Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan is enjoying a breakout season as one of the best young players in MLS.

Cristian Roldan is a sponge. You will hear that term used to describe the midfielder any time you ask those who have been around him in his first two seasons as a professional soccer player. The 21-year-old is known for being able to absorb and retain not only what coaches teach him, but also the habits and characteristics of his teammates.

That explains how, in less than two years, Roldan has gone from sophomore attacking midfielder at the University of Washington to starting in a deep-lying midfield role for a Seattle Sounders team stacked with options in the middle. He listens, he watches, he learns and Roldan's attentiveness has him thriving at an age when few American midfielders are established starters in the pros.

"The kid studies the game," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer told Goal USA of Roldan. "In the player's lounge our video guy has every touch of every player after every game and we know who watches those clips. We can figure out who watches those clips. He's one of the few out of our 11 starts and subs who do that all the time. He watches himself on field.

"He soaks up not only the words that you say to him, but he also watches other players and can learn from just watching."

Known more for his attacking qualities as a college prospect, Roldan has molded his game in a way that has made him a more complete player — one capable of handling the rigors of playing deeper in midfield.

"I was more of a dribbler and a guy that would stay in the soft pockets when I was in college," Roldan told Goal USA. "I didn't play defensive mid until I got to the Sounders. It was definitely a different transition, but I think being alongside Ozzie (Alonso), I saw a lot of Gonzalo Pineda's movements, off the ball and on the ball, I think those guys have helped me a ton. Just paying attention to those guys.

"(Gonzalo Pineda) taught me a whole bunch, and in fairness Sigi (Schmid) taught me a lot. It's a combination of a lot of different things, and a lot of different people. I've learned more in the last two years than I learned my whole life and that's a credit to those guys."

Roldan has proven himself to be an excellent student. He is currently second on the Sounders in passes completed, tackles won and duels won, and is the youngest player in the MLS Top 25 in passes completed and tackles. He has also developed a real feel for his new position.

"I think I appreciate defense and winning the individual battles more," Roldan said. "Before I didn't really appreciate it because I was more of an attacking player. Maybe I cheated a little bit not defending as much in college. I appreciate the grind where you have to track back and make a save, make a tackle, put a guy on the floor when you have to."

Roldan's ability to observe his surroundings has served him well since his first official day as a professional, when he spent the 2015 MLS Draft watching the proceedings as he slipped from high first-round projection to late-first round surprise. He sat in the Philadelphia Convention Center and soaked in the experience, even as worry began to creep in with each pick that went by without his name being called.

"I was extremely nervous," Roldan recalled of his draft-day slide. "Every time a different team had a pick I thought of every midfielder that they had. So Kansas City had three picks before I got picked, Toronto had a few, Vancouver. I would go down the list and see Toronto had good midfielders, and Kansas City had good midfielders. Before the draft, my agent, Jon Spencer, told me that the Sounders were the most interested in me. I thought that was great because that's where I wanted to be, but then when I asked when they picked and he told me second round I didn't think it would happen."

Roldan was forced to wait, and while he waited he looked around the draft room and noticed two things. He noticed the Seattle Sounders technical staff looking over at him and watching him ever so often. He also noticed Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey making his way around the draft room floor, speaking to a variety of different teams, in a sort of mad dash that left Lagerwey drenched in sweat by the end of the draft. Lagerway spent part of that winter trying to pry the No. 1 overall pick away from Orlando City to draft Roldan, but when Orlando City held firm (and eventually took Cyle Larin first overall), Lagerway set his sights on the other teams in the first round, and he went down the line to each team, looking for a willing trade partner, hoping Roldan wouldn't be taken.

Working in Seattle's favor was the fact that Roldan had endured a poor showing at the MLS combine. Teams that weren't familiar with Roldan came away unimpressed, even though the combine is a notoriously bad event for showcasing creative midfielders like Roldan. That didn't seem to matter though, Roldan's poor showing was enough to lead several teams to drop him on their draft boards.

Fifteen picks came and went in the first round before Real Salt Lake had its turn. RSL seemed like a sensible destination for Roldan, not only because he was well-suited to RSL's possession-style approach, but it just so happened RSL's new general manger, Craig Waibel, had coached Roldan as an assistant at Washington. RSL also happened to be the team Lagerwey had just left to join the Sounders, so Lagerwey approached his former employer with an offer of the 27th overall pick and allocation money in the $75,000-$100,000 range. It was enough to get a deal done, and make Lagerwey's draft-day marathon worthwhile.

Roldan didn't need a phone call to let him know his draft-day wait was about to end. He had his eyes trained on the Sounders draft table and as Sounders assistant Kurt Schmid turned to him and gave him a thumbs up. Seconds later, Roldan spotted MLS officials swapping an RSL scarf for a Sounders scarf and

"Things went the right way because I always wanted to be in Seattle," Roldan said. "I could have wound up going in the second round, to a team where I wouldn't have been as successful."

"When I got drafted by Seattle I said 'Yay, I'm really happy and excited', but at the same time I thought "shoot, they have a lot of good midfielders, my chances of playing are pretty slim, but I'm going to lot of games with (USL side Sounders 2)."

Roldan's rookie season exceeded his expectations, as he spent most of the year with the first team, appearing in 22 matches and making 11 starts. This season has been even better. He has notched three goals and three assists, and is on pace to double his minutes played and starts from his rookie season.

"Cristian is one of those players who fits in well with the team concept," Schmetzer said. "I wouldn't pigeon-hole him as a defensive guy, or a (number eight). I think he can play multiple positions. He's a smart kid and he kind of figures out where to be and sit in those spaces and he becomes effective."

Roldan has wowed veterans with his work ethic, and he has combined with rookie standout Jordan Morris to give the Sounders one of the most talented young tandems in the league.

"There's no two better kids that I've had at that age in terms of how they prepare, and how much they want to get better," Lagerwey said. "That's maybe the most impressive thing. In terms of maximizing their abilities, both those kids are on the right course. At the end of the day that's all you can ask of any young player, to be the best you can be, and I think Cristian is well on his way to be the best he can be."

Roldan's success at a young age has led to the inevitable talk of national team soccer, and his unique distinction as being a player eligible for three different countries has only served to magnify the talk. Born in the United States to a Guatemalan father and mother from El Salvador. The Guatemalan national team reached out to Roldan over the summer, in hopes of having him join the team for the September World Cup qualifiers, but Roldan didn't want to leave the Sounders during an important fight for a playoff spot. During his rookie year, Roldan was contacted by El Salvador, but also chose to focus on the Sounders.

"It's a difficult decision for a young player," Roldan said of choosing which national team to play for. "My goal is just to end up playing at a World Cup. I want to play at the highest level internationally, and that's been my goal since I was a little kid and hopefully I can do that one day.

"I just want to play well and hopefully all three of the countries will be interested and maybe I'll get a shot with the U.S. As long as you play well, you can definitely open up eyes."

Though Roldan won't come out and say the United States is his preferred national team to play for, he did admit that not being chosen to the 2015 U.S. Under-20 World Cup team, and more recently the U.S. Under-23 national team for Olympic qualifying, left a sour taste in his mouth.

"It was disappointing. I actually found out on Twitter that I didn't make the (Under-20 World Cup) team, which bummed me out," Roldan said. "It was tough, for sure, but it also gave me motivation. I think, even with the U-23s, it's added motivation not being on those teams and feeling you could help those teams.

"It just adds fuel to the fire to keep wanting to get better."

If his second professional season is any indication, Roldan has found plenty of fuel for the fire that drives him to improve. The Sounders are in the thick of a tough fight for a playoff berth after a rough first half of the season, and he will play a key role in that push for the postseason. The player who so many teams passed on, and who the U.S. national team has yet to call, will have ample opportunity to show that along with being a sponge, he is a player you want on your team.