The Seattle Sounders are moving up the Western Conference table and to help give us a better sense of how they stack up, we brought back Matt Doyle for another episode of “How the West will be won.” Matt continues to be very impressed by the play of the Vancouver Whitecaps and far less impressed by the play of the Portland Timbers as he and Jeremiah dig into the other Western Conference contenders.

You can read Matt Doyle every week at MLSsoccer.com, watch his tactical videos on Bluesky and subscribe his new “Tactics Free Zone” newsletter.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

It was another busy week around the Sounders with a U.S. Open Cup match and a signing. Jeremiah and Niko dig into another episode of “What we learned this week” that focuses a lot on the development of younger players who appeared in the Tacoma Defiance match against the Portland Timbers.

Somewhat connected to the Defiance match was a second consecutive match where we saw the 4-2-3-1. They discuss what kind of tactical tweaks that could bring.

They also give a scouting report of the Houston Dynamo.

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***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

The vibes are starting to feel pretty good around these parts after the Sounders dominated St. Louis City and the Tacoma Defiance gave the Portland Timbers everything they could handle in the U.S. Open Cup. Jeremiah and Aaron break down what has fueled the Sounders’ turnaround.

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***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

Due to the silliness surrounding MLS teams’ participation in the U.S. Open Cup, the Tacoma Defiance have taken the Sounders’ place in the tournament. They’ve won their first three games and have now earned the opportunity to become the first MLS Next Pro affiliate to face a MLS first team in actual competition. Even more silly, that team is the Portland Timbers.

To help us understand the Timbers’ approach to this game, we reached out to Tyson Alger, who runs the Substack I-5 Corridor, which covers mostlyl the Oregon Ducks and the Timbers. He thinks the Timbers will likely field a relatively veteran-heavy team.

We also discuss the evolution of Merritt Paulson, who Alger notes has decreased his public presence but that “the poster inside never dies.”

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***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

It was almost exactly 10 years ago that the Portland Timbers visited Starfire Stadium for what would ultimately be known as the Red Card Wedding. With the Timbers returning to Starfire on Tuesday, now seems like a good time to re-release this episode that was first recorded in 2017.

Back then, Jeremiah teamed up with former SB Nation colleague Richard Farley and Soccer Made in PDX’s Chris Rifer to record and produce this episode. It features such notable voices as Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle, Andy Rose, Ross Fletcher, Caleb Porter, Jack Jewsbury and Nat Borchers as well as Jeff Hosking, who was an assistant ref in the game.

For the uninitiated, this was among the more surreal games in Sounders history. It most famous featured Clint Dempsey getting ejected and literally ripping up the referee’s notebook, but it also featured two other red cards (which combined with Obafemi Martins’ injury forced the Sounders to finish the game with seven players).

Even before that, the match was shaping up as a classic with two heated rivals trading blows in a match that went to overtime. You’ll definitely want to give it a listen.

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more: https://www.sounderatheart.com/about/

You can also support the show by checking out our line of merch including every past YachtCon design and our latest skull-and-crossbones logo.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music: https://despatchesfromseattle.com/

Niko and Jeremiah are back together for another installment of “What we learned this week” and they’re mostly focused on how the Sounders will cope with Jordan Morris likely being out at least six weeks. There’s no sugar-coating that the injury diagnosis was bad, but there is reason to think that it won’t be a season-killer.

First and foremost, both of them like the way Danny Musovski has been playing and how he projects going forward. They also like what they’re hearing about Osaze De Rosario, the Tacoma Defiance striker who is off to a blazing start this year.

Of course, they also find time to give Stefan Frei his flowers for hitting 400 appearances with the Sounders and give a scouting report on Saturday’s opponent, St. Louis City.

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***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

The Sounders are coming off a 1-1 tie with the Colorado Rapids. That leaves them with a 3-3-4 record and sitting eighth in the West. Jeremiah and Mark give some of their big picture assessments of the season up to this point. One big point of discussion is the play of Danny Musovski, who has now scored in three straight games and seems to be doing it in repeatable fashion.

Tom Biro’s GoFundMe.

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***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.

From all appearances, it looks like the Seattle Sounders are going to run back the same lineup they used last week despite the availability of several would-be starters. On “What we learned this week” Jeremiah and Niko Moreno discuss whether or not that’s the right call. They also give a brief preview of the upcoming game against the Colorado Rapids.

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🍷 Full Pull Wines: Love wine but not wine clubs? Check out the boutique wine seller who lets you browse their selections and pick whatever you want. You can join their mailing list here: https://fullpullwines.com/signup.php

***

Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which became a reader-supported website on Aug. 21. You can support us by becoming a paid subscriber, learn more here. You can also watch many of their shows on YouTube.

Aside from becoming a Sounder at Heart subscriber, you can also support the show by using this link to purchase MLS Season Pass or checking out our merch table to buy various shirt designs.

“Diversions” audio provided by Sounder at Heart subscriber Lars; find more of their music here.