Exactly one year and one day ago, Paul Arriola lay clutching his left knee at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City, Mexico, in the Seattle Sounders’ eventual 4-1 loss to Cruz Azul in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie in Concacaf Champions Cup.
Arriola, who had just been acquired from FC Dallas that offseason, knew instantly what happened. He had torn his right ACL five years prior and after such a promising start with two goals in seven appearances in all competitions, his season was over.
Fast forward to Thursday night at BC Place in Vancouver. Not only did Arriola make his first start since his devastating injury, but he also bagged a brace to help lead the Sounders to an emphatic 3-0 win over Cascadia rivals the Vancouver Whitecaps in their opening away leg of their Round of 16 series in CCC.
“[Sounders Head] Coach [Brian Schmetzer] said that he wants me to make plays,” said Arriola. “Offensively, defensively. That’s all I tried to do tonight, to go out there and try and help my team the best that I can…It’s ones like these that especially for me mean the most and kind of sum up my career, pushing hard and being in the right spot at the right time.”
It was fitting, too, that Arriola’s first goal came off an assist from longtime FC Dallas teammate and friend Jesús Ferreira, who Seattle also acquired ahead of the 2025 campaign. It felt like a glimpse of the Arriola that had earned 50 caps for the United States national team and had scored 37 goals in 179 career MLS matches.
“What a way to come back and start,” said Schmetzer. “It’s not just the goals. That’s not it. Some of his savvy play, some of his smart defending...There were a lot of good soccer plays, soccer experience that helped us in this game. Paul had a really, really good performance and he scored a couple of good goals.”
Arriola’s Sounders teammates showered him with praise for his performance as well and knew just how special a night like Thursday was and what it meant to him.
“The biggest thing is we’re all happy for him because that is something that is really hard to come back from,” said Sounders defender Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, who set up Arriola’s second goal. “As players, as coaches, as people in the organization, we’ve seen what he’s been doing for the past year. No player wants to be out that long. For him to be able to come back and perform like that and net a couple goals is huge not only for his own confidence but also for us as a team.”
Arriola is still working his way back to full fitness — he went an hour on Thursday — and got his opportunity after a Jordan Morris injury in the season-opener and a recent Paul Rothrock knock. Arriola took his opportunity with both hands and rewarded Schmetzer for his faith in him.
“I’m trying to find minutes for him because he’s a very, very good player,” said Schmetzer. “He was going to see the field [on Thursday], and I’m happy that he came on tonight and performed up to the level that we saw in Dallas for many years. He was a national team player at one time. That’s the Paul Arriola that Sounders fans are going to be happy with. I know I’m happy with his performance.”
Heritage and History
Heritage Aqua is your front-row seat to the moments and matches that shape a season, loaded with meaning, milestones, and emotion. Be there against Real Salt Lake for the first home match on the new grass pitch installed for the FIFA World Cup, run it back for a 2025 playoff rematch vs. Minnesota, then close with our Fan Appreciation Match vs. LAFC on Decision Day.
Arriola and the Sounders now turn their attention to a Sunday showdown in San Jose against the Earthquakes (4 p.m. PT; Apple TV) before welcoming the ‘Caps to ONE Spokane Stadium in Spokane, Wash., for the second leg of the tie next Thursday (8 p.m. PT; FS2, TUDN). The Sounders hold a commanding 3-0 series lead with three critical away goals and are looking to book their ticket to the quarterfinals against either FC Cincinnati or Liga MX’s Tigres.
Thursday’s performance was a new chapter for Arriola, but both he and the Sounders are hoping it’s just the beginning.
“I’m really happy for him tonight on almost a year anniversary for him on his ACL,” said Rothrock. “He’s been very dedicated to his rehab and still very dedicated to the team. There’s been a number of moments before games when he hasn’t been in the picture and he’s coming up to say something encouraging and nice to me. You remember those moments. I kind of get the shivers thinking about it because it’s really cool what he did tonight.”
