The Eighth Circle

SEATTLE - In Dante's Inferno, the eighth circle of hell is reserved for fraudsters.

The Sounders have now lost eight MLS games in a row. Before this streak began, Seattle's 24 points put them in fourth place, with a whole heap of pure aura among them as they pulled off their first rivalry win of the season. Despite the advanced statistics - expected goals (xG), goals added (g+), etc. - saying they were due to come back to earth at least a little bit, it seemed like they might be due for a whole lot more.

Seattle are now the fourth worst team in the Western Conference. They still have 24 points, only their record is 7-9-3 and not 7-1-3. They're tied with San Diego in points but have the tiebreaker on account of wins; the only two teams with less points than Seattle are Sporting Kansas City (15) and Austin FC (20).

They've now gone 0-3-0 against both those teams this season, by the way. Before Wednesday's game, Austin had 17 points. The last time they had scored two or more goals in an MLS game was when they beat the Sounders back in Texas, and this time, it was when they beat the Sounders on the Rave Green's home turf.

It didn't matter that the two goals Austin scored were just about the only two chances they had all half; it was make-up for the many opportunities the visitors let slip by in the first 45. Had Damian Las, Austin's backup keeper playing in his first MLS game ever, not made a stellar debut, it's very possible the Sounders would have had enough goals to tie.

Or maybe not. They beat Austin in xG 1.27-1.18, but that's hardly a significant difference. If anything, it was Austin who had aggregate luck on their side on the attack rather than the Sounders facing any bad luck. Not that it matters.

Starting XI:

Though the Sounders' lineup appeared to have their usual structure from its announcement graphic, the thing was a little different in practice.

Schmetzer put his guys into a 4-4-2 diamond structure, using a rotatable midfield construction with the hope of creating some new looks on net. In theory, it would have seen Kingston as a movable left winger-slash-pivot and Seba Gomez as an eight-slash-right winger. Rusnák was set as the 10 while both Paul Rothrock and Danny Musovski were supposed to be able to drop back onto his line. Kalani, as per usual in the Schmetzer system, would be a versatile right wing back, with the setup having the potential for six in the front at the right time.

Were it so easy to breathe this team new life, this article would be quite different.

Seattle was lucky to keep a scoreless draw into halftime.

The team seemed stilted and disconnected in the early minutes, with each touch being a surprise to all other players around. Given that no touch in these minutes seemed to have any direction whatsoever - and even the lightest press from Austin scared Seattle into a turnover mistake - it was a self-reinforcing issue.

Seattle nearly broke out of that problem in the eighth minute as Kalani sent a touchline long ball for Seba Gomez and, though it was too strong to connect with its intended target, it forced Austin left back Žan Kolmanič to pass it backwards to keeper Damian Las, who nearly lost it in the net in what would have been one of the more embarrassing own goals in recent memory.

Las recovered and so did the visiting side, who controlled possession and managed to get a couple runs up into the box but couldn't get an early clinical shot on the board.

A 12th minute takeaway by Alex Roldan quickly became a drawn foul and a free kick, but the set piece didn't go as the Sounders intended and it quickly became a spell of possession for Austin. A few minutes passed in between that and Seattle's next set piece - with a Paul Rothrock run on the left side in between them - but although Danny Musovski got the first ball off the kick and moved it forward (progress!), it also didn't amount to anything.

In any case, the visitors let Seattle get away with a boatload of nonsense. Austin had breakaway after breakaway where the Sounders seemingly couldn't contain even one surrounded runner, yet Jayden Nelson's shots were "just a bit outside" and offsides and bizarre deflections kept them from even a corner.

A pair of 30th minute Albert Rusnák decisions exemplified how things were apt to go wrong, the a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't decision tree in full display for the team. In the first one, he got a ball from Peter Kingston with a brief window to either go forward for a one-touch shot or send it leftwards for Rothrock, but he hesitated and wound up trying to send it rightward through three defenders and lost it. A similar chance gathered soon after and Rusnák fired off a shot, but it took a deflection over the endline for a corner kick. Seattle's limpness on set pieces once again reared its unremarkable head in that moment, and both motions for the Rave Green - correct and incorrect - had the same outcome. That's been the frustration they have dealt with since well before the break.

Austin appeared to nearly lock in and the end of regulation, finally getting a series of set pieces after a foul on Seattle deep in their own half. It all culminated in a Kolmanič shot to the corner of the goal that Andrew Thomas barely kept in check.

The second half started with incredible promise...

Schmetzer switched things up going into the second half, bringing in Snyder Brunell for Seba Gomez and moving Kingston to the wing. Kingston, who needs to be quite versatile for the Sounders' very injured side, is more natural as a winger, and Schmetzer paired him with Kalani as a dual right side threat pair.

"He's the jack of all trades right now because he has to fill in multiple positions just because of the situation we find ourselves in," Schmetzer said. "The right hand side in the second half, Peter Kingston has played right back and right wing, and Kalani and him were just, the message to them at halftime was: one guy goes forward, the other guy goes back. If he goes forward, this guy tucks in. One guy in the pocket, the other guy wide. And as a tandem, we were trying to create some overloads and some problems defensively."

In effect, the structure of the second half - at least initially - was Schmetzer's usual 4-2-3-1 with Kingston as the right winger and Brunell and Alex as the pivots.

Since Brunell wasn't 100% going into the game (quad tightness), he only played 45 minutes, but he had an immediate impact.

"Snyder Brunell came on, and there's another guy that [is] carrying a little bit of a knock and he's carried a lot of heavy minutes, so we decided to give Seba Gomez a start in a diamond midfield, and again, Seba was okay," Schmetzer said. "But as soon as Snyder got in there with Alex, I think we were able to get out of some tough spots, and Snyder was getting the ball and turning, and putting them under pressure, so credit to the kid."

More so than any of the other Sounders then in the game, Brunell believed in himself and his ability to create. There were now real chances being created in the box and the confidence began to transfer to his teammates. Rothrock got a shot off in the 50th minute after Brunell flicked the ball with his left foot over his head and then tapped it forward for Rothrock, but the shot didn't have enough moxie to make things difficult for Las. Kalani rattled one off a minute with some help from Rusnák, but it sailed over the crossbar.

Rothrock had a moment with a ball given to him from Musovski and defenders out of position in the 55th minute, a clean shot open for him to run up and take. Earlier in the game - and in many of their previous games - Paul would have hesitated and tried to find someone to dump it off toward, but he took the shot when he had the space. It didn't have the juice, but it was, again, the right decision to make.

Several more good chances followed in the ensuing two minutes, with Kalani finding Rusnák with an open line and the latter firing a left-footer that caught a deflection in the 57th and Snyder Brunell taking a screamer of a shot in the 58th that Las barely kept out of the net. Seattle's best chance came in the 61st as Kingston sent a cross in for an open Musovski, but although the Moose sent it flying towards the far corner, Las made a diving save and, though the ball was loose, Austin FC's Przemysław Płacheta managed to scamper back to the ball in time to prevent a tap-in from Rothrock. The score remained knotted.

...and ended with disaster.

One breakaway that went wrong for Seattle was, once again, all it took to turn the game on its head. None of Nouhou, Jackson Ragen, or Kim Kee-hee marked the oncoming Facundo Torres as Kolmanič sent one in from the left side, and Torres opened the scoring with a fairly easy goal in the 66th.

Regardless, the Sounders went back on the attack. Brunell leaned back too far as he had a prime chance on a 71st minute rebound, holding his head in his hands as he realized what could have been. Kalani barely missed a shot in the 76th, yet Seattle remained scoreless. A loose ball in the box in the 78th nearly became a goal were Rothrock quicker to react, while Schmetzer made the unexpected move in the 77th of bringing on Osaze de Rosario for Kingston and using a double nine formation with Osaze and Moose.

The purpose of these repeated formation shifts was, according to Schmetzer, to find some sort of spark that could rejuvenate the injured squad.

Nevertheless, the saves kept building up for Las, but the Sounders helped out with their (lack of) shot quality. Brunell, once again, provided a spark in the 85th, sending the ball up to Kalani in the right corner, who tapped it beautifully to an open Rusnák. Unlike many earlier moments of hesitation, Rusnák fired off an immediate one-touch strike on net - but his shot quality didn't reward him for his decision-making; the ball went right to Las. Seattle had a secondary chance 20 seconds later, but Stu Hawkins' ball up to the box was too strong and it went out for a goal kick.

Austin's ensuing turnaround has many chances to be stopped. First Andrew Thomas dropped a direct catch forward, giving the visitors a second lease on life in that moment, and they managed to win a corner. Seattle had a few chances to clear the corner away, but they didn't take any of them, and as Brandon Vázquez sent in a cross for Guilherme Biro on the back post, the second goal came together like lightning. Biro slid in the air and made an unreal touch to drive the ball upwards into the top of the net, stunning the crowd into silence.

Once it was 2-0 Austin, the fans began streaming out of Lumen Field. The attendance had already been a notably low 28,836, but more and more empty seats began to become visible as the fans exited the field.

With half of a quite thin crowd already gone, the Sounders finally got one past Las. Seattle had a 90th minute free kick, and for the first time, Albert found an open teammate in Hawkins, who headed it right into the most open part of the net. The clean sheet was gone for Las, but Austin still held the lead. The steady stream of leaving Sounders fans stopped in its tracks as all the remaining fans sat in sweaty anticipation.

Theatrics kept almost happening. Danny Musovski got the ball from Kalani in the fourth minute of stoppage and rattled off a bicycle kick towards the far post, but it flew just outside that post and Seattle remained wanting.

Paul Rothrock was the final Sounder to nearly tie the game up, also getting his shot off in the final minute of stoppage. It whirled past Las but also a foot past the far post, with groans from the crowd as yet another chance went by for Seattle.

The fifth minute of stoppage saw one final Sounders corner, but as it got deflected without any good shot, the game came to a close. Despite Seattle putting together one of the best attacking halves they had since the World Cup, it meant nothing but another soul-crushing loss.

Jackson Ragen left with "soreness" in second half after a first half knee hyperextension.

Stu Hawkins, of course, was in the game because Ragen was no longer able to play. Ragen's first scare came in the first half as the center back fell to the ground without contact in the 37th minute.

The knock initially looked pretty severe, as he held his head in his hands and stayed on the ground for quite some time. Ragen went down again in the 69th minute, this time more slowly, and Schmetzer immediately made the move to replace him with Hawkins.

The oncoming center back said that the coaching staff went over "a couple tactical things" as he subbed on the field, but the prep isn't too extensive when he comes onto the field on a moment's notice.

"I mean, I thought I was going on earlier when Jackson went down, so went over set pieces, things like that with Rico (assistant coach Ricardo Clark)," Hawkins said. "Yeah, a couple tactical things in how we're building, how we're attacking, but it's just really quick before you go on the field."

Despite the urgency of the switch - and the fact that Ragen was limping off the field as the substitution was made - Schmetzer downplayed the severity of the injury.

"He's fine. He wanted to play," Schmetzer said. "[He left] Because his knee was getting a little more sore, he hyperextended his knee [in the 37th], and he's fine."

"I hoped that he was okay, and I hope that his MRI is okay, and that he's fine and hopefully it's nothing too serious," Musovski said. "We can't afford any more injuries right now, just gotta keep guys healthy and field a good XI out there."

But with a game on Saturday, the team will have to be mindful of Ragen's limits, even if the injury is as minor as hoped.

The Sounders badly need a signing.

After nearly each loss in their current eight-game rut, Schmetzer is inevitably asked about his opinion on the Sounders' summer window. He usually gives answers to the effect of "we shouldn't rashly go out and get someone just to get someone, but a signing or two would be good." This message has been delivered in various ways, both diplomatic and combative, but it has been clear that he and the front office have been in discussions.

Schmetzer was asked on Wednesday if he had a message for owner Adrian Hanauer and general manager Craig Waibel. He was sure to specify that he doesn't need to vent in pressers to get his point across, but there was a bit of exasperated recognition of the situation.

Schmetzer seems to have mixed up the dates, but he was referring to an allusion that he made in his Tuesday pre-match press conference about unreported connections being in the works.

Regardless, there are two obvious paths to take for these signings (though this has been discussed ad nauseam):

I: Striker

Casper Tengstedt is the most reported player in this milieu, but someone who can finish well, drop back into a false nine position, and even provide some creativity and size in the box would be a massive boon to the team no matter what the injury statuses are.

Neither Osaze nor Musovski has "made the position their own" (using the phrase Schmetz has picked), and though each have some abilities at striker, going with one or the other is an either-or proposition for Seattle most of the time. Finishing ability or size and the ability to drop back?

Perhaps this is the reason for the Osaze-plus-Musovski double nine situation at the end of Wednesday's match, but a truly strong striker would allow Schmetzer to keep his 4-2-3-1 structure with the nine as a more integral part of the attack.

II: Dynamic winger/AM

We have Pedro de la Vega at home. Well, we don't, but we could. A dynamic winger-slash-attacking midfielder would paper over Musovski's somewhat limited skillset at nine by producing more opportunities for him to tap it in. As we all saw in 2025, when Moose gets a bunch of chances produced for him up top, he finishes them. With Rusnák and Ferreira as the main distributors in the current system (with Rothrock and the right wing back filling in as cross machines), there aren't as many avenues for creativity for Seattle's chance creation - especially with Rusnak out eight to 10 weeks.

Of course, this is the problem they signed Pepo for. Then he got injured. And he got injured again. And again. Signing a different player with his skillset would mark an ignominious conclusion to his Sounders tenure, but perhaps it's a decision the Sounders need to make.

Malebolge?

Eight straight MLS losses in and the Sounders have dropped eight spots in the standings.

The eighth layer of hell in the Inferno, Malebolge, is a series of 10 ditches (bolge, singular bolgia in Italian). In typical Dante fashion, each is reserved for some different flavor of fraud or forgery.

Unfortunately for the cleanliness of my narrative, it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense for me to go down each one and try to find a Sounders equivalent. There's not a whole lot of soccer comparison for selling church property (Bolgia IV) or alchemy (part of Bolgia X).

But the basic comparison makes enough sense. Are the Sounders frauds? Well, by this point in the season, the question from the beginning of the year appears to be answered. In Dante terms, the team's experience is that of being driven around in files, then of rather unsanitary swimming conditions, and of feet being to the fire, and of contortion, and of falling into the La Brea Tar Pits, and of walking tightropes, and of being chased around by snakes, and of being immured in fire, and of being split in two, and finally of losing the ability to move altogether.

The team as it currently exists is (i.e., with all the injuries) is probably better than 0-8-0. That doesn't really matter. Nobody can change the fact that these losses have happened; the only thing the Sounders can do now is dispel these fraud notions with a roaring return to winning that ends in a new piece of silverware.

"The objective is to make the playoffs ... it's American sports, go win MLS cup. That's the objective," Schmetzer said. "The fact that the fans supported the players is exactly what our fans do. They might be upset with me, they can be upset with Craig, they can be upset with Adrian, that's totally fine. But the players haven't given up on the fans, and the fans, tonight, I thought were exceptionally loud, even when Austin scored their goal, and you could tell that the players were feeding off of that. And they put their best effort to try and score. So, again, I keep saying this, the connection between the players and the fans is still strong."

That relationship, however, is fraying. Some of the fans stayed true to the end and sat through the muck; they got to see the chance to come back and draw, which is better than can be said for some of the team's other recent losses.

Others wore paper bags on their heads in disappointment, engaging in the time-honored, traditional way of expressing displeasure with their favorite team. Things aren't as dire for Seattle as they were for the Detroit Lions back in '08, but this - unlike the aughts Lions - is a team with expectations. They had one of the greatest summers ever of an MLS team less than 12 months ago. Were it not for meeting Minnesota (the one team seemingly tailor-made to stymie them) in the playoffs, they might have gone all the way to a championship.

As a (interim, until the Sonics return) Denver Nuggets fan, that sentence can actually apply to multiple teams over the past circle of the earth around the sun.

And yet many more, perhaps half, of the fans got up and left when the game was 2-0. 2-0! The most dangerous lead in the sport, as they say! But the hope had long been drained from their faces.

Hawkins, the one goal-scorer, had a message of hope for the fans, though he mentioned that he couldn't help but notice the negative reactions (and perhaps premature exits) of the fans on Wednesday.

Sure, Obed's in Spain now. Cristian and Yeimar and Ferreira and Paul Arriola and Pepo (again) are out with injury. Some of these players might be available somewhat soon, but there will be due caution applied, as Schmetzer clarified when asked about the timetable by The Seattle Times' Jayda Evans.

"What I don't wanna do, Jayda, is make a bad decision because we're in a bad mood and we lost two home games and then re-injure them. That would not be good," Schmetzer said on Wednesday. "So I'll triple-check with the medical staff, I'll talk with the players like I normally do, and then we'll make a decision tomorrow."

But even when they return, do they have the capability to return back to the playoffs? To get a home series, or at least a solid chance at a favorable path through the playoffs?

Schmetzer has been frank about the team's issues in the present, and for all I know, his belief in the team's ability to come back could be fully genuine. In any case, he expressed such belief quite forcefully.

"I've always had hope in the squad and faith in the players that we have. It's a good team; yes, we need to have some reinforcements, but that's a good team. What I reminded them early as we were going out to warmup, in my pregame speech, was that we started the season out 6-1-1. And there's no reason why we cannot get everybody healthy and get a streak like that going again and get us in the playoffs. So the belief in the squad has always been there."

Regardless of any doubts he may harbor inside - and regardless of the fact that the team's opening was an overperformance according to every advanced metric in the book - Schmetzer must express this belief in order for the players to fully trust themselves during the game. That trust that the Sounders eleven had in the second half was what created the chances that they had. They didn't have the finishing, but as bizarre as it may seem after a loss to one of the worst teams in the league, those looks were some of the biggest lights at the end of the tunnel they've seen in a while.

Results matter, though. Each slight upturn created by these new looks is pushed six feet further in the ground by each successive defeat. The team has now spent nearly a quarter of the season on a cataclysmic losing streak, and as Musovski said after the game, these losses are almost greater than the sum of their parts.

Austin was perhaps their best chance to get back on the horse in a (relatively) timely manner. Saturday's game is on the road against Cincinnati, who is fifth in the Eastern Conference table with 30 points and an 8-6-6 record. That's not a whole lot better than Seattle, but the form and the location will both be working against the Sounders. After that is a week break and a home game against the 34-point, 11-win Chicago Fire FC on Aug. 29.

"We're gonna continue to try because that's our job," Schmetzer said of the upcoming fixtures. "Players get paid to play on the field and entertain the fans, we as coaches get paid to do our jobs, try and give them the right tools to be successful, to have confidence, to do all of that. So, we're going to keep trying. We're going to keep trying new formations because there's a lot of guys that played heavy minutes, and we have to travel to Cincinnati, so some more young guys are gonna get a chance, so we'll, again, try and get the best team possible for Cincinnati and try and win the game. It's our job."

Hawkins, despite being the one player who found the back of the net, was left searching for answers as to what the team needs to do to return to form.

"I've watched this team for a long time. I've been a fan, I grew up here. I'm still a fan even though I'm playing. I mean, it's hard right now," Hawkins said. "I don't know, I feel like a lot of teams, it's like possession, we wanna keep the ball more, create more chances that way, maybe tire out opponents that way. We tried some things today, different formation. Didn't quite work, but I thought it was a little better; we created some more attacking moments, just gotta finish our chances."