THE BASICS: Seattle Sounders FC

Western Conference

Home: CenturyLink Field HONORS: Supporters' Shield: 2014

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Since their inaugural MLS season in 2009, the Sounders have become a perennial postseason contender with arguably the most dedicated fan base in the country. Backed by their famously raucous Emerald City Supporters independent fan group and an ambitious ownership contingent that's not afraid to spend big money on big names, Seattle is an established force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference. Now, as the franchise heads into its seventh MLS season, it's just a matter of keeping it rolling.

Rivals

Look, it's no secret. The three-way Cascadia Cup rivalry between Seattle, the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps carries the most year-to-year intrigue as far as regional bragging rights. But don't sleep on the ever-developing rivalry that the Sounders have established with the LA Galaxy, their main adversary throughout last season's battle for Western Conference supremacy. Regardless of which one you think carries more weight, we can be certain of at least one thing: These battles are going to be fun to watch in 2015.

2014 Recap

The Sounders had the most successful season in their brief franchise history in 2014, bagging a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup trophy, a team-record 20 wins and, most importantly, a much-coveted Supporters' Shield. But their run at an MLS Cup and historic treble came to a crushing end at the hands of the Galaxy, who sent the Sounders packing in the Western Conference Championship on the strength of a dramatic second-half road goal, sealing a deflating end to an otherwise magical season.

TRANSACTIONS IN: F Victor Mansaray (Homegrown)

D Tyrone Mears (free)

F Darwin Jones (Homegrown)

GK Troy Perkins (free)

M Cristian Roldan (SuperDraft)

F Andy Craven (SuperDraft)

D Andres Correa (free) TRANSACTIONS OUT: GK Marcus Hahnemann (retired)

D Onyekachi Apam (option declined)

F Sean Okoli (option declined)

D Djimi Traore (option declined)

F Cam Weaver (option declined)

D Jalil Anibaba (Expansion Draft to Orlando City)

F Tristan Bowen (Re-Entry Stage 2 Draft)

GK Josh Ford (Re-Entry Stage 2 Draft)

D DeAndre Yedlin (transfer to Tottenham)

M Sean Okoli (traded to New England)

D/F Eriq Zavaleta (traded to Toronto)

2015 Prospectus

It might seem funny to say that a team coming off a Supporters' Shield-winning season is on the hunt for redemption. But that's essentially the situation the Sounders find themselves in. Fair or not, Seattle will ultimately be judged on whether they can snag the glaring missing ingredient in their quest to become the league's real top dog: That elusive MLS Cup. They'll have to deal with at least one conspicuous departure in star right back and Tottenham Hotspur transfer DeAndre Yedlin, who will ostensibly be replaced by Englishman Tyrone Mears. But aside from that, much of last season's record-breaking squad remains intact, meaning there's little reason to believe Seattle won't be a contender to add to their trophy case in 2015.

CLUB SOURCE: "Well, they have a good team. I mean, let's be honest, if they don't lose Alonso in the playoffs, maybe we're talking about a different team holding the MLS Cup. When you look at what they did last year and the squad they have, when they're healthy, they are one of the better teams in the league, no doubt about it."

CLUB SOURCE: "Seattle is Seattle. They've got the horses to win, they've got a coaching staff that's solid, they've got a fan base that's solid. As a team, like most teams, the defensive side was a little hit and miss but got better, and they maybe lack a little bit of creative quality in the middle of their midfield."

PROJECTED LINEUP: 4-4-2 Frei; Mears, Evans, Marshall, Gonzalez; Pappa, Alonso, Pineda, Neagle; Martins, Dempsey Complete roster [soundersfc.com]

FANTASY SOCCER SLEEPER PICKS: Andy Rose

Michael Azira

Tyrone Mears We're all going to ride Obafemi Martins ($11m) and Clint Dempsey ($11m) to big weeks at some point this season. That's a given. The big decisions on this roster come in a few spots. Who will play center back next to Chad Marshall ($8.5m)? Will it be Brad Evans ($7.5m)? Zach Scott ($6.5m)? Also, who replaces Ozzie Alonso ($9m) and spells Gonzalo Pineda ($8m)?

Armchair Analyst's Best Case Scenario

Dempsey is rested. Oba is rested. Marshall is rested. That's a good start.

The bad start is happening elsewhere on the field, where Ozzie enters the season more as a question mark than a rock. I couldn't shake the feeling, last season, that we'd already seen his peak and were in the beginning stages of a long, slow descent into soccer mortality. And if/when that happens, Seattle as a whole become significantly more vulnerable.

Delaying that timeline by a year is the best case scenario. I expect Sigi to attempt this by strategically resting Ozzie, which is why this is the first time I think the Sounders actually have a better shot at MLS Cup than the Supporters' Shield.

The best case scenario is still both. But this team needs to be focused more on what is probable than what is possible.