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Three QuestionsMatch Coverage

Three Questions with Sounder at Heart

Dave Clark of Sounder at Heart spills the beans on tomorrow's opposition.

Topic:Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders
Three Questions with Sounder at Heart
Lucas Muller | Wasatch Soccer Sentinel
Matt Montgomery
Matt Montgomery
February 28, 2026

Dave Clark, who's been writing about Seattle Sounders for well over a decade now, has been answering my questions about his favored team for a long, long time. We've continued that tradition today with a look at longstanding foes from the Pacific Northwest.

How are you feeling about the Sounders this year? Is this their year in MLS?

Let's take this in two parts. I'm pretty high on Seattle's chances, at least heading into the season. I think the long break for the Men's World Cup should help their health a bit. Now, that's not to say I think they'll be tops of the West or get a Shield. The league has more awful teams than ever before. Any club that gets to face more awful teams is in the driver seat for the Shield (the east). A top 3 prediction seems to be where I'm settling.

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Three Questions with Sounder at Heart
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How are Albert Rusnak and Danny Musovski doing?

Albert is a top 5 CAM in the DP era, and that includes the two seasons when Seattle played him as an 8. Dude puts up numbers so casually no one notices even though he's a chart topper. If he'd come straight from Man City the league would hype him beyond belief, but because all his fame developed on our shores, and he's not flashy, dude is under the radar. He'll get something like 10g/15a again and go unrated. Moose is a bit injured and shouldn't be expected to put up 2025 numbers ever again. But he could replicate his best Salt Lake season easily. His shift into one-tool player last year was nearly perfect. All Danny does is flash into open space 5 yards from goal and shoot. With a half-dozen quality providers serving low cutbacks maybe he double-digits again.

What’s your earliest Seattle Sounders-Real Salt Lake match memory? Mine’s the May 28, 2011 home loss. I’m still sad about it.

I had to look that date up because I had a Lamar Neagle memory as my oldest, but didn't remember the year. And yes, it's that one. When he came on as a sub and put Seattle up 2-0 with a man advantage. I also like the Mario Martinez dance after his playoff goals. Sadly, that's all the positive memories I have for the Sounders at Salt Lake. GAM, TAM, U22s and MLS Next Pro didn't exist back then. It's been that long since I have positive memories of Seattle at Sandy, Utah. It's brutal.

Bonus question: Aside from D&D, what games are you playing these days?

I enjoyed some Dominion recently, but board games like are like my to-be-read pile, stacking up. I have Adorablins, Microbrew, One Billion Users, Diplomacy, The Fox in the Forest, Twilight:2000 and Songs of the River Prince all waiting for attention. The combination of personal time, scheduling and others' interests is a challenge. This is part of why I wrap myself in the comfortable blanket of my near-weekly D&D group.

You can read more of Dave's writings in two places. First, Sounder at Heart, where he writes a regular newsletter about Seattle Sounders. Second, Full Moon Storytelling, where he writes about tabletop RPGs and storytelling. He's great in both places.

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