# Brian Schmetzer on Sounders Frustrating Draw, Injury Updates, San Diego

An episode of [Softy & Dick Interviews](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1245866571), 23 Oct 2026, 11 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/98a2599f-cd9b-4f2a-9be4-b22c00e585f2/907d6469-cef5-4bda-9f13-b2f100f49399/35d25e5e-752a-43a5-b568-b4ec0010cd71/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=26b16ce4-8fab-44ea-88d4-b2f100f493bc

Seattle Sounders FC Head Coach Brian Schmetzer joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the team’s frustrating draw against Montreal last weekend, keeping it from happening again, injury updates for the team including multiple centerbacks who are hurt for the team, Seba Gomez’s breakout, and San Diego coming up on the road. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: This is Duke of Duke Seafood, and this hour is
[0:02] Speaker 1: brought to you by Duke Seafood. Why don't you make
[0:04] Speaker 1: it a Duke's night tonight? Reserve your table today at dukesseafood.com. Now,
[0:10] Speaker 1: back to Softie and Dick on Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM.
[0:13] Speaker 1: All right, we're back.
[0:16] Speaker 2: Big thanks again to Mike Holmgren joining us, Chris Collinsworth.
[0:19] Speaker 2: If you missed it, check out the podcast page, 93.3 KJR.com.
[0:21] Speaker 2: We're at the 520 Bar and Grill. In Bellevue until 6.30,
[0:27] Speaker 2: Mike Benton, the captain, will join us next segment, talk
[0:30] Speaker 2: about the Kraken versus the Utah Mammoth tonight over at CPA,
[0:34] Speaker 2: but joining us right now on the radio show. I
[0:37] Speaker 2: hope he looks forward to this as much as we
[0:39] Speaker 2: look forward to talking to him, the head coach of
[0:41] Speaker 2: your Sounders FC, Brian Schmetzer, with us right here on
[0:44] Speaker 2: the show.
[0:44] Speaker 3: Brian, how are you, man?
[0:46] Speaker 4: Good. Softie, I missed you. We missed each other last week,
[0:49] Speaker 4: and I was bummed.
[0:51] Speaker 2: I know.
[0:51] Speaker 3: Me too. Me too.
[0:52] Speaker 4: Highlight of my week, talking to you and Dick and Jackson.
[0:56] Speaker 2: Well, my life is miserable for the most part, except
[1:01] Speaker 2: I love my wife. I miss my wife dearly, by
[1:04] Speaker 2: the way. She's listening right now.
[1:05] Speaker 3: Oh, my goodness. Because I try and scramble. Wow. Okay?
[1:09] Speaker 3: And what are.
[1:10] Speaker 4: You drinking right now at the 520 Bar and Grill?
[1:12] Speaker 3: He's already finished.
[1:13] Speaker 2: Coke Zero, as a matter of fact. That's what I'm
[1:15] Speaker 2: drinking right now. Well, let's talk about what the heck
[1:18] Speaker 2: happened against last place Montreal.
[1:21] Speaker 3: Oh, boy.
[1:21] Speaker 2: Christian Roldan was on with Jackson. No, we can talk
[1:24] Speaker 2: about something else. You want to talk about something else? Okay.
[1:27] Speaker 4: Well, I don't know. You want to talk about.
[1:32] Speaker 3: Seahawks?
[1:33] Speaker 4: You want to talk about four games left in the year?
[1:36] Speaker 4: You want to talk about the stinker we had in
[1:39] Speaker 4: the first half against Montreal?
[1:42] Speaker 2: Hey, don't yell at me, okay? I didn't decide the
[1:44] Speaker 2: questions here, all right? Blame Jackson, all right? Let's talk
[1:50] Speaker 2: about what the heck happened last week. Christian Roldan was
[1:56] Speaker 2: on with Jackson last night, and he said the team
[1:58] Speaker 2: was outclassed by Montreal in the first half last weekend
[2:02] Speaker 2: and that they were mentally still in Dallas. What do
[2:06] Speaker 2: you say when you hear something like that as a
[2:08] Speaker 2: head coach?
[2:09] Speaker 4: Well, I'm a little disappointed. I mean, you know, it's
[2:14] Speaker 4: kind of a reflection of me and the coaching staff.
[2:16] Speaker 4: If he thinks that the team was still stuck in Dallas...
[2:21] Speaker 4: Maybe we didn't do a good enough job messaging that
[2:24] Speaker 4: this was a critical home game in this, you know,
[2:27] Speaker 4: playoff stretch. I might disagree a little bit with Christian
[2:31] Speaker 4: because I think the guys, you know, might have thought, OK,
[2:35] Speaker 4: it's Montreal. They're going to play in the Canadian championship.
[2:38] Speaker 4: Maybe there was that little bit of human nature there.
[2:41] Speaker 4: But I don't know if outclassed was the word. I
[2:45] Speaker 4: think maybe out-hustled a little bit because the young guys
[2:49] Speaker 4: that the Montreal coach put in, you know, certainly worked hard.
[2:53] Speaker 4: But second half, we turned it around. We had expected
[2:57] Speaker 4: goals of over 2.1. And we really could have, even
[3:01] Speaker 4: with that disaster of the first half, probably should have
[3:04] Speaker 4: scored two goals and gone away with three points.
[3:07] Speaker 3: So let's talk about the first half.
[3:08] Speaker 5: How do you and the leaders of the team make
[3:10] Speaker 5: sure that that first half doesn't repeat itself?
[3:14] Speaker 4: Well, I took two guys off at halftime, which is
[3:17] Speaker 4: pretty dramatic for me, and I think that's a pretty
[3:19] Speaker 4: strong statement. The message has been that, you know, look,
[3:23] Speaker 4: we've got four games left, Dick. You've got LAFC, you've
[3:26] Speaker 4: got San Diego, you've got Houston, Vancouver, and LAFC. Those
[3:30] Speaker 4: are all teams that are in playoff positions. And so
[3:34] Speaker 4: we've got a tough schedule here. But they know what
[3:38] Speaker 4: it is, and they know what each one of these
[3:40] Speaker 4: teams brings. San Diego's a little different than Houston. We've
[3:43] Speaker 4: got Houston at home. We've got to come out on
[3:45] Speaker 4: the front foot. We said that before Montreal, but they
[3:50] Speaker 4: really have to believe the words that they say and
[3:54] Speaker 4: believe it in a collective that these games are all critical.
[3:59] Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt. Well, the second half was much better.
[4:02] Speaker 2: Was it the subs, you think, that created that movement
[4:05] Speaker 2: and combinations that unlocked things, I guess, or something else?
[4:09] Speaker 3: What kind of work there, you think?
[4:11] Speaker 4: I think it was a combination of both, Softy. Look,
[4:14] Speaker 4: I put two young kids out there, and they brought energy. And,
[4:18] Speaker 4: you know, young guys, they're excited when they get an
[4:22] Speaker 4: opportunity to play. Kalani, I don't know if he's a
[4:25] Speaker 4: young kid anymore because he's got 50 games, MLS games
[4:28] Speaker 4: under his belt. Seba Gomez, you know, Snyder Brunel, Stuart Hawkins,
[4:34] Speaker 4: some of the guys that are coming on, coming up,
[4:38] Speaker 4: I should say, they're excited and they want to play.
[4:43] Speaker 5: So Gomez continues to come off the bench and produce
[4:46] Speaker 5: for you guys. Do you want him kind of like
[4:48] Speaker 5: that spark plug guy off the bench or as a starter?
[4:51] Speaker 5: You've used him both ways.
[4:53] Speaker 4: Well, in this three-game stretch deck, since it's your program
[4:57] Speaker 4: and I like breaking news on your program, I'm sure
[5:02] Speaker 4: that Seba is going to start, you know, at least
[5:05] Speaker 4: one of these games in his three-game stretch because the
[5:07] Speaker 4: kid's not just a sub. I mean, he's pushing for
[5:10] Speaker 4: playing time.
[5:12] Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt. Well, what about some more injury updates?
[5:16] Speaker 2: The guy ahead of Gomez on the depth chart, Jesus Ferreira.
[5:19] Speaker 2: What's going on with him?
[5:21] Speaker 4: Well, he's itching to start too, so he will start
[5:25] Speaker 4: in this three-game stretch as well. He's 100%. There was
[5:28] Speaker 4: a little bit of a minute restriction on him for
[5:31] Speaker 4: the last couple of games, but they've unlocked him, so
[5:35] Speaker 4: he's ready to go.
[5:37] Speaker 5: Defensive injuries. You mentioned Jackson Reagan had the flu last week.
[5:40] Speaker 5: Stuart Hawkins had an hamstring issue. How are they both
[5:43] Speaker 5: doing as we look ahead to Saturday?
[5:45] Speaker 4: They're good. Stewie's hamstring cleared up, and Jackson, you know, look,
[5:50] Speaker 4: people get sick, even soccer players, professional athletes. We didn't
[5:54] Speaker 4: want Jackson around the team and have a case of
[5:57] Speaker 4: the flu going around the squad late in the season. Right.
[6:00] Speaker 3: Which Jackson are you talking about, our Jackson or your Jackson?
[6:03] Speaker 5: Well, you definitely don't want him around the clubhouse.
[6:05] Speaker 3: Jesus. If you knew that Jackson Feltz was sick, would
[6:09] Speaker 3: you let him in the locker room, by the way?
[6:12] Speaker 1: No.
[6:12] Speaker 4: He quarantined for a week before he'd come to training.
[6:17] Speaker 3: I love it.
[6:17] Speaker 2: Well, we haven't gotten an update, I think, in a
[6:20] Speaker 2: while on Rothrock. What's going on there?
[6:22] Speaker 4: You know, he's close. That is actually, Softy, some really
[6:26] Speaker 4: good news. So they did a scan on him a
[6:30] Speaker 4: couple days ago, and it looks like the hamstring is
[6:33] Speaker 4: healing really well. So I wouldn't be surprised. His target
[6:38] Speaker 4: date was that last game against LAFC, but what we're
[6:43] Speaker 4: thinking now is it's probably that Vancouver match away from home.
[6:46] Speaker 4: That could be the first game that Paul's going to
[6:48] Speaker 4: be back in and available.
[6:51] Speaker 3: Got it.
[6:51] Speaker 5: So finally, Coach, for me, what's the messaging for the playoffs?
[6:56] Speaker 5: Is it more, hey, we need to just get in,
[6:58] Speaker 5: we've got to clinch a spot, or do you just
[7:00] Speaker 5: talk about, hey, we want to get as high as
[7:02] Speaker 5: we can on the table?
[7:04] Speaker 4: Well, right now, Dick, it's we've got to get in
[7:06] Speaker 4: because we're not in. So right now we're not thinking
[7:09] Speaker 4: about anything else but winning at least two of these
[7:12] Speaker 4: last four games to make sure that we're actually in
[7:15] Speaker 4: the playoffs. And then we can talk about, look, if
[7:19] Speaker 4: things go well down in San Diego and then you
[7:21] Speaker 4: get a home game against Houston and you manage to
[7:24] Speaker 4: get a result, then you can start to think about, okay,
[7:28] Speaker 4: the last two games, where are we going to end
[7:31] Speaker 4: up in the table? But right now, we've got to
[7:34] Speaker 4: get in.
[7:35] Speaker 3: Yeah, no doubt. Well, you ever see the movie Anchorman,
[7:37] Speaker 3: by the way, Brian, with Will Ferrell?
[7:39] Speaker 4: Oh, yeah, love it. Love it.
[7:40] Speaker 2: You know what San Diego translates to in Spanish, by
[7:43] Speaker 2: the way, right?
[7:44] Speaker 3: You know? San Diego.
[7:46] Speaker 4: San Diego. You're going to tell me.
[7:48] Speaker 3: Well, I really shouldn't tell you. You say it all
[7:50] Speaker 3: the time on the air.
[7:51] Speaker 2: The whale's vagina. You can't lose to a team called
[7:59] Speaker 2: the whale's vagina.
[8:01] Speaker 3: That's right. You're on the road.
[8:03] Speaker 2: So what challenges are you going to get against the
[8:05] Speaker 2: whale's vagina playing in their house this weekend?
[8:09] Speaker 4: I can't think about the pajama.
[8:14] Speaker 3: He's going to be thinking about that during the game. Yeah,
[8:16] Speaker 3: if we look over the side, he's laughing his ass off.
[8:18] Speaker 3: You know why?
[8:22] Speaker 4: I got to keep a straight face. Okay, what did
[8:23] Speaker 4: you ask me?
[8:24] Speaker 3: I don't know.
[8:26] Speaker 2: I asked you about San Diego and how good they
[8:29] Speaker 2: are and what the problems are they present.
[8:30] Speaker 3: So, yeah, go ahead.
[8:32] Speaker 4: The problem is they are still a good team, but
[8:36] Speaker 4: their results haven't been going their way from last year.
[8:38] Speaker 4: They were like second or third in our division, in
[8:42] Speaker 4: our conference. You know, this year they're stuck in 12th.
[8:46] Speaker 4: Still a really good possession team. They keep the ball
[8:49] Speaker 4: really well. They play a possession-based style. Dreyer, they got
[8:55] Speaker 4: a guy, Dreyer, who plays right wing. He's a left-footed guy.
[8:59] Speaker 4: Was in contention for league MVP. He and Messi are,
[9:03] Speaker 4: you know, two of the best left-footed playmakers in the league.
[9:06] Speaker 4: He's in that category. So they've got a good team,
[9:09] Speaker 4: good squad. But this year they've let in a few goals.
[9:12] Speaker 4: They've got like seven red cards this year. So they've
[9:16] Speaker 4: been kind of hamstrung with some reckless play. So good team.
[9:19] Speaker 4: It's going to be a tough contest.
[9:21] Speaker 3: Push their buttons a little bit. Why not?
[9:23] Speaker 2: I mean, honestly, is that something you guys talk about,
[9:25] Speaker 2: that you could maybe coerce them into doing something stupid?
[9:28] Speaker 4: Well, we talk about the dark arts, about how to
[9:33] Speaker 4: slow down an opponent, how to manipulate certain things. But
[9:38] Speaker 4: I don't sit there and say, okay, look, when the
[9:40] Speaker 4: ref's not looking, go punch Dreyer in the ribs to
[9:44] Speaker 4: see if he swings an elbow at you. We don't
[9:46] Speaker 4: do stuff like that. But, I mean, we talk about
[9:49] Speaker 4: ways to make sure that we can do the little
[9:51] Speaker 4: things to help us win games.
[9:53] Speaker 2: Jesus, dark arts. Who the hell are you, Harry Potter
[9:55] Speaker 2: for crying out loud? What the heck's going on here?
[9:57] Speaker 3: Professor Snape. I love that. Exactly.
[9:59] Speaker 4: All right.
[10:00] Speaker 3: Good luck this weekend. Go get them, and we'll talk
[10:03] Speaker 3: in a week. All right, man?
[10:04] Speaker 5: Thanks, Coach.
[10:05] Speaker 4: Okay.
[10:05] Speaker 3: All right.
[10:05] Speaker 4: Take care, guys.
[10:06] Speaker 3: He's the only guy that we could have on the
[10:08] Speaker 3: air and talk about the Wells vagina. That's true. He
[10:10] Speaker 3: literally is the only coach in town. McDonald, no way. Fish, maybe.
[10:14] Speaker 2: Maybe.
[10:15] Speaker 3: Fish would. Sprinkle. I don't know. I mean, maybe potentially
[10:20] Speaker 3: Lane would do it.
[10:21] Speaker 2: But he is by far and away the only one
[10:24] Speaker 2: that we guarantee could do that.
[10:25] Speaker 5: Well, we've got way more experience with him than Lane.
[10:27] Speaker 5: Lane's probably a warm-up to Lane to do that, but Brian,
[10:30] Speaker 5: we can just throw whatever we want.
[10:31] Speaker 2: I think you bring it up to Lane. He's like, okay, guys, whatever.
[10:35] Speaker 2: We're going to break. Michael Sean Dugar is here at
[10:37] Speaker 2: the bar.
[10:37] Speaker 3: Let's talk to him.
[10:38] Speaker 2: We're going to throw him on the air, talk some
[10:39] Speaker 2: hocks with him before we get to Mike Benton for
[10:41] Speaker 2: Kraken Utah, coming up at 6.30 right here on 93.3 KJRFM.

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