With Sounders in need, Alex Roldan embraces center back role
RENTON - After a disappointing first-round exit in the playoffs last season, the Sounders talked about returning to their defensive identity. At issue was set piece defending, but also errors in the run of play, ceding late goals and defenders accumulating a spat of red card suspensions.
A quarter into their MLS regular season, the Sounders (6-1-2) are blending stout defending with entertaining offense. The club has ceded a league-fewest five goals in MLS matches while averaging 2.2, across all competitions.
Unexpected stats considering the Sounders are amid a center back crisis.
Yeimar Gomez Andrade, one of the top defenders in the league, has been out since March 7 due to a hamstring injury. He likely won't return to the lineup until July.
Intended backups Kim Kee-hee (calf) and Ryan Sailor (knee) haven't made their season debut because of injuries while Antino Lopez, who was signed March 17 from the club's second division Tacoma Defiance, is still gaining experience.
No worries, there's Alex Roldan.
"Alex has been a revelation at center back," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said.
On sight, the 5-foot-10 Roldan pairing with Jackson Ragen, who's 6-4, is odd. But the right back has blended seamlessly into the position and worked with Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, who's filling Roldan's slot in the starting lineup, to fortify their flank of the field.
Roldan is ranked among the top defenders in the league with 57 defensive contributions, a stat that combines tackles, interceptions, clearances and blocks. Ragen has 74 and left back Nouhou has 69 so far this season.
"It's really the whole collective of not letting teams break us down, not letting them play through us and making it predictable for the defense and goalkeeper," Ragen said of what's working. "I'm not surprised Alex has done so well. We have a great relationship back there and it's giving the coaching staff tough decisions for when other people come back."
A caveat is the Sounders backline hasn't faced some of the league's top goal scorers this season. FC Dallas striker Petar Musa leads the Golden Boot race (10 goals) but missed his team's loss at Lumen Field last month due to a leg injury.
Minnesota's Kelvin Yeboah (seven goals) and San Jose's Preston Judd (seven goals) were shut out against the Sounders. Roldan, however, left the draw against the Loons in the 22nd minute due to a hip injury and entered the Quakes win in the 65th minute because of lineup decisions during schedule congestion.
In a CONCACAF series win against Vancouver, striker Brian White (eight league goals) subbed on due to returning from injury in the 3-0 opening leg loss and was shutout in the second match, which was played in Spokane.
Still, the objective is to limit goal-scoring opportunities and win matches. Roldan has helped the team accomplish that. The Sounders are unbeaten in their past seven matches (5-0-2) and haven't lost at home since a FIFA men's Club World Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain in June 2025.
The Sounders open a three-match homestand against San Diego on Saturday.
"It was a dire situation when they moved me there," Roldan said of the March road match against St. Louis City. Kossa-Rienzi scored the game-winner in the 47th minute.
"I get more comfortable every game," Roldan said. "I'm still learning a bunch of things in that position, but overall I feel I've done well enough to earn the trust of the coaching staff to continue to play there."
The overriding motive is to stay on the field. Like teammates Jordan Morris and Jesús Ferreira in the attack, Roldan is, again, adapting to whatever role the team needs to be in the starting lineup.
At center back, it's listening intently to direction from keepers Stefan Frei and Andrew Thomas and tips from Ragen. There's following the game plan from Sounders assistant Freddy Juarez, who primarily leads the defensive tactics during training, and Roldan applying his natural talents to the position.
It's unorthodox. But when facing an isolated situation, he hasn't been burned at the position. And last week on the road against Sporting Kansas City, Roldan incorporated his skill on the ball to help create a scoring opportunity two minutes into the match.
Roldan pinpointed a pass from the backline to the head of Ferreira, who flicked it to winger Paul Rothrock for the goal.
"The big thing is if you make a mistake, you get punished for it," Roldan said. "Naturally being a right back, I have to get out of situations and I take more risks there. Learning when to be a bit more risky than others is a big part of it and being aware of my surroundings. Sometimes I'm going against some big forwards, some athletic players and I'm learning how to adjust to that and make do."
Roldan, 29, first showed his willingness to "make do" when he was cut from the team after the Sounders won their 2019 MLS championship. He spent the offseason transitioning from an attacking player to right back to add roster depth.
By 2021, he was a mainstay on the Sounders' backline. In March, the 2018 draft pick signed a contract through the 2029 season.
"I'm never going to stand out as a player, but I'm always going to do a solid job," Roldan said.
And right now, that's all the Sounders need.
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This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 11:43 PM.