The general consensus seems to be that the Eastern Conference is far better than the West this year. While that may true in terms of depth, the reality is that the top four or five teams in the West can stand toe-to-toe with their Eastern counterparts.

To help make that case, we brought back Backheeled.com’s Joe Lowery, who also shares some of his early end-of-season award picks.

You can support Joe’s work as well as ours by upgrading your membership to the Advocate level or above, which includes a complimentary subscription to Backheeled.

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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

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Nos Audietis is the flagship podcast for Sounder at Heart, which has been a reader-supported website since 2023. 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 Seattle Sounders are just two points ahead of the Portland Timbers and haven’t beaten their biggest rivals at home in the regular season since 2017. Those are pretty good reasons to win. But Jeremiah and Niko argue that the reason this game is so important has less to do with statistics and more to do with vibes. The Sounders need this game just to get things moving in a positive direction again.

Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.

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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.

The Seattle Sounders did a lot of things right against the Vancouver Whitecaps. They also did some stuff wrong … and picked up a couple of injuries.

With Aaron out of town, Tim Foss is filling in. He and Jeremiah discuss the latest Sounders disappointment and look ahead to the final three games of the season.

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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.

With Obed Vargas out for at least the next two games while he’s at the U20 World Cup, the Seattle Sounders are looking for a replacement. The top candidate appears to be Snyder Brunell, who has played quite well since joining the first team this summer.

Jeremiah and Niko discuss what Sounders fans can expect from the 18-year-old, weigh in on the other position battles and give an update on potential European interest in Vargas.

Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.

Sponsor

🍷 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.

The Seattle Sounders have suffered their first two-game losing streak since the Club World Cup and haven’t won in three. That’s obviously bad news, but there’s plenty of reason to think this slump is temporary. The underlying numbers still like the Sounders and now they’ve got some home games.

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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, a primarily reader-supported website. 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 Seattle Sounders appear to have a bit of a goalkeeper controversy. It’s not that Stefan Frei has played poorly as much as it is he’s failed to firmly take hold of the spot. Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer effectively confirmed the tenuous nature of the battle between Frei and backup Andrew Thomas on Friday.

Jeremiah, Niko and Tim discuss that as well as the brewing position battle in the attack as Pedro de la Vega, Albert Rusnák and Jordan Morris all return to the fold.

Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.

Sponsor

🍷 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.

The Seattle Sounders lost 3-1 to Inter Miami, a game they played on two days’ rest and required a cross-country road trip. The result was pretty predictable, if we’re being honest. But what Jeremiah and Aaron point out is the degree to which it’s a problem is mostly a result of dropping points on Saturday.

That sets up a final five-game stretch in which the Sounders have virtually no margin for error if they want to secure home-field advantage through the first round of the playoffs.

Sponsor

🍷 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.

Cristian Roldan has been mostly an afterthought when it comes to the United States national team, even when he was one of the final players to make the 2022 World Cup roster. But after being a late addition to the most recent camp and helping the USA beat Japan 2-0, it looks like he might be solidifying his spot.

Jeremiah and Charlie Boehm discuss Roldan’s place in the USMNT and more broadly what the situation looks like about 10 months from the 20w6 World Cup. They also discuss the Sounders’ position as they head into the final stretch of the 2025 regular season.

Follow Charles Boehm on BlueSky and read him on MLSsoccer.com.

Sponsor

🍷 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.