Sounders kick off 2026 preseason with eyes on growth after last season

The Seattle Sounders kicked off their 2026 preseason campaign in high spirits as the players returned to the Providence Swedish Performance Center & Clubhouse on Jan. 12.

Following a first round playoff exit vs. Minnesota United in 2025, the Sounders are ready to come back stronger as the team looks ahead to another thrilling year.

“The guys are all in very good moods, even after the running portion,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer following the first training session. “They're all excited to be back.”

Midfielder Cristian Roldan said last year was the tightest the team had been in some time. After the first preseason session, the focus is on preserving that chemistry while integrating six new faces into the roster.

“They were such a together team,” said Schmetzer. “With\] the signings that came or weren't going to come, or [Obed [Vargas] leaving, not leaving, all the kind of uncertainty with the group, I reminded them of their strength, and then I added a layer onto that about just doing a better job of maybe holding each other accountable because I think that's one area we can evolve and be a little bit better at.”​

The additions of midfielder Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United), defender Ryan Sailor (Inter Miami), goalkeeper Max Anchor (Vancouver Whitecaps), midfielder Nikola Petković (Charlotte FC) and Tacoma Defiance standouts Yu Tsukanome and Sebastian Gomez are intended to not only add to the togetherness of the team, but to inject youth into a veteran group. 

The competition is bound to be high with the returners and newcomers fighting for spots in the Starting XI. With two central midfielders joining an already strong group of Roldan, Vargas and Snyder Brunell, this particular position will be especially difficult to break into. 

Similarly, the fight for first string goalkeeper will be tight with Andrew Thomas, who was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament in Seattle’s 2025 Leagues Cup title run, veteran All-Star Stefan Frei, and newest addition Anchor looking to obtain that role for the upcoming season.

“There's going to be open competition for that [goalkeeping] spot,” said Schmetzer. “And I will decide at the end of preseason, how I'm going to decide, what I'm going to decide, and who goes first, who goes second, but it's open competition.”

A consecutive year of chemistry is a must, in addition to putting in the work during the regular season to ensure a solid standing heading into playoffs. Schmetzer emphasized this particular topic prior to Monday’s training.

“Before we got out on the field, I certainly had a couple of slides of that [first-round loss vs. Minnesota]. What could we learn? You know, the idea of making sure that they really understand the importance of home field advantage,” said Schmetzer.

The long-time coach also expressed the need to improve in some areas related to defense. He specifically pointed out the team’s performance in the playoffs.

“In that first round of three, things that came and caught us a little bit, you know, we talked about our defending [when we] let in a few more goals, especially on set pieces,” said Schmezer.

While the Sounders boasted the best defensive record in MLS in 2023 and 2024,  last season saw the team’s offense explode, scoring 90 goals across all competitions.  The objective is to combine the two, beginning with the work taking place in the team's preseason training in both Seattle and Europe. 

“We talked about some new ideas that we want to formulate to try and evolve the team from\] last year, \[like\] [Jordan Morris\] and \[Danny\] [Musovski on the field at the same time,” said Schmetzer.

After this week’s opening sessions, the Sounders will travel to Portugal for fitness training before heading to Marbella, Spain to close out preseason with three scrimmages.