Ever since the Seattle Sounders joined Major League Soccer in 2009, they’ve been arguably its most successful team. During their first 15 seasons, they have won four U.S. Open Cups, four Western Conference trophies, two MLS Cups, and a Supporters’ Shield. They capped it all off by winning a Concacaf Champions League title last year.

As you may remember, though, they followed up their CCL-winning run by missing the MLS Playoffs for the first time in their history.

Well, the Sounders are back in the playoffs and appear poised to make another run at a third MLS Cup. They currently lead FC Dallas 1-0 in their best-of-three first-round series after finishing second in the Western Conference during the regular season.

If you’ve only been paying half attention this season, that may come as a bit of a surprise. After a hot start, the Sounders were one of the worst teams during late spring and summer, and it would have been pretty reasonable to give up on them at that point. But they pulled it together to finish out the season on a nine-game unbeaten run, largely behind the return to health of former UW star Cristian Roldan.

Here are  a few a reasons why they are now worth your attention again:

Nouhou Mania

It’s not too often that soccer fans will list the left back as a reason to watch a game, but Nouhou Tolo really is worth the price of admission and probably the closest thing the team has to a cult hero. Nouhou is simply a joy to watch, constantly inflecting his play with flair and color that makes him unique in American soccer. With Nouhou, there’s rarely such a thing as a boring play, as he’ll often use stepover to see a ball out of bounds and isn’t shy about attempting an overhead kick to clear a ball. His unorthodox style has enabled him to become one of the league’s top defenders as well as one of the stars of the Cameroon national team, for whom he started all three games in the most recent World Cup.

Offensively, Nouhou isn’t nearly as exciting, but he did pick up an assist in the Sounders’ most recent game with a perfectly placed cross to Morris’s head.

The Future Is Now 

If you’ve been following the Sounders recently, chances are you’re well aware that Nicolás Lodeiro and Raúl Ruidíaz are two of its biggest stars. Between them, they have most of the club’s scoring and assist records.

In fact, Lodeiro’s arrival in 2016 immediately preceded the team's run to its first-ever MLS Cup. Since then, he has been arguably the most important player in club history. That run appears to be at an end, however. After feeling dissatisfied with the state of negotiations over a contract extension, Lodeiro has already announced that he’s planning to leave the Sounders after this season. 

But he’s just one of several veterans whose future is very much up in the air. Like Lodeiro, Ruidíaz has also lost his starting spot and although he’s under contract through next year, there’s a lot of speculation about whether or not he’ll come back. 

What’s exciting about this is that we’re probably seeing the Sounders transition into their next phase in real time. Among the young players who have emerged this year are midfielder Josh Atencio and fullback Reed Baker-Whiting. Atencio, 21, and Baker-Whiting, 18, both grew up in the area and were signed to Homegrown Player contracts. Atencio is an all-action midfielder who is a bundle of energy when he’s on the field. Baker-Whiting has already been scouted by some of the best teams in the world, and while he’s currently recovering from injury he's showcased an impressive two-way ability.

Local Ties 

Atencio and Baker-Whiting aren’t even the most prominent locals on the team.

Mercer Island’s Jordan Morris, the team’s starting forward, played in the most recent World Cup and signed a contract extension that is going to keep him in Rave Green for the foreseeable future. Jackson Ragen is a bona fide Seattle native who has enjoyed a breakout season this year as he’s established himself as one of the team’s starting center backs. 

Calling Alex and Cristian Roldan “locals” might be stretching the term a little, but the brothers both attended college in Seattle and have lived here since they were 18. Cristian attended UW, was drafted by the Sounders and has developed into a USMNT-caliber player. He might now be the Sounders’ most important player, with the team going 9-1-5 in his starts. Alex attended Seattle University and has developed into one of the top right backs in MLS, while also establishing himself as one of the El Salvador national team’s top players.

In all, there are 15 players on the Sounders’ first-team roster who attended high school and/or college in the Seattle area, which doesn’t even include a bunch of coaches, front-office staff, and even owners. This is a team with an almost unbelievable amount of local ties.

Poised for a Run

Add it all together, and the Sounders have as good of a chance of qualifying for a fifth MLS Cup final as anyone in the wide open Western Conference. They’ll return to action on Saturday when they face Dallas for a chance to qualify for the conference semifinals.