Here are three keys for the Seattle Sounders, who open the MLS season on Sunday against the Colorado Rapids at Lumen Field.

Find the defense

The Sounders spent last preseason working on ways to generate more offense and scored 90 goals through all competitions last year. The total is a club record since joining MLS in 2009. But the defense took a dramatic step backward in allowing 48 goals in MLS regular-season matches alone. The glaring problem was set-piece defending where the Sounders ceded a combined 12 goals from corner kicks, free kicks and throw-ins. This preseason the technical staff made tweaks to get back to the 2023 and 2024 seasons when the Sounders had the best defense in the league.

Collect the wins

Letdowns after winning championships are real. The Sounders first experienced the pendulum swing after winning the CONCACAF Champions League title in May 2022. The team was abysmal in league play and didn’t advance to the postseason for the first time in club history. Last year the Sounders won Leagues Cup in August – becoming the first U.S.-based club to win every North American title possible. They were winless in four matches in September (0-2-2). They slipped out of fourth place in Western Conference standings, which guarantees home-field advantage in the opening round of the postseason. It was the club’s lowest finish in MLS history. Minnesota United secured the spot and rode the momentum of their fans to defeat Seattle in a decisive Game 3 penalty shootout at Allianz Field in St. Paul.

Protect the house

Minnesota was the only MLS team to beat the Sounders at Lumen Field last year. They wanted to regain the reputation that they’re hard to beat at home and succeeded with a 10-1-6 record in MLS matches. The lone loss to Minnesota was in June and Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer says his team was “distracted” because of their protest against FIFA and MLS owners regarding the Club World Cup payout. The Sounders will need to take advantage of their home matches this year because the road will not be friendly. After opening the season at Lumen on Feb. 22, the Sounders will be on the road until April 12 – a stretch of five matches – because of grass being installed at Lumen for the men’s World Cup. The facility will host six matches this summer, including the U.S. men’s national team against Australia on June 19.

Trophy watch

Here are the tournaments that include the Sounders and how they qualified:

CONCACAF men’s Champions Cup (Feb. 3-May 30): The tournament features 27 clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The Sounders qualified as the Leagues Cup winner and received a bye to the Round of 16. They’ll play a two-legged series against the winner of the series between the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Costa Rican side CS Cartaginés. The Sounders’ home CCC match will be played March 18 at ONE Spokane Stadium because of renovations at Lumen. The Sounders have made nine CCC appearances and became the first MLS team to win the modern iteration of the tournament in 2022. The CCC winner automatically qualifies for the 2029 FIFA men’s Club World Cup.

Leagues Cup (Aug. 4-Sept. 6): The Sounders will seek to defend their title in the competition that features 18 teams from Mexico’s Liga MX and 18 from MLS. The top nine finishers from the East and West conferences will comprise MLS’s entrants. Competition rules include a Phase One stage where each team plays three matches. Eight teams – the top four in the Liga MX table and top four from the MLS table – will advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds beginning with the quarterfinals. All matches that are tied at the end of regulation will be decided by a penalty shootout, except for the championship final. The top three finishers earn a berth to the 2027 CCC tournament.