The 2023 season was the 40th season of Seattle Sounders FC, a professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was their 15th year in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top flight of American soccer, and the 40th season played by a professional team bearing the Sounders name, which originated in 1974 with the first incarnation of the franchise. The team was under the management of Brian Schmetzer in his seventh full MLS season as head coach of the Sounders.
Seattle had won the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League and qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup, which was played in early February. Following a preseason camp in Spain, the team traveled to Morocco and played Egypt's Al Ahly in the second round, where they lost 1–0. The Sounders returned to the United States and played in the MLS regular season from February to October; they finished second in the Western Conference and qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season. In the playoffs, the Sounders eliminated FC Dallas in a best-of-three series but lost to defending champions Los Angeles FC in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The team entered the 2023 U.S. Open Cup in the third round and defeated San Diego Loyal SC of the USL Championship before losing to the LA Galaxy in the round of 32. The Sounders also played in the 2023 Leagues Cup, which featured every MLS and Liga MX team, and finished third in their group behind CF Monterrey and Real Salt Lake. Jordan Morris led the team in scoring with 14 goals across all competitions. At their home stadium Lumen Field, the Sounders drew an average attendance of 32,161 during the regular season, the third-best figure in MLS.
Background Early in the 2022 season, the Sounders won the CONCACAF Champions League by defeating UNAM of Liga MX. They became the first Major League Soccer team to win the CONCACAF Champions League and third to win an international CONCACAF competition. The season ended with the team missing the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since joining the league, snapping a 13-year streak—among the longest in professional North American sports at the time. Four Sounders players were called up to international teams for the 2022 FIFA World Cup: forward Jordan Morris and midfielder Cristian Roldan for the United States; defender Nouhou for Cameroon; and defender Xavier Arreaga for Ecuador.
The 2023 season was the first with jersey sponsor Providence Health & Services. The choice of Providence as sponsor was criticized by fans and several organizations, including the Emerald City Supporters and the Sounders FC Alliance Council, due to the healthcare system's policies on abortion and transgender care, as well as its treatment of low-income patients. A new secondary kit to honor Bruce Lee was unveiled during preseason; it was primarily red with a dragon pattern as an homage to his final film, Enter the Dragon, and included the seal of Lee's Jeet Kune Do martial art. It was also the first under a broadcast contract with Apple TV+, which offered all league matches through its MLS Season Pass streaming platform. The club's television play-by-play commentator, Keith Costigan, joined Apple's national broadcast team while other members moved to the retained radio broadcast or other roles. A limited number of MLS matches were also broadcast on U.S. television by Fox Sports, including six that featured the Sounders.
Summary
Preseason and FIFA Club World Cup
Following the end of the 2022 season, general manager Garth Lagerwey departed Seattle to become president of Atlanta United FC. He was replaced by technical director Craig Waibel on November 30. During the offseason, the Sounders exercised their contract options on most of their roster with the exception of forward Will Bruin and midfielder Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez; defender Jimmy Medranda was also released into free agency. The club had 11 players with guaranteed contracts through the 2023 season, including most of their veteran squad. In late December, the club acquired forward Héber through a trade with New York City FC. Seattle also signed two Homegrown Players, midfielder Sota Kitahara and goalkeeper Jacob Castro. The club's two SuperDraft picks, forward Eythor Bjørgolfsson and defender Blake Bowen, were signed by reserve side Tacoma Defiance after training with the first team.
The Sounders opened their training camp at Starfire Sports in Tukwila on January 4, 2023, with a full roster of healthy outfield players following the return of João Paulo and Obed Vargas from their 2022 injuries. The team played several intra-squad scrimmages during their Seattle training camp due to difficulty finding MLS and USL Championship teams with open schedules. The Sounders moved to Marbella, Spain, in late January as part of preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup hosted in Morocco the following month. There, the club was split into separate teams for scrimmages on January 28 against two European teams: a scoreless draw with Wolfsberger AC of Austria and a 3–2 loss to Swedish side Hammarby IF.
Seattle entered the Club World Cup in the second round and lost 1–0 to Egypt's Al Ahly, conceding a deflected goal in the 88th minute. They were the first MLS team to play in the Club World Cup and earned $1 million in prize money as a participant. The team were eliminated from the tournament, but a month later qualified for the expanded 2025 FIFA Club World Cup as one of four CONCACAF entrants—all recent Champions League winners. Following their return from Morocco, the Sounders played a closed-door scrimmage against Louisville City FC of the USL Championship and won 2–1 with a set of rotated lineups. Several players remained in limited training through the end of February due to injuries and fatigue, including Vargas and striker Raúl Ruidíaz.
February and March
The Sounders opened their MLS regular season campaign on February 26 at home against the Colorado Rapids. The team earned a 4–0 win—Cristian Roldan scored the opening goal of the season and was followed by Jordan Morris pair of headers. Héber also scored in his MLS debut for the club. Morris and Héber scored a goal each in the following week's 2–0 victory over Real Salt Lake at home. Héber later suffered a hamstring injury during training and was replaced in the starting lineup by Fredy Montero, who had returned to the Sounders on a renewed one-year contract. Seattle's first away match of the season ended in a 1–0 loss to FC Cincinnati despite the home side earning a red card. A late equalizing goal by Yeimar Gómez Andrade was called off by the video assistant referee due to a foul in the build-up.
The team earned their third home shutout in a scoreless draw with reigning MLS Cup 2022 champions Los Angeles FC. Ruidíaz returned to the starting lineup, but was substituted early due to injury concerns. The Sounders played against Sporting Kansas City with several positional changes due to the absence of six players who had been called up to international teams. Jordan Morris became the first Sounders player to score four goals—all assisted by Léo Chú—in the club's 4–1 victory, their first on the road since July 2022. Morris was moved from the wing to the center forward position to compensate for the loss of Ruidíaz and Héber, but their recovery left the Sounders with more offensive options. In an interview, manager Brian Schmetzer stated that "Sounders fans should be happy because we've got a really freakin' good team."
April
Morris scored his fifth consecutive goal for the club in a 2–1 win over the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The goal was assisted by Chú, who also scored from outside the 18-yard box in the first half. The Galaxy cut the lead by a goal and made several unsuccessful attempts to score an equalizer; the team appealed for a penalty following an alleged handball by Nouhou in stoppage time, but were denied. Goalkeeper Stefan Frei finished the match with seven saves and tied Osvaldo Alonso for the most MLS starts in club history at 322 matches. Brian Schmetzer also became the third-fastest coach in MLS history to reach 100 wins, having done so in 212 matches. During a home match the following week, the Sounders earned a 3–0 victory over expansion team St. Louis City SC to replace them atop the Western Conference. Josh Atencio scored his first career MLS goal, while Raúl Ruidíaz returned as a substitute and scored his first goal since September 2022.
The Sounders traveled to Portland and faced their local rivals, the Timbers, without starting midfielders Cristian Roldan and Albert Rusnák, who were both injured. Ruidíaz scored the opening goal of the match in the 58th minute, but the Timbers scored four goals to earn their fourth consecutive win against the Sounders. After the match, Schmetzer called the result an "emotional punch to the jaw" and said that the Sounders "have to get back to understanding that this is a rivalry"; he also attributed the shift in momentum to his substitution of Léo Chú for Héber and uncharacteristic defensive mistakes. Ruidíaz suffered a hamstring strain during the match and was later ruled out for four to five weeks; Cristian Roldan, still under concussion protocols, and left-back Nouhou were also unavailable for the next match at home against Minnesota United FC. Rusnák scored his first goal of the season in the 1–0 victory over Minnesota in the 79th minute, ending a defensive deadlock that had limited scoring chances for the Sounders.
The club entered the U.S. Open Cup in the third round along with other lower-ranked MLS teams and hosted San Diego Loyal SC of the second-division USL Championship at Starfire Sports in Tukwila. The Sounders fielded a lineup of reserves with eight players making their 2023 debuts—including several players from reserve side Tacoma Defiance on temporary contracts—to rest starters for upcoming league matches. The hosts took a 2–0 lead over San Diego in the opening half-hour, but conceded a penalty in the 53rd minute that was converted by Joe Corona. The Sounders reclaimed their two-goal lead but conceded twice—a free kick from Corona and a long-distance strike by Kyle Adams in stoppage time—to finish regulation time at 3–3. In extra time, Reed Baker-Whiting scored from outside the box for Seattle, but San Diego's Jackson Kasanzu headed an equalizer shortly after entering as a substitute. Kasanzu conceded a penalty in stoppage time that was converted by Fredy Montero for his second goal of the game as the Sounders won 5–4 and advanced in the U.S. Open Cup for the first time since 2017.
May
The Sounders returned to MLS play with a scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake in Utah, where the team had only won once in fifteen previous regular season matches. Defender Kelyn Rowe started the match and left in stoppage time with a knee injury; he had replaced Nouhou after the latter contracted malaria. Defiance defender Cody Baker was signed to a short-term contract to replace Rowe ahead of the next match at home against Sporting Kansas City, which the Sounders would play without the injured Roldan and Ruidíaz, as well as João Paulo for yellow card accumulation. Sporting Kansas City earned their first win of the season after scoring twice in the opening half-hour; Montero earned a penalty for the Sounders in the second half that was converted by Lodeiro, but the team lost 2–1, their first loss and non-shutout at home in 2023. The Sounders were eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup in the round of 32, played a few days later, by losing 3–1 on the road to the LA Galaxy. The club fielded six reserve and youth players alongside Fredy Montero and Xavier Arreaga, but conceded two goals to Memo Rodríguez in the second half. Paul Rothrock scored his second goal of the tournament for the Sounders from a header in the 68th minute, shortly after Rodríguez's first goal.