Playoff Preview: Can Sounders Finally Beat Minnesota?
The Seattle Sounders have struggled against Minnesota United FC during the 2025 season, but it's a whole new ballgame as the two teams are set to begin the postseason as Monday kicks off a three-game set.
Up through the 2024 season, the Sounders had a 14-1-2 record against Minnesota United in all competitions. From Clint Dempsey's brace in their very first match to a 75th-minute Albert Rusnák game-winner in August 2024, Seattle outscored Minnesota 35-12, easily dispatching them year after year.
It's a rivalry now. Hold it in Poulsbo every year and call it the Norway Derby—one of these teams better sign Erling Haaland in 15 years. The first match was one of many during the middle of the season where Seattle gave away a penalty goal and dropped points, in this case turning what would have been a gifted draw due to an own goal into a loss. The second, meanwhile, saw the Sounders keep 71% of possession, shoot 50% more than Minnesota did, had almost double the shots on target and twice the expected goals ... and lose, thanks to Dayne St. Clair doing his usual Dayne St. Clair things and the Sounders missing a host of other opportunities.
Lumen Field may be a fortress, but Seattle has another knock against them going into a road series where two of the three matches will be in Allianz Field. Against Western Conference playoff teams in opposing stadiums this season, the Rave Green were 1-6-1. Yikes.
And let's not forget to mention that other thing that happened. A couple of weeks after the New York Mets crushed the hopes and dreams of their beleaguered Orange and Blue faithful with one of the worst collapses in sports history, their baseball stadium took another victim, this time in Sounders wildcard attacker Pedro de la Vega. He will be out for at least six months after surgery to repair a fractured patella sustained on Decision Day against NYCFC.
The Sounders can expect that Minnesota will park the bus again and wait for breakaways and set pieces to pounce on an exhausted Seattle in the later minutes, the same script that won them two games already this season. While getting past the 5-3-2 will be a challenge, the buck stops at Dayne St. Clair—if Seattle can sneak a couple by one of the best keepers in the league (much easier said than done), they will have full control of the catbird seat even on the road.
As to a front four in the postseason, the absences of Pedro, Paul Arriola, and Ryan Kent limit the options for Schmetzer. We could see Paul Rothrock on the left wing and Georgi on the right—but given that Schmetzer has preferred to use Georgi as a super-sub, there's a chance it ends up being Kalani on the right side or some combination of Jesus Ferreira and Rothrock on the wings.
The effects of Obed's exhaustion have been clearly visible for months now, but with more than a week's rest before Game 1, the Obed-Cristian pivot pair will be in full force for Seattle. The Nouhou-Ragen-Yeimar-Alex back line will be tasked with containing any breakaways and deflecting set pieces, but they will need to keep mind of that while they're spending eons upfield during Seattle's likely long spells banging their heads against a wall on possession.
Seattle has the playoff experience factor on their side. Near everyone on the Sounders has "been there, done that," and even those who haven't are surrounded by the experienced playoff guys who produce a "next man up" culture. If there's any single factor that portends a Rave Green win, it's that in the high-stakes moments, these players know what it takes.
