Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began play in 2009 as an MLS expansion team. The Sounders are a phoenix club, carrying the same name as the original franchise that competed in the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1983.
Before that year, the league aimed to fill medium-size stadiums and carve a secondary place in sports markets from coast to coast. From that point on, when the expansion Sounders proved they could pack an NFL venue and weave their rich colors and culture into the fabric of a major metropolitan city, MLS’s ambitions grew.So in many ways, the rave-green celebration that erupted at CenturyLink Field on Sunday afternoon, then along the waterfront and into Pioneer Square and across Puget Sound, was a fitting moment for the club and the league as a whole.
The Sounders’ second MLS Cup title — and their first claimed at home — came in a 3-1 victory over Toronto FC at a sold-out madhouse of 69,274, the largest for a sporting event in the 17-year history of the venue. (Only U2 drew more.) The only MLS Cup to draw a larger crowd was 11 months ago in Atlanta (73,019).
Three second-half goals flipped a match that had been trending in favor of the organized and ambitious visitors for almost an hour.
Kelvin Leerdam was credited with the go-ahead goal in the 57th minute, though defender Justin Morrow’s deflection should have resulted in an own-goal ruling. A fine finish by substitute Víctor Rodríguez in the 76th minute all but shattered Toronto’s hopes. Raúl Ruidíaz added another goal in the 90th before Toronto’s Jozy Altidore scored in stoppage time, putting a very brief damper on Seattle’s second title in four seasons. The Sounders also have won the U.S. Open Cup four times and once claimed the Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the league’s regular season champion.
They won their first MLS Cup in 2016 in Toronto. A year later, they fell to the Canadian side at the same location.
This season, Seattle finished a distant second to Los Angeles FC in the Western Conference. But after losing to D.C. United at Audi Field on Sept. 22, the Sounders ran off five consecutive victories, culminating in Sunday’s festival.
Tickets for the final had been snatched up the same day they were available — not surprising given Seattle’s love for its soccer team. Every season between 2009 and 2016, the Sounders led MLS in attendance, with the average swelling to 44,247 one year. (Seattle’s baseball team has not averaged 30,000 since 2007.)
To create scarcity and enhance the atmosphere, much of the upper reaches of the stadium are usually closed for MLS matches. For big occasions, however, the team opens additional sections.
Although Seattle set the standard, Atlanta United (born in 2017) has shattered it, averaging more than 50,000 over the past two seasons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
