The 2025 season was the 17th season for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top flight of professional club soccer in the United States. It was the 42nd season for a professional team bearing the Sounders name, which had originated in 1974 with the first incarnation of the franchise. The team remained under the management of Brian Schmetzer in his ninth full MLS season as head coach of the Sounders.
The Sounders played a total of 50 matches in MLS competitions, domestic cups, and two international tournaments organized by FIFA and CONCACAF. They qualified for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup based on their 2024 regular season finish and entered in the first round. The team also played in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which they qualified for as winners of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League. The team played three group stage matches at their home stadium, Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, and did not advance to the knockout stage.
The team won the 2025 Leagues Cup by defeating Inter Miami CF 3–0 in the final match, which was played at Lumen Field. It was their first Leagues Cup title and represented the final North American trophy that the club had yet to win. The Sounders finished fifth in the Western Conference standings during the regular season and qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs. They were eliminated in the first round by Minnesota United FC after a penalty shootout in the third and final match of the series. Across all competitions, the Sounders had a record of 23 wins, 13 losses, and 14 draws; Danny Musovski was the top goalscorer for the team with 18 goals in all competitions. The Sounders had an average home attendance of 30,993 during the regular season.
Background The Sounders are one of the most successful MLS teams, with two MLS Cup titles in four appearances since the hiring of head coach Brian Schmetzer in 2016. The team also won the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League and qualified for the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup under his tenure, which led to a multi-year contract extension in 2024. The Sounders played a total of 47 matches during the 2024 season across several competitions and finished with an overall record of 22 wins, 13 losses, and 12 draws. They spent the first half of the regular season with a losing record until adjustments to the formation; the Sounders had the best record during the latter half of the MLS season and conceded the fewest goals of any team during the regular season. The team relied heavily on homegrown players and did not sign new players during the summer transfer window despite limited playing time for their winter signings. The Sounders were eliminated in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup and quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup by Los Angeles FC, but defeated them in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The team were eliminated from the playoffs by the eventual league champion LA Galaxy in the Western Conference Final.
Summary
Preseason
On December 4, 2024, the Sounders exercised contract options on six players and declined options on three others. Among the departures was Raúl Ruidíaz, the top goalscorer in the team's MLS era, who played seven seasons with the club. The Sounders announced a major trade with FC Dallas on January 8, 2025, to acquire American forward Jesús Ferreira in exchange for Brazilian midfielder Léo Chú, an international roster slot, and up to $2.3million in conditional general allocation money. Under the three-year contract, Ferreira did not initially occupy a Designated Player slot. General manager Craig Waibel also announced that Jordan Morris would use a Designated Player slot due to meeting performance bonuses in his contract, while Albert Rusnák was re-signed to a new Designated Player contract. Midfielder João Paulo returned on a one-year contract with an option for a second year. On January 13, the Sounders signed midfielder Paul Arriola from FC Dallas in a trade for their 2026 MLS SuperDraft first-round pick and up to $300,000 in general allocation money.
The team's preseason training camp began in Renton on January 13, only 45 days after their final match of the 2024 playoffs. The Sounders entered preseason with no players listed as injured; Jesús Ferreira joined the team early from the United States national team, where he departed training camp to regain fitness after an earlier hamstring injury. The team traveled to the Marbella Football Center in Spain on January 20 to begin the second stage of their preseason, which included matches against European clubs. The initial preseason roster included 26 players signed to the first team and several callups from reserve team Tacoma Defiance. Korean defender Kim Kee-hee, who played for the Sounders in 2019, returned with the signing of a one-year contract on January 28.
During their first friendlies in Spain, the Sounders defeated Puskás Akadémia FC of Hungary and Aalborg BK of Denmark. The final two matches of the three-week camp were played against Swedish sides IFK Norrköping and Hammarby IF on the same day; both ended in draws. The team returned to the Longacres training facility on February 6 and played their final preseason friendly against Louisville City FC of the USL Championship. The Sounders won 4–0 with a brace from midfielder Pedro de la Vega in the first scrimmage and a 3–0 win in the second scrimmage. Midfielder Josh Atencio was traded to the Colorado Rapids on February 15 for $1.3 million in general allocation money to be split between two seasons.
The club introduced a new secondary jersey for the 2025 season, named the "Salish Sea Kit", in February 2025. It uses several shades of blue arranged in triangular Salish weaving patterns with light blue and green accents. The jersey was designed in collaboration with three Coast Salish artists from local tribes: Connie McCloud of the Puyallup Tribe, Gail White Eagle of the Muckleshoot Tribe, and Danielle Morsette of the Suquamish Tribe. The jersey included the Southern Lushootseed phrase x̌ax̌aʔ ti qʷuʔ and its English translation ("water is sacred") on the front and a stylized orca tail on the back. It was the first Sounders jersey to be primarily blue since the Pacific Blue kit used in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. A blue-and-white throwback kit, named the "Orca Kit", was introduced in July to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1995 A-League championship won by the Sounders' previous incarnation.
February–June: Champions Cup and regular season
The Sounders opened their season on February 19 with the first round of 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup, their eighth appearance in the competition, against Guatemalan club Antigua GFC. They won 3–1 in the away leg with Paul Arriola scoring in the third minute, followed by Pedro de la Vega and Albert Rusnák in the second half; it was the team's first away victory in Central America since 2012. The Sounders returned to Seattle for their first match of the MLS regular season, which they hosted three days later against Charlotte FC. The teams drew 2–2 with two goals from Jordan Morris and an own goal in stoppage time by Yeimar. The brace from Morris allowed him to match Raúl Ruidíaz's club-record 86 goals. In the second leg against Antigua GFC, the Sounders won 3–1 at home with Arriola scoring again and a brace from de la Vega.
In their first away match of the regular season, the team traveled to Real Salt Lake and were held scoreless in a 2–0 loss at America First Field in Sandy, Utah. The Sounders extended their winless streak in regular season play that began in 2011 after defender Nouhou scored an own goal early in the match and the team conceded a 79th minute goal to Forster Ajago. The Sounders returned to Seattle four days later for the first leg of their Champions Cup round of 16 series against Cruz Azul, one of the most successful Liga MX teams. They played to a scoreless draw while several starting players for Cruz Azul were rested. The team earned their first win of the regular season with a rotated lineup that defeated Los Angeles FC 5–2. Loaned defender Kalani Kossa-Rienzi opened the scoring in the 11th minute and was followed by four goals in the second half. Jordan Morris scored his 87th goal across all competitions for the Sounders, surpassing the all-time record across all three iterations of the club.
The Sounders were eliminated from the Champions Cup after losing 4–1 in their second leg against Cruz Azul, which was played at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City. During the match, Arriola tore his left anterior cruciate ligament, while Morris injured his hamstring. The team's unbeaten streak in CONCACAF play ended at 13 matches, which set the record for longest in MLS history. The Sounders returned to MLS play with a four-match winless streak that included three shutouts, among them a 3–0 loss to expansion side San Diego FC. Arriola was placed on the season-ending injury list to free up space in the salary cap to sign another midfielder; his replacement, English winger Ryan Kent, was signed on March 31 outside of the normal transfer window.
Danny Musovski, who had become the starting striker after Jordan Morris was injured twice, scored in five consecutive matches, of which the Sounders won four and drew once to begin a stretch of road games. After a loss and a draw on the road, the Sounders returned to Lumen Field and won a pair of matches but conceded their first home loss to Minnesota United FC. The match had been preceded by a protest by the team's players, who sought a share of prize money for the FIFA Club World Cup. Majority owner Adrian Hanauer declined to comment, but confronted the team's players according to media reports. The Sounders ended their first half of league play with a 3–0 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC, who fielded several reserve players due to cases of food poisoning after the Champions Cup final. Through the first half of the season, the team mostly played in a 3–4–3 formation that used pairs of wide midfielders and attacking midfielders to control the attacking third.
Club World Cup and unbeaten streak
The team qualified for the expanded FIFA Club World Cup as winners of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League and Seattle was named one of the host cities for the 32-team tournament. The Sounders were drawn into Group B, labeled the "group of death", alongside Botafogo of Brazil (winners of the Copa Libertadores), Atlético Madrid of Spain, and Paris Saint-Germain of France (winners of the UEFA Champions League). The MLS regular season was paused for the duration of the Club World Cup's group stage in June; the artificial surface at Lumen Field was covered by a temporary grass pitch for the six matches it hosted during the tournament. The Sounders opened the group stage with a 2–1 loss to Botafogo after they conceded two goals in the first half. Cristian Roldan became the first MLS player to score in the Club World Cup with his header in the 75th minute, but the team were unable to score an equalizer despite a 23–12 advantage in shots.