Seattle Sounders (1994–2008)

For other similarly named teams, see Seattle Sounders (disambiguation).

Seattle Sounders

Full name	Seattle Sounders
Nickname(s)	Sounders
Founded	1994
Dissolved	2008 (MLS 2009)
Stadium	Starfire Sports Complex
Capacity	4,500
Chairman	Adrian Hanauer
Manager	Brian Schmetzer
League	USL First Division
Home colors Away colors

The Seattle Sounders were an American professional soccer team founded in 1994 as a member of the American Professional Soccer League. In 1997, the team became a member of the USL First Division, the second tier of the United States soccer pyramid, until 2008, after which the majority of the team's staff and resources were directed to the new Major League Soccer franchise, Seattle Sounders FC.

They played their last season at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington, having previously played for many years at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field). The team was last coached by Brian Schmetzer. The team's colors were blue and white. The team had a sister organization, the Seattle Sounders Women, who played in the women's USL W-League.

History

Leighton O'Brien in the Seattle Sounders strip

The club was founded in 1994 and named after the original Seattle Sounders soccer team, which played from 1974 to 1983 in the North American Soccer League.

The A-League/USL-1 Sounders have four championships to their credit, winning the league cup in 1995, 1996, 2005, and 2007. Seattle finished with the best regular season record in the league in 1994, 2002, and 2007. The Sounders have numerous division titles and advanced to the league finals in both 2004 and 2005. In 2004 the Sounders lost the championship 2–0 at Montreal. In 2005 Seattle drew the Richmond Kickers 1–1 at Qwest Field before claiming the championship 4–3 in penalty kicks. In 2007, the Sounders defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks 4–0 to claim their fourth championship title.

The Sounders formed a partnership with the German side Werder Bremen in 1998 due to Sounders USL-PDL player Andrew Dallman's involvement with the German side via US indoor soccer legends Fernando Clavijo, Raffaele Ruotolo, and Jean Willrich.

The Sounders formed a partnership with English side Cambridge United in 2006 due to Adrian Hanauer's involvement with both clubs.

In 2006, the Sounders considered a move to the Kitsap County Faigrounds in Bremerton, one of Seattle's western suburbs in Kitsap County, at a new soccer-specific stadium that would be smaller than Qwest Field. A 6,500-seat stadium was proposed again in 2007 as the home of a possible Major League Soccer franchise.

MLS expansion

Main article: Seattle Sounders FC

On November 13, 2007, Major League Soccer (MLS) announced that it had selected Seattle as the recipient of an expansion team that would begin play at Qwest Field in 2009. USL Sounders owner Adrian Hanauer would become one of the team's owners, along with Drew Carey, Paul Allen and majority owner Joe Roth.

The team's name, Seattle Sounders FC, was unveiled on April 7, 2008, continuing the Sounders name into MLS. The USL team would play their last season in 2008.

Year-by-year

This is a complete list of seasons for the USL club. For a season-by-season history including the current Seattle Sounders FC MLS franchise, see List of Seattle Sounders FC seasons.

Season	League											Position		Playoffs	USOC	Continental		Average attendance	Top goalscorer(s)
	Div	League	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Conf.	Overall						Name	Goals
1994	2	APSL	20	14	6	0	38	16	+22	42	2.10	N/A	1st	SF	DNE	Ineligible		6,347	Jason Dunn	12
1995		A-League	24	18	6	0	40	24	+16	54	2.25		2nd	W	SF			4,571	Peter Hattrup Chance Fry	11
1996		A-League	27	16	11	0	35	25	+10	48	1.78		3rd	W	QF	CONCACAF Champions' Cup	4th	3,750	Jason Farrell	7
1997		A-League	28	18	10	0	42	19	+23	54	1.93	2nd	5th	QF	R2	Ineligible		2,873	Mike Gailey	11
1998		A-League	28	18	10	0	63	28	+35	54	1.93	2nd	6th	QF	DNQ			2,902	Mark Baena	24
1999		A-League	28	19	9	0	56	36	+20	57	2.04	4th	6th	QF	R3			2,243	Mark Baena	21
2000		A-League	28	18	7	3	56	38	+18	57	2.04	3rd	4th	QF	R2			2,143	Greg Howes	18
2001		A-League	26	13	12	1	40	39	+1	40	1.54	5th	11th	DNQ	R2			1,885	Leighton O'Brien	11
2002		A-League	28	23	4	1	71	27	+44	70	2.50	1st	1st	QF	R3			4,087	Brian Ching	17
2003		A-League	28	16	7	5	45	24	+21	53	1.89	2nd	3rd	SF	QF			3,357	Kyle Smith	8
2004		A-League	28	13	11	4	40	34	+6	43	1.54	4th	9th	RU	DNQ			2,874	Welton Melo	7
2005		USL-1	28	11	6	11	33	25	+8	44	1.57	N/A	4th	W	R3			2,885	Welton Melo	5
2006		USL-1	28	11	13	4	42	48	–6	37	1.32		7th	DNQ	R3			3,693	Cam Weaver	19
2007		USL-1	28	16	6	6	37	23	+14	54	1.93		1st	W	SF			3,396	Sébastien Le Toux	15
2008		USL-1	30	10	10	10	37	36	+1	40	1.33		6th	QF	SF			3,386	Sébastien Le Toux	19
Total	–	–	407	234	128	45	675	442	+233	747	1.84	–	–	–	–	–		–	Mark Baena	41

^ 1. Avg. Attendance include statistics from league matches only.
^ 2. Top Goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.
^ 3. Points and PPG have been adjusted from non-traditional to traditional scoring systems for seasons prior to 2003 to more effectively compare historical team performance across seasons.

Honors

Team honors

League Championship

• Winner (4): 1995, 1996, 2005, 2007
• Runner-up (1): 2004

Commissioner's Cup (Top of the Regular Season Table)

• Winner (3): 1994, 2002, 2007

Pacific Division Champion

• Winner (3): 2000, 2002, 2003
• Runner-up (2): 1997, 1998

Western Conference Champion

• Winner (1): 2004

Cascadia Cup

• Winner (2): 2006, 2007

Individual player honors

MVP

• 1995 – Peter Hattrup
• 1998 – Mark Baena
• 2002 – Leighton O'Brien

Leading scorer

• 1995 – Peter Hattrup
• 1998 – Mark Baena
• 1999 – Niall Thompson
• 2006 – Cam Weaver

Goalkeeper of the Year

• 1994 – Marcus Hahnemann
• 1995 – Marcus Hahnemann
• 1997 – Dusty Hudock

Defender of the Year

• 2005 – Taylor Graham

Coach of the Year

• 1994 – Alan Hinton
• 2000 – Neil Megson
• 2002 – Brian Schmetzer

Rookie of the Year

• 1994 – Jason Dunn
• 2000 – Greg Howes
• 2006 – Cam Weaver

First team All Star

• 1994 – Marcus Hahnemann, Neil Megson, Shawn Medved, Chance Fry
• 1995 – Marcus Hahnemann, Peter Hattrup
• 1996 – Wade Webber
• 1997 – Dusty Hudock, Mark Watson
• 1998 – Mark Baena
• 1999 – Mark Baena
• 2000 – Darren Sawatzky
• 2001 – Leighton O'Brien
• 2002 – Andrew Gregor, Leighton O'Brien, Brian Ching
• 2003 – Danny Jackson, Andrew Gregor
• 2005 – Taylor Graham
• 2008 – Taylor Graham

Head coaches

• Alan Hinton (1994–1995)
• Neil Megson (1996–2000)
• Bernie James (2001)
• Brian Schmetzer (2002–2008)

Stadiums

• Memorial Stadium, Seattle, Washington (1994–1998)
• Renton Memorial Stadium, Renton, Washington (1998–2000) (due to construction at Seattle Center)
• Memorial Stadium, Seattle, Washington (2000–2003)
• Qwest Field (formerly Seahawks Stadium and CenturyLink Field; now Lumen Field), Seattle, Washington (2003–2007)
• Starfire Sports Complex, Tukwila, Washington (2005–2006 occasional games, 2008)

The Sounders had played at Qwest Field full-time since 2003. The Sounders played the first-ever sporting event at the stadium on July 28, 2002 before 25,515 fans. Before this facility was built, the team played at Memorial Stadium. When the second generation Sounders first formed in 1994, they also played a few home matches at the Tacoma Dome. After opening the 2008 season May 10 at Qwest Field, the Sounders played their remaining 14 league home contests at Starfire Sports Complex.

Rival clubs

The Seattle Sounders had two bitter rivals – the Portland Timbers to the south and the Vancouver Whitecaps to the north. These three teams competed in the yearly Cascadia Cup, which is now contested by the teams' MLS successors. The Sounders won the trophy in 2006 and 2007.

Supporters

Emerald City Supporters display at the 2008 home opener

The original Seattle Sounders were supported by the Seattle Sounders Booster Club in the 1970s and early 1980s. When the second club was formed in 1994, another supporters group started called "The Pod", honoring the club's Orca whale mascot. In 2005, after the earlier group went moribund, the Emerald City Supporters were born. They drafted the motto No Equal that same season as the club won the USL-1 title. In 2007, a social group called the Sounders Legion was started.

External links

• Seattle Sounders FC on HistoryLink