sounders didn't even play, who are on your winners and losers sheets?
Yeah, you had some notable results this week. You had Charlotte taking a big four to Zhero over New England. You had the Galaxy winning big again over Vancouver. You had Columbus scoring four goals and barely beating Orlando City. That was a really good game. I think the Galaxy right now, with Dan Jovolich back, are looking pretty good. And with LFC, and we all saw Lake Boats dropping some points recently, LA Galaxy are very much the front
runners to take the top seed in the West. So you think you got to think it's a big win of a week for them. And then meanwhile, LAFC frankly
have not looked that good. Lad They've been dropping a lot of points and they lost three one to SC Dallas, and I think that's officially at the point where it's a trend at the moment, which that's an interesting storyline for the rest of the Western Conference because they've been thought of as the likely team to come out of the Western Conference for MLS Cup most of the season and it's suddenly looking like that might not be as sure of a thing as it was for most of the year.
Well, I think LAFC kicks off the Open Cup final against Kansas City, and I want to say they kick it off in about five minutes from this moment, so obviously we'll be paying attention to that as the night goes on. But yeah, you look at what they've done recently, and LAFC hasn't won since the Open Cup semi final. It was a loss against Houston a home, it was a draw in Houston, loss at the Galaxy, draw at home against Austin, and then loss at Dallas that you
just mentioned. So I guess the question is, and obviously LAFC just brought back their old friend Carlos Vela, But is LAFC proving that, you know, they are a beatable team or are they still kind of is this just kind of do you think this is just a momentary thing that they'll eventually capture back you know, maybe it's not this weekend where they have to face I think Cincinnati on the road, but then then they have Saint Louis, Kansas City, Vancouver, San Jose to wrap up the season.
I look at the stretch, this is kind of just a momentary blip before rising back up.
But please tell me that I'm wrong.
Yeah, well, I mean, okay, you know it could be a blip, like you're saying, but I'm not really so sure about that. They looked exhausted.
To me.
They look like their tank is empty. They've had crazy fixture congestion this year, and I think you're finally starting to see the effects of that. They've had a lot of injuries as well, and I really don't you know, I think Carlos Dela is a flashy name, but at this point, how much of that is more name than game.
I mean, I don't think a thirty five year old Carlos Vela coming off his couch having not played professional soccer all year is going to like suddenly elevate them in a way that some people might think it would. I'm not. I mean, it's a good depth signing for them, but I don't know how much that really moves the needle until you can get him a fit, and who knows how long that's going to take. So they seemed depleted. They seem tired, and I think it could affect their
ability to make an MLS Cup run. They've just played so many games. It's pretty hard to be up for it physically when you're kind of as run down as they seem, right now now, now that I say that it's probably going to turn out to be a blip and they're going to turn into a buzzfog in. But I think there's more of a question about it than they would probably like.
Well, I mean, especially that four two lost Galaxy. I didn't watch too much of that game. I think the Sounders played the same night, but it certainly was a statement that the Galaxy made of you know, you know, we're the top dog not only in LA but in also this entire Western conference. Maybe it's setting up a battle between Miami and the Galaxy for an MLS Cup. And I can only imagine what's going through the brain of Don Garber, our commissioner, if it's LA Galaxy versus
Miami final. I mean, the ratings of that game, the attendance wherever that might be played, probably Miami. That would be an absolute monster of a matchup for an MLS Cup. Ariy Lionel was our guest MLSR dot com in the podcast Lobbing Scorchers. All right, before I let you go, Oh, this is maybe one of the most intriguing, interesting, exciting MVP battles we have ever seen. Maybe it's messy, just because you know, goals and assists per ninety minutes. Maybe
it's Portland's of Vander. Maybe it's you know, one of the La Galaxy stars or Bolonga with LAFC. There's so many candidates of cost in Cincinnati. I think you gave Way the early part of the year. Is one of the bigger names. Who is on your MVP ballot right now at the top.
Yeah, you're right, it is a really good race for me. I probably still have Kucho Hernandez as the front runner. I just think with the year that Columbus has had and the output that he's had and just how much of a Lynchton and how productive he's been for them, I think you can't really go wrong with that pick. And then I probably have Bowanga as the second favorite. I do think you need you need to put Belis
Suarez in there. Frankly, I mean, if you look at the numbers he's been putting up, I think he's a pretty good candidate this year. I think, like you said, Luco Acosta is in there. And then as far as dark horses, you know, I hate to say it, but Evander for Portland has been getting some attention in this debate recently, and I think it's rightfully so. I mean he's at like fourteen goals eighteen assists for one of the best offenses in the league, So I think his
case is pretty fair. But my personal dark corts pick who I would throw in there is Ricky Poosh for the Galaxy. I think he's fantastic and one of the I think he's probably the best pure facilitator in MLS right now, and when you look at their attack and really the ascendants of their whole team, he's really the focal point in the centerpiece of it, and he's very fun to watch. So that that's kind of my personal little pick there.
Well, I like that this is why we pay you the big bucks. I give you like four or five names, and none of them even make the top of your list. Of that being Kucho of Columbus, I think it's a good shout considering what Columbus has done. It just comes back to the numbers, right, and it's sort of as like, was it three years ago or so maybe it was.
Four years ago.
Hanny Moukdar of Nashville puts up those massive numbers and it's sort of like a Vander We're like, you know, yeah, but they're middle of the table team, so we're not gonna give it to a you know, a statistic star who's just middle of the table. So maybe Evander just falls off like Moukdar did because of that, but it'll be it's me a really fun race in these final four or five games for most teams, we'll certainly talk about that MVP race moving forward, Ari, great stuff is
always my friend, Always good to chat with you. We will not talk next week because the Sounders have a Wednesday match in Vancouver, but we will talk in a couple of weeks. Is we look ahead to what will be the final stretch of the season, final game of the season, which will be hosting Portland on Decision Today. So have a good next couple weeks, my friend. We'll talk to you later in October.
That was good, Thanks Jackson.
It's good stuff there from Ari Lulianwell MLS soccer dot com and check out his podcast, Lobbing Scorches wherever you get your podcasts, including the iHeartRadio app. We'll take a break here in Sounders Weekly. We will come back and here from Stephen Frye, a long conversation with the Sounders goalkeeper who is now all time number two in MLS regular season shutouts. We talk about that and so much more. Steph comes up next on Sounders Weekly Sports Radio ninety three point three KJR.
Now back to.
Sounders Weekly on your home for Sounders fc Celvil's Sports Radio ninety three point three KJR FM.
Welcome back Sounders Weekly, Jackson Feltz good to be with you here ninety three point three KJR FM. You will be able to listen to this Saturday is game between the Sounders and Houston Dynamo right here on ninety three point three FM. We'll have a Providence, Swedish premat show of seven o'clock. Kickoff of seven point thirty. It'll be
at Luminfield, Sounders hosting the Dynamo. You can also watch the match on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app and listen in Spanish language on l Ray thirteen sixty. But for us right here seven pm here on ninety three point three FM for Sounders and Dynamo.
Good to chat.
There was Ari Leanwhile in the previous segment, he and I were actually texting there in the commercial break, and he did want to point out that hey man look at the stats for Cuco Hernandez, who I didn't even have on you know, the four or five guys that I listened to Ari and he said he has the same goal contributions fifteen and twelve as Bowanga, who has
seventeen and ten. So you really look at the success Columbus has had League's Cup, et cetera, and you look at you know, what they've done coming off of a MLS Cup championship and Kucho being at the center of everything. He had twenty seven goal contributions, same as Bowanga. You know, Messi's still gonna be in there for we're obviously talking
about the MVP discussion here. Uh, but you know, Messi's gonna be in there because you know, a lot of people are going to go look at his goals per ninety. I'm not one of them. I just think that he's going to be in the conversation. But yeah, Kuco, I think it's a good shout for him winning it. As long as vander in Portland doesn't win it. As long
as that doesn't happen, I'm happy. And I still think he's gonna be missing out because Portland just hasn't had I think the success maybe if you're looking at the true most valuable player the definition, where would Portland be without a Vander? Maybe? Okay, sure, because their defense is absolutely dreadful. But it's sort of like, you know, how much does stats matter if you know your team isn't
getting the points? Where Kucho clearly the team's getting results and points and cups, but not really the case for a Vander. So I love that discussion. We're going to continue talking MLS MVP with Ari in the weeks ahead. But yeah, good on him to call me out. He should have called me out in the air, but he called me out by a text. Hey, man, Cucco's got
the numbers and he certainly does. Taking a look at that. Anyway, moving on here in Sounders Weekly here tonight, I had a really nice long chat out at training yesterday with your Sounders goalkeeper Stephen Fry, really nice long conversation where we talk about, you know, the team's lost to San Jose Houston coming up, how you prepare for a team that you know likely won't have one of their star playmakers there in Hector Herrera that Ari and I also talked about.
But we also talked to you know about him.
You know, I mentioned last segment getting the second all time mark for m and this regular season shutouts, and then you all there, many of you know Stephan fry He's such a socially conscious person. I also had to ask him, you know, about overall his thoughts being an election season, and not necessarily this election, specifically this presidential election, but just he's feelings on everybody needing to make their voice heard, because he has always some great thoughts on that.
I asked him at four years ago, and I wanted to talk to him about it again here now as we are in really the heart of election season, and he is some really kind of again they're not one way or another way, they're just nice thoughts on making voices heard and the job. You know, it is not a no job, but the opportunity it is to make voices heard in in our society. So really good thoughts from Stephan Frye on all of that. We also talked about, you know, what might have been the last summer day.
It was seventy eight and sunny out at Long Acres yesterday, far cry from what I'm looking outside right now here at our kJ R studios where it's cloudy and rainy, so we talked about just the beautiful day of training out there at Long Acres before the fall begins. Here was the nice long chat here with Sounders goalkeeper Stephan Frye.
Excited for the last push. You know, we've we've dug ourselves out of a hole that we kind of put ourselves in the first half, first third of the season, if you will, and then then we've been, you know, much better. I think there's still much much room to improve, but we're finding ourselves in the hunt to position ourselves a bit better for your playoffs and then anything can
go so and weatherwise, yeah, yeah, we're blessed. I think we had a really good summer and falls tend to be really nice in this area, so looking forward to it. Last two days it has been a strangely humid, so I'm sweating like crazy. Maybe it's just because I'm too old and get too tired, but trainings are sharpened and lots of energy expended, expended, and people are pushing hearts.
That's because you're not the only one sweating, I think.
I By the way, speaking of the weather, I asked for the recommendations out there on your island, and yeah, tremendous, tremendous place. I would send every we have to brain Bridge that, So thank you for that. By the way, you had a good time, wonderful, wonderful place. You mentioned a second ago. Things to improve on obviously, I imagine you guys would have loved three points against San Jose before we move on. Didn't look to Hattie Houston.
What did you see in that game, especially there at the end, Well, we had.
You know, we're I think we're pushing for the for the third goal and could couldn't find it. And then I'd also argue we probably it looked like we were starting to feel the effects of a quick turnaround a little bit there coming out of Kansas. I thought we were extremely explosive in transition. We picked their spots really really well. Guys for them, for the majority, guys were saying that they felt juicy and good during that whole game, and not that we did anything wrong in the next game.
But I think it's just an accumulation and a quick turnaround. And then you know, as Santas then to lose just because they're at the bottom bottom dwellers in this league, every team is capable. We know that there's parody and every team has a couple of players who were difference makers, you know, and that team is is no different. We we knew that they were going to be good, and uh,
I think we treated them with the utmost respect. We just couldn't find the third one we were pushing, and then when the third didn't come, then we ran out of a bit of a juice and then conceded an unfortunate time goal. But it kind of is what it is, right and you got to keep moving on and focus on yet another good opponent coming into our place, one of one of the better sides right now, they're feeling it, so it's gonna be difficult.
Yeah, as you prepare for Houston, obviously the questions about if they're going to have one of their better offensive players. But as you begin the prep for them coming up on Saturday, what does stand out about how you guys are going to need to shut them down on the defensive end.
Well, I think they're They're a true possession based team, one that that likes to uh penetrate through the middle and find scenes, find holes and and calls chaos by by by Piercings through those holes, and so we're gonna have to be very very tight. I think Schmetz sposus that stat that I think they just overtook Columbus in terms of possession average per game. So so they definitely like to have the ball, and and also to their credit, they know what to do when they have the ball.
They know what to do with it. They're not just playing a possession based game. And twenty twenty past this is the point. It seems that there's a product at the end of that of set possession, and so we're gonna be have to be very very careful in terms of limiting not not necessarily limiting their possession, because I think they'll get it there that's what they're looking for, but just making sure it's maybe a bit more meaningless possession.
It's a struggle for them to have paths like I mentioned that that will penetrate and cut through lines of ours. And then on the other end, when we do get the ball, maybe we have to be more precise and efficient, just the way we were against Kansas.
These next four games and to a home two on the road. Obviously Houston's next, But do you allow yourself at all to look ahead and say if we can get it.
You know, this was all here, this result here that sets us up this way.
You know you have a you know, you know, yeah, I think the only thing you look ahead is is we're playing against good teams or we're playing against teams that we want to play against. Right, we're not playing as teams that are out of conference and and and it doesn't really matter. We're playing against teams for to stay high. It's great, that's what you want. It puts things in.
Your own hands.
And so we have Houston, we have Kansas, sorry of Houston, we have Vancouver, we have Colorado, and then obviously we got Portland. So those are all if you find yourself in a position that we're in currently, you want to be involved in those games playing against those opponents. So good opportunity. And obviously you can go yes, always, you got to take care of the opportunities that you're given.
But I think we're happy that we get to have a say in those games and not just have to watch other teams play and hope that things go away. We have a major role to play in what we end up within.
Obviously, I know you don't like talking too much about yourself.
I'm gonna make you do it anyway. Number two all time MLS regular season shutouts. You got that alone.
Now, still a bit.
Off of Romando, but having that mark and getting that market number two, What does that mean to you to to set that mark.
Yeah, I'm proud of it. I'm proud of it and thankful. It's hard work of a lot of people, you know, coaches, friends, family, great teammates. I always say, shoutouts are very precious and they can be stuffed out in a heartbeats. You gotta have good teammates. I take pride in the fact that you know the name you mentioned, Nick, Nick Romando a legend, you know, but it's one of the legends in this game, the one I just passed Gatto, you know. I mean, it's a legend when it comes to that position in
this league. And so I think it means that I've been here for a while and I take great pride in that because I think as professional athletes, we always have injuries. You know, there's things that you can you can do everything you want. You wanna have injuries. You're gonna have minor ones, you're gonna have big ones. And when I had my one big one throughout my career in Toronto. You know, I remember the media labeling me as injury prone, and I took great offense to that.
I thought that I always bounced back exceptionally well from concussions. Gosh has torn things, you know, stretched out ligaments, fingers. I mean, I think ninety percent of the injuries that players have, you guys don't even know. And yet I've been able to put myself on the field and make myself available to the gaffer, so you have a chance to play and get into games too. Where then I have good teammates around me that allow me to to to take credit for a shutout because it's a team
it's a team stat, but the keeper gets it. So but yeah, I take great pride in that, and I wouldn't mind getting a couple.
More steph lasting for you here.
You're so socially conscious of everything going on in the world.
We're in full inelection season right now, and I think I asked you this four years ago, so ask again. The importance is getting people out to vote and the importance of making voices heard in what is such an important time for our country right now.
Yeah, you know, I'm not going to preach and tell you what to do in terms of what's right or not. I think it's important that people get educated. I think it's very important to will take everything with a grain of salt, to try to try to try to check where your sources are or where people are getting there things from. Why maybe just just going going in with thinking that why would there be why would this person say this?
Right?
Is there a biased and there might not be.
I'm I'm not trying to be negative or not. We're just just in today's day and age we see with AI with videos and such, you have to be careful. You can't just be like I saw it or I heard it and that's the truth, and then we're going to go by that. I think, go go and expand your horizons. Try to be engaged because as much as also you want to say we're not political, there's no way of not being involved in what's going on. I mean,
this is the future, this is your life. You you live, you breathe, you, you eat, you, you shop, you, you buy things, you sell things, you you have a job. I mean, you can't just sit here and be like
doesn't affect me or I don't care. So it's important that I think you realize that your opinion matters, your your vote matters, your opinion matters, and so therefore, educate yourself, make sure that you can stand behind what you represent and what you think is important for this country moving forward, and then most most of all, go out there and the voice your opinion by voting.
Well said, Steph, good luck on Saturday, we'll getting oother three points. Great stuff there from Stephan Fry, Seattle Sanders goalkeeper. Love his comments there on making voices heard and making an impact and doing the homework on what's real and what's fake obviously with the fake news and everything like that. And Ai, luckily no AI can do what he does in goal and congratulations to him again second all time.
You know, I love the kind of he did go a little bit deeper and maybe it comes with the age, but being able to be reflective at his older age of just you know, kind of what it means to have that mark as the years go by, So big congrats to Stephan Fry. It's it's you can definitely see what it means to him. So love hearing that from Steph. But listen, that will do it for the show tonight. As we wrap things up, I want to thank all of our guests tonight from Alex Shuldin out at training,
Stephan Fry out at training, Ari Lullenwall. Great chat there about the Sounders and everything.
Going on in MLS.
As there are only four or five for other teams games left here in this season. The Sounders have Houston at home this Saturday, and then of course they go on the road to Vancouver one week from tonight and then go to Colorado and then finish it off with a home game against Portland. It is going to be a busy, busy last few games ahead, but we will have it for you starting this Saturday right here Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM for the Sounders and
the Houston Dynamo. So check out the podcast and in case you've missed any of our show tonight, Sounders Weekly wherever you get your podcasts, including the iHeartRadio app, we will talk to you Saturday right here for Sounders in Houston.
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