Cristian Roldan, following his World Cup participation with the USMNT, will be suiting back up with the Seattle Sounders on Thursday.
The Washington Huskies men's soccer team is coming off the most successful season in franchise history, having won the NCAA national championship in a 3-2 extra time win against North Carolina State.
Coming off that win, the Huskies also got to see one of their best players in program history represent the U.S. in the World Cup.
Former Washington midfielder Cristian Roldan was a member of the U.S. men's national team.
Roldan didn't register a minute of playing time in the World Cup and dealt with a quad injury that kept him out for the knockout matches. The U.S.' run in the World Cup ended with a 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16.
The international break for the World Cup came before the start of the season for most professional soccer leagues.
The most popular soccer league in the world, the Premier League, is set to begin its respective season Aug. 21.
The same can't be said for Major League Soccer, which is set to resume this week. And Roldan will be back in the fold for the team in the city he's called home for more than a decade, the Seattle Sounders.
Roldan and the Sounders will resume their respective season against rival Portland Timbers at 7:30 p.m. PT on Thursday at Lumen Field in Seattle. Per a report from Tim Booth of the Seattle Times, Roldan's quad injury will keep him out for the match against the Timbers, but he's still tentatively set to return in late July.
Roldan, who's currently the captain of the Sounders, has been with the club since 2015. Over his decade-plus with the team, he's been named an MLS All-Star once (2021), was named to the CONCACAF Champions League Best XI once (2022) and MLS Best XI once (2025). During his tenure with Seattle, the club has won the MLS Cup twice (2016, 2019), the CONCACAF Champions League once (2022) and the Leagues Cup once (2025).
Roldan's tenure with Seattle came after a two-year stint in college with the Huskies from 2013-15.
In his pair of seasons with Washington, Roldan appeared in 41 games and scored 10 goals. He was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and helped lead UW to a Pac-12 title in his freshman season in 2013.
The Sounders currently occupy the sixth seed in the Western Conference with 24 points. They're tied with LAFC for points and eight outside the top seed on the table, which is currently occupied by Vancouver Whitecaps.
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