Seattle Sounders FC is a soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the most senior soccer league in the United States. The club was established in 2007 as an MLS expansion team, succeeding an existing second-division team of the same name, and began play in 2009. [1] The MLS regular season typically runs from February to October and the best-performing team is awarded the Supporters' Shield; the top nine teams from each conference qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs, a postseason tournament that culminates in the MLS Cup. [2] [3]
In addition to league play, the Sounders compete in the annual U.S. Open Cup tournament organized by the United States Soccer Federation and the Leagues Cup contested by teams from MLS and Liga MX of Mexico. [2] [4] The league and cup tournaments serve as qualifiers for the following year's CONCACAF Champions Cup (formerly the CONCACAF Champions League), an annual international competition between league and cup champions in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. [5] [6] The CONCACAF Champions Cup winner then qualifies for the next FIFA Club World Cup, which is held annually but will switch to every four years beginning in 2025. [7] [8]
The Sounders are one of the most successful clubs in MLS history, [9] [10] having won eight trophies since entering the league in 2009. [11] [12] They won three consecutive U.S. Open Cup titles from 2009 to 2011 and a fourth in 2014, becoming the second MLS club to do so. [13] [14] The club earned their first Supporters' Shield in 2014, completing a double, [15] and won the MLS Cup in 2016 and 2019 during a run of four finals in five years. [16] They won the CONCACAF Champions League in 2022, becoming the first MLS club to win the competition under its modern format and qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup. [11] [17] The Leagues Cup remains the only major North American competition that the Sounders have not won; the team finished as runners-up in the 2021 edition. [18] Sigi Schmid was the club's head coach from the inaugural MLS season in 2009 until July 2016; [19] he was replaced by Brian Schmetzer, initially as interim coach and later as full head coach. [20] Colombian striker Fredy Montero is the club's all-time top scorer with 76 goals; he joined the club in 2009 and has played for the Sounders in two stints. [21]
As of the end of the 2022 season, the club has played 14 seasons in MLS with 211 wins, 141 losses, and 104 draws—a winning percentage of 0.577. [22] The Sounders qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in their first 13 seasons—as of 2022 [update] , they were tied for the MLS record and the second longest among the major sports leagues in the United States behind the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. [23] The Sounders led MLS attendance in their first eight years in the league, averaging over 30,000 per season, until they were surpassed by Atlanta United FC in 2017. [24] The club achieved their highest season attendance in 2015 with 44,247 per match; [25] as of 2022, the 219 regular season matches at Lumen Field in Seattle have averaged 39,053 spectators and drawn over 8.55 million total people. [26] The most-attended home Sounders matches were the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League Final's 2nd leg with 68,741—a tournament record—and MLS Cup 2019 with 69,274 spectators. [27]
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Season | League [22] [33] | Position [34] | Playoffs [34] | USOC [35] | LC [36] | CCC [36] | Other | Average attendance [lower-alpha 1] | Top goalscorer(s) [lower-alpha 2] [37] | |||||||||||||
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Div | League | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Conf. | Overall | Competition | Result | Player(s) | Goals | ||||||
2009 | 1 | MLS | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 47 | 1.57 | 3rd | 4th | QF | W | — | DNQ | — | — | 30,943 [38] | Fredy Montero | 13 |
2010 | 1 | MLS | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 48 | 1.60 | 4th | 6th | QF | W | — | GS | — | — | 36,173 [38] | Fredy Montero | 12 |
2011 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 63 | 1.85 | 2nd | 2nd | QF | W | — | QF | — | — | 38,496 [38] | Fredy Montero | 18 |
2012 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 51 | 33 | +18 | 56 | 1.65 | 3rd | 7th | SF | RU | — | SF | — | — | 43,144 [38] | Eddie Johnson Fredy Montero | 17 |
2013 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 52 | 1.53 | 4th | 6th | QF | R3 | — | DNQ | — | — | 44,038 [38] | Eddie Johnson | 12 |
2014 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 65 | 50 | +15 | 64 | 1.88 | 1st | 1st | SF | W | — | DNQ | — | — | 43,734 [38] | Obafemi Martins | 19 |
2015 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 51 | 1.50 | 4th | 6th | QF | R4 | — | QF | — | — | 44,247 [38] | Obafemi Martins | 15 |
2016 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 44 | 43 | +1 | 48 | 1.41 | 4th | 7th | W | QF | — | DNQ | — | — | 42,636 [38] | Jordan Morris | 12 |
2017 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 52 | 39 | +13 | 53 | 1.56 | 2nd | 7th | RU | Ro16 | — | DNQ | — | — | 43,666 [39] | Clint Dempsey | 12 |
2018 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 59 | 1.74 | 2nd | 4th | QF | R4 | — | QF | — | — | 40,641 [40] | Raúl Ruidíaz | 13 |
2019 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 52 | 49 | +3 | 56 | 1.65 | 2nd | 4th | W | R4 | — | DNQ | — | — | 40,247 [41] | Raúl Ruidíaz | 15 |
2020 [lower-alpha 3] | 1 | MLS | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 44 | 23 | +21 | 39 | 1.77 | 2nd | 6th | RU | NH [lower-alpha 4] | — | Ro16 | 36,603 [48] [lower-alpha 5] | Raúl Ruidíaz | 14 | ||
2021 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 60 | 1.76 | 2nd | 3rd | R1 | NH [lower-alpha 4] | RU | DNQ | — | — | [50] [lower-alpha 6] | 25,125Raúl Ruidíaz | 19 |
2022 | 1 | MLS | 34 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 47 | 46 | +1 | 41 | 1.21 | 11th | 21st | DNQ | Ro32 | — | W | — | — | 33,607 [52] | Nicolás Lodeiro Raúl Ruidíaz | 12 |
2023 [53] | 1 | MLS | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 53 | 1.56 | 2nd | 7th | QF | Ro32 | GS | DNQ | FIFA Club World Cup | R2 [54] | 32,161 [55] | Jordan Morris | 14 |
Total (as of 2023) [22] | 490 | 225 | 150 | 115 | 720 | 564 | +156 | 790 | 1.61 | W (1) | W (1) | W (2) | W (4) | RU (1) | W (1) | — | — | 39,053 [56] | Fredy Montero | 79 [37] [57] | ||
Román Aureliano Torres Morcillo is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Tacoma Stars in the Major Arena Soccer League, and the Panama national team.
Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz, known as Fredy Montero (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈfɾeðimonˈteɾo], is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He is Seattle's all-time top scorer in official club competitions, scoring 76 goals with the club between two stints: 2009 and 2012, and since 2021. Montero has been called up to the Colombia national team five times, scoring once in an unofficial match against Catalonia.
Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began play in 2009 as an MLS expansion team. The Sounders are a phoenix club, replacing the second-division franchise that played in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL), A-League, and USL First Division (USL-1) from 1994 to 2008, and carrying the same name as the original Sounders franchise that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1983.
Stefan Frei is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Seattle Sounders FC. Born in Switzerland, Frei moved with his family to the United States as a teenager. He has spent his entire professional career playing in Major League Soccer.
Seattle has had professional soccer clubs for over four decades who have played in various leagues since the 1970s. These include three incarnations of the Seattle Sounders, playing in the North American Soccer League, United Soccer League, and Major League Soccer.
Seattle Sounders FC is a Major League Soccer team, sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, based in Seattle, Washington with origins that go back to the 1970s and the North American Soccer League.
João Paulo Mior, known as João Paulo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Seattle Sounders FC.
Jordan Perry Morris is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger and forward for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC and the United States national team. He grew up on Mercer Island, Washington and joined the Sounders youth academy before playing college soccer at Stanford University.
Cristian Roldan is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC and the United States national team. He was the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year while playing for El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera, California, and played collegiate soccer for the Washington Huskies. Roldan was picked by the Sounders in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and developed into a regular starting player for the club with over 250 total appearances as of 2022.
Nouhou Tolo, sometimes known mononymically as Nouhou, is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer and the Cameroon national team. He represented Cameroon at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Héber Araujo dos Santos, commonly known as Héber, is a Brazilian professional footballer who last played as a forward for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC.
Alexander Roldán León is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. Born in the United States, he captains the El Salvador national team.
MLS Cup 2019 was the 24th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and took place on November 10, 2019, at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington, United States. The soccer match was contested by Seattle Sounders FC and Toronto FC to determine the champion of the 2019 season. It was a rematch of the 2016 and 2017 editions of the MLS Cup, which were won by Seattle and Toronto, respectively. This was the third final for both teams and the first MLS Cup to be hosted by the Sounders, as both of the previous Seattle–Toronto finals were held at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Leagues Cup is an annual association football competition between clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX in North America, hosted in the United States and Canada. It debuted in July 2019 with four teams from both leagues participating. The first edition was a single-elimination tournament hosted in the United States with a final played in Las Vegas on September 18, 2019.
The 2020 season was Seattle Sounders FC's twelfth season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of professional club soccer in the United States. It was the 37th season played by a professional team bearing the Sounders name, which had originated in 1974 with the first incarnation of the franchise. The team was under the management of Brian Schmetzer in his fourth full MLS season as head coach of the Sounders.
The 2021 Seattle Sounders FC season was the club's thirty-eighth year of existence, and their thirteenth season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The team was under the management of Brian Schmetzer in his fifth full MLS season as head coach of the Sounders. Seattle were the reigning Western Conference champions and lost to Columbus Crew SC in the MLS Cup 3–0.
The 2022 season was Seattle Sounders FC's 14th in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top flight of American club soccer. It was the 39th season played by a professional team bearing the Sounders name. The team was under the management of Brian Schmetzer in his sixth full MLS season as head coach of the Sounders.
The 2022 CONCACAF Champions League final was the final round of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 57th edition of the premier soccer club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The 2023 season was the 40th season of Seattle Sounders FC, a professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was their 15th year in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top flight of American soccer, and the 40th season played by a professional team bearing the Sounders name, which originated in 1974 with the first incarnation of the franchise. The team was under the management of Brian Schmetzer in his seventh full MLS season as head coach of the Sounders.