The Seattle Sounders on Sunday entered their road match against the LA Galaxy without their starting No. 9 in Jordan Morris, their starting No. 10 in Albert Rusnák, their starting center back in Jackson Ragen and starting goalkeeper in Stefan Frei.
All Seattle did was break LA’s will and claim a dominant 4-0 win at Dignity Sports Health Park in Southern California to extend its unbeaten run to 10 matches in all competitions.
“That’s been the theme of what’s been happening all season,” said forward Danny Musovski, who recorded a brace against the Galaxy. “Guys have been going down with injuries, but as a collective, we have such strong leadership on the team.”
The depth on this 2025 edition of the Sounders is the strongest in club history, and there’s an argument to be made it’s the deepest in MLS history. Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer alluded to that opinion in his postgame press conference, mentioning how many capable options he has at his disposal.
“The ‘next man up’ theory is relevant because you can never go from one end of an MLS season to another without adversity, injuries, things happening,” said Schmetzer. “You must have in your pipeline, on your bench, guys that can come in and do the business. We have them.”
Perhaps no one better encapsulates this trend than midfielder Snyder Brunell. The 18-year-old signed a First Team contract on July 29, two days before making his First Team debut in a win over Cruz Azul in Leagues Cup. On Sunday, Brunell entered in the 73rd minute for his MLS debut and scored 12 minutes later to add an exclamation point to the victory.
Brunell became just the fourth Sounder in club history to score in his MLS debut, joining current teammate Pedro de la Vega (2024), Nelson Valdez (2015) and Fredy Montero (2009).
“It was a crazy feeling when Kalani Kossa-Rienzi\] slipped it through to [Alex [Roldan],” said Brunell, describing the buildup. “I was screaming to Alex to cut it back. It was a great ball, and I knew if I just hit the target, I’d be fine. I hit the target, and it was just overjoyed, crazy feelings from there.”
Brunell is one of many local products making an impact this season. Obed Vargas, Danny Leyva and Reed Baker-Whiting have contributed as Homegrowns, not including the likes of Paul Rothrock, Ragen, Osaze De Rosario, Kossa-Rienzi and Georgi Minoungou as players with either Seattle or Tacoma Defiance connections.
“I would also say kudos to the development side of our club,” said Schmetzer. “They do a tremendous job developing the players…There’s another whole storyline about what a great job some of our Academy staff and our development staff does. It makes my job easier.”
Schmetzer and his players know that opportunities will come in due time, and each individual has to be ready to step up when called upon. Brunell grabbed his chance with both hands on Sunday and will look to keep riding that momentum when the Sounders travel to take on Minnesota United next Saturday night (5:30 p.m. PT; FS1, FOX Deportes, Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
“The kid has tremendous upside,” Schmetzer said of Brunell. “He’s a positive young man. He’s very happy. The goal that he actually scored was a great team goal. That kid has a bright future if he can keep going and keep learning. The guys all like him because he works hard. That to me was a positive performance by a young man who has a lot of potential.”
