SEATTLE — The way a team responds to adversity can be instructive. Lots of teams can play well when things are going their way, but no team simply coasts to winning anything meaningful.

The 2025 Seattle Sounders have certainly faced their share of adversity, both in the form of results and injuries. For the most part, they’ve come through those challenges and have a Leagues Cup trophy to show for it. They’ve also now punched their ticket to the MLS playoffs, thanks to some results elsewhere in the league over the weekend.

For all they’ve done this year, though, it’s hard to feel too confident about where this is now heading. Saturday’s 2-2 tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps did a pretty good job of illustrating the reasons for optimism and provided cause for concern.

The concern comes primarily in the form of health. Just as the Sounders were getting as close to full fitness as they’ve been in months, they lost two more starters to potentially significant injuries inside the opening 15 minutes. First, Alex Roldan went down with what appeared to be a groin injury. Then a few minutes later, Yeimar Gomez Andrade pulled up with what is probably a...