Seattle, WA
Seattle Sounders strengthen attack with latest acquisition Ryan Kent | Seattle Sounders
Following Paul Arriola’s season-ending injury against Cruz Azul on March 11, the Seattle Sounders needed to find a player to fill the attacking void the winger had previously provided.
After an extensive search, the Sounders decided that Ryan Kent was the man for the job.
On Monday, the club announced the acquisition of the 28-year-old for the remainder of the year, with an option for 2026.
“What we wanted to do is add a player that has the potential to be a difference maker, or add quality to the group,” said General Manager & Chief Soccer Officer Craig Waibel. “It took a little less time than I thought it was going to take, just with the budget we had. But the fact was, once we started talking to Ryan, his level of interest in MLS right now, and the timing in his career, [it] was perfect.”
Prior to signing with Seattle, the English player had a vast career in Europe, beginning with his experience in Liverpool’s youth system. From there, his professional endeavors led him on a 10-year journey that included loan spells with five different teams, before settling with Scottish Premier League side Rangers FC where he was recognized as the Scotland Young Player of the Year (2018-’19), earned two Scottish Premiership Team of the Year honors (2018-’19, 2020-’21), and was awarded a spot on the UEFA Europa League Team of the Season (2021-’22).
It was not until his two-season stint with Turkish side Fenerbahçe, however, when he felt the move to Major League Soccer and the Sounders would be the next destination in his career.
“I think, with the trajectory that MLS is going right now, it’s a league that’s definitely becoming a lot more exciting, a lot more opportunities, and I’d definitely say a lot more better players are taking the opportunity to join MLS,” said Kent. “It’s a new chapter for me, and one I’m looking forward to.”
The addition of the winger will be beneficial for the team in more ways than one. As a dynamic attacking player, Kent’s ability to make plays in the final third and in 1-v-1 situations will allow the team more opportunities to create chances and score goals.
“He’s really brave on the ball. He always wants it,” said Assistant Coach Andy Rose. “And so to add somebody of his experience who’s played at the level he’s played at, you know, top teams in Europe and playing in top competitions in Europe, that sort of experience mentality is certainly going to help our group.”
This will be especially valuable given his versatility on the pitch.
“He’s a really intelligent player, so he can certainly play anywhere across the front line,” said Rose. “He can really play on either side… What makes him such a threat against defenders is really his ability to be going to the left or to the right, his ability to cut inside and shoot and score goals.”
While it’s been seven months since Kent mutually departed from Fenerbahçe, the Oldham, England native has never been more ready to get back on the pitch and help his new team toward future trophies.
“It’s the hardest I’ve worked in the past three months, you know, dedicating my time to my body, really keeping fit, and just concentrating on what I needed to do to allow me to step into a footballing environment again and get going straight from the beginning,” said Kent.
Waibel is confident he will be able to achieve exactly that.
“The quality of what he is and the age he’s at, I just don’t know if there are any limitations as to why he can’t come here and get back to his top level of performance,” he said. “[The] sky’s the limit in terms of the way he can fit in this league.”
With Tuesday’s trade deadline coming up fast, we knew that NFL teams would be calling the Seattle Seahawks about cornerback Riq Woolen. A recent scoop from Brady Henderson at ESPN stated that Seattle has been shopping Woolen for a while now,
So, part of Adam Schefter’s Saturday evening scoop did not come as a surprise. He reports that the Seahawks are indeed actively fielding calls about potential trades for Woolen.
However, Schefter’s report also dropped some new information: teams are also calling Seattle about outside linebacker Boye Mafe, who is playing out the final year of his rookie contract.
“Teams have inquired to the Seattle Seahawks about the availability of standout linebacker Boye Mafe and former Pro Bowl cornerback Riq Woolen, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
“Seattle hasn’t wanted to trade Mafe or Woolen, according to sources, but it will be interesting to see how aggressive another team might be ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.”
Also part of Seattle’s stellar 2022 NFL draft class, Woolen is playing out the final year of his rookie contract, as well.
That’s just one of several reasons why the Seahawks clearly want to trade Woolen – regardless of what Schefter’s report says about them not wanting to trade either one. That claim contradicts common sense as well as the latest scoop from NFL Network, which suggests that a deal is more likely to get done than not.
Woolen had a magnificent rookie season and was in the conversation to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, which wound up going to Jets star Sauce Gardner. Since then the two have taken opposite paths, with Woolen dropping off and Gardner continuing to ascend to an elite level.
There’s still a chance that Woolen could join Gardner in that rare group at the top of the game’s most-challenging position. However, the Seahawks haven’t been able to get it out of him either under Pete Carroll or Mike Macdonald, both of whom have benched Woolen at different times.
As for Mafe, he’s had a supremely promising start to his career – including a nine-sack performance in the 2023 season. Mafe’s production has also fallen off, though. In seven games this season he has yet to record a single sack and has managed just two quarterback hits.
Long story short, the Seahawks may claim they don’t want to trade either one, but if they get a good enough offer over the next couple of days, they’ll take it.
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SEATTLE – It was a wet and gusty evening for Halloween in the Pacific Northwest. Showers let up for a bit overnight, but another round of heavy rain returns for Saturday morning.
It was a wet and gusty evening for Halloween in the Pacific Northwest.
What’s next:
Another round of heavy rain will push across western Washington early Saturday through mid-morning.
Another round of heavy rain will push across Western Washington Saturday through mid-morning.
A Flood Watch will be in effect for parts of western Washington Saturday for heavy rainfall. We could see 3-5″ of rain for the lowlands through Saturday night. Potential for stream and urban flooding will increase as well.
A Flood Watch will be in effect for parts of Western Washington Saturday for heavy rainfall.
Winds will also pick up again Saturday morning through the evening hours, with gusts up to 45 mph. The strongest gusts will be midday around the central Puget Sound.
Winds will also pick up again Saturday morning through the evening hours, with gusts up to 45 mph.
A Wind Advisory will be in effect early Saturday through the evening for strong wind gusts and the potential for area impacts.
A Wind Advisory will be in effect early Saturday through the evening for strong wind gusts and the potential for area impacts.
Saturday will be a little milder with highs in the low 60s. Widespread moderate to heavy rainfall to start Saturday, but showers will be more scattered into the afternoon. A Puget Sound Convergence Zone is possible into the evening for the central Puget Sound.
Saturday will be a little milder with highs in the low 60s.
Showers will taper into Sunday with afternoon sunbreaks. We will see light snow at the higher mountain passes. A bit of dry time Sunday into Monday, but another round of rain returns Monday afternoon into Tuesday and then again for the end of the week.
Showers will taper into Sunday with a morning round and some light snow at the higher mountain passes.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle Meteorologist Claire Anderson and the National Weather Service.
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Seattle, WA
Seattle Reign’s Laura Harvey says ChatGPT inspired NWSL tactics: ‘It said play a back five, so I did’
Seattle Reign head coach Laura Harvey says she has leaned on artificial intelligence (AI) service ChatGPT to help inspire her tactics in the NWSL this season.
The 45-year-old former Arsenal coach said she casually started testing the chatbot’s women’s soccer knowledge, before quizzing what ideas it might have for individual teams.
“One day in the offseason, I was writing things into ChatGPT like, ‘What is Seattle Reign’s identity?’ And it would spurt it out. And I was like ‘I don’t know if that’s true or not,’” Harvey told the Soccerish Podcast.
“And then I put in, ‘What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?’ And it spurted out every team in the league and what formation you should play. And for two teams, it went ‘You should play a back five.’ So I did. No joke, that’s why I did it.”
Harvey made the admission after being asked how she had evolved over the course of a two-decade coaching career, but she had never started playing a ‘back five’ of defenders until this season but her coaching team went on a “deep dive” to evaluate its benefits, with the tactical setup used on multiple occasions this term.
“I’d never really done a lot of research on it,” Harvey added of the formation. “I’d never really, like, invested into how it could be played in the women’s game. I’d only ever really seen it from afar, you know, watching men’s games really.
“It was always sort of talked about as a way to see games out. You know, (you go ahead) and get into a back five and stop people from scoring, was sort of how, like, a back five had been talked about for me.”
With one match remaining in the regular season, the Reign are fourth in the 14-team NWSL, in a play-off spot, with 10 wins from 25 matches. This marks a vast improvement from last season, when they finished 13th.
Harvey, who previously coached the Reign between 2013 and 2017, rejoined the club in 2021. The Brit has won three NWSL Shields with Seattle and The Women’s Cup in 2022.
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