Foreign Exchange: Three questions with Sounder at Heart's Jeremiah Oshan
The Sounders, coming to Austin on Wednesday night, are coming off a 5-1 loss to their Portland rivals. That's putting the squad in a similar existential crisis to the one Verde faced in May.
Austin FC is back, and so is the call for opponent spotlights!
For the Wednesday night match against Seattle Sounders FC — meaning the team that brought us Five Teenagers Night in Verde lore is part of Brad Stuver Bobblehead night — we turned to Jeremiah Oshan of the essential Sounder at Heart for some reflections ahead of the 8:30 pm CT showdown.
To set the scene, here's an excerpt from an opinion piece he just went up with:
It has now been about five days since the Seattle Sounders hit what we can only hope is rock bottom. The 5–1 loss to the Portland Timbers at home wasn’t just humiliating; it was so bad that it has forced a lot of conversations about prior assumptions among folks like myself who have normally been staunch defenders of this roster build.
I’ve covered this team for all but one of the Sounders’ 17 MLS seasons and I’m not sure I remember the reaction to a result being more frustrated and fed up than this one. I don’t think it’s just because it was arguably the worst performance in club history. I think it’s more that there’s an encroaching sense of doom around this team, one that has been building for several years.
I’m sure some will see this as a sense of entitlement. How can a team that has made the playoffs in all but one season, has won more trophies than any MLS team in that time, and remains on pace to finish with one of its highest point totals ever, have such negativity around it?
So, how you likely felt after the May loss to SKC is how Sounders fans are feeling right now ... though it's hard to imagine both their head coach and sporting director being dismissed as a result.
(Also, though it's not up yet of this writing, I provided The State of Things for the site's Opposition Scouting Report feature, so expect that closer to kickoff. There's also a new Emergency Podcast up that not only has our thoughts on Wednesday's match, but the thoughts of Austin FC captain Ilie Sánchez.)
To the questions!
How are the Sounders looking to you at this juncture of the season? They're currently sixth in the West and would face LAFC in the playoffs were they to start today, yet they're coming off what you called "an embarrassment for the ages," losing 5-1 at home to Portland.
Emotionally, they are not in a good place. Beside the aformentioned face-plant, they had lost the two games heading into the World Cup break. The Sounders aren’t used to three-game losing streaks and haven’t ever lost four in a row since Brian Schmetzer took over as head coach a decade ago.
That gives some hope for a bounce-back result but the mood around the fan base has turned decidedly sour, the memories of one of their best 10-game starts ever far in the rear-view mirror.
Between Cristian Roldan making the U.S. men's national team and Seattle being such a good and vibrant host city during the World Cup, what can the Sounders take from its role in the World Cup into the rest of this season? (Are there at least good vibes from new engaged fans?)
There’s some good vibes in the city but you’d be hard-pressed to find any around the Sounders. Great as it was for Roldan to make the World Cup team, he got hurt before he could get on the play and is now one of the only players in USMNT history to make two World cup rosters and not get on the field.
We’re having a beautiful summer, though!
Unfortunately for Verde fans, Austin FC has been a bit of a "opponent that will help you cure what ails you" this season. What will the team's mindset be heading into what could be a gettable three points away?
The Sounders desperately need to put the Timbers game in the past and they should be entirely focused on Austin, a place they’ve had a fair amount of success over the years. But they also should know they can’t take anything for granted. Expect some light rotation from Thursday, but with so many players still on the injured list, Schmetzer simply can’t change out as many players as he’d like.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
Austin FC interim head coach Davy Arnaud is proud of what the team has been able to absorb during the World Cup break. They'll get to showcase that with a mostly healthy lineup on Wednesday against the Sounders.
Now that the World Cup is over, our attention turns fully back to Austin FC. Here's what's on the docket over the next two weeks heading into Leagues Cup.
If you missed the third-place game yesterday, you missed 10 goals. Spain and Argentina likely won't have that many when they face off at today's final.
Przemysław Płacheta played before Austin FC fans for the first time on Saturday. Jorge Alastuey was also part of the practice, and looked especially poised.
Austin FC is back, and so is the call for opponent spotlights!
For the Wednesday night match against Seattle Sounders FC — meaning the team that brought us Five Teenagers Night in Verde lore is part of Brad Stuver Bobblehead night — we turned to Jeremiah Oshan of the essential Sounder at Heart for some reflections ahead of the 8:30 pm CT showdown.
To set the scene, here's an excerpt from an opinion piece he just went up with:
It has now been about five days since the Seattle Sounders hit what we can only hope is rock bottom. The 5–1 loss to the Portland Timbers at home wasn’t just humiliating; it was so bad that it has forced a lot of conversations about prior assumptions among folks like myself who have normally been staunch defenders of this roster build.
I’ve covered this team for all but one of the Sounders’ 17 MLS seasons and I’m not sure I remember the reaction to a result being more frustrated and fed up than this one. I don’t think it’s just because it was arguably the worst performance in club history. I think it’s more that there’s an encroaching sense of doom around this team, one that has been building for several years.
I’m sure some will see this as a sense of entitlement. How can a team that has made the playoffs in all but one season, has won more trophies than any MLS team in that time, and remains on pace to finish with one of its highest point totals ever, have such negativity around it?
So, how you likely felt after the May loss to SKC is how Sounders fans are feeling right now ... though it's hard to imagine both their head coach and sporting director being dismissed as a result.
(Also, though it's not up yet of this writing, I provided The State of Things for the site's Opposition Scouting Report feature, so expect that closer to kickoff. There's also a new Emergency Podcast up that not only has our thoughts on Wednesday's match, but the thoughts of Austin FC captain Ilie Sánchez.)
To the questions!
How are the Sounders looking to you at this juncture of the season? They're currently sixth in the West and would face LAFC in the playoffs were they to start today, yet they're coming off what you called "an embarrassment for the ages," losing 5-1 at home to Portland.
Emotionally, they are not in a good place. Beside the aformentioned face-plant, they had lost the two games heading into the World Cup break. The Sounders aren’t used to three-game losing streaks and haven’t ever lost four in a row since Brian Schmetzer took over as head coach a decade ago.
That gives some hope for a bounce-back result but the mood around the fan base has turned decidedly sour, the memories of one of their best 10-game starts ever far in the rear-view mirror.
Between Cristian Roldan making the U.S. men's national team and Seattle being such a good and vibrant host city during the World Cup, what can the Sounders take from its role in the World Cup into the rest of this season? (Are there at least good vibes from new engaged fans?)
There’s some good vibes in the city but you’d be hard-pressed to find any around the Sounders. Great as it was for Roldan to make the World Cup team, he got hurt before he could get on the play and is now one of the only players in USMNT history to make two World cup rosters and not get on the field.
We’re having a beautiful summer, though!
Unfortunately for Verde fans, Austin FC has been a bit of a "opponent that will help you cure what ails you" this season. What will the team's mindset be heading into what could be a gettable three points away?
The Sounders desperately need to put the Timbers game in the past and they should be entirely focused on Austin, a place they’ve had a fair amount of success over the years. But they also should know they can’t take anything for granted. Expect some light rotation from Thursday, but with so many players still on the injured list, Schmetzer simply can’t change out as many players as he’d like.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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