MLS Seattle Sounders FC

Sounders FC News & Notes

Published on November 17, 2009 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


The inaugural season of Major League Soccer in Seattle will culminate exactly where it all began, with the League's championship event on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. MLS Cup 2009 is set for Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. PT and will be televised nationally on ESPN and Galavision.

The match features the Los Angeles Galaxy, led by star internationals David Beckham and Landon Donovan, and upset-minded Real Salt Lake.

The MLS Cup March to the Match begins Sunday at 4 p.m. in Occidental Park, a few blocks north of the stadium. Commissioner Don Garber and members of the Sounders FC ownership, management and playing roster will join the supporters from all teams.

MLS Cup is being played a little more than eight months after MLS First Kick celebrated the inaugural match of the Seattle Sounders FC on March 19. The Sounders FC defeated the New York Red Bulls, 3-0, and went on to make history, both on and off the field.

Each Seattle match played on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field has been attended by crowds in excess of 27,000, with 16 consecutive sellouts for the regular season and playoffs.

MLS Cup 2009 will attract the largest attendance for a competitive match played at Qwest Field, since the stadium opened in 2002.

The Galaxy seeks to complete a year in which it bounced from worst to first in the Western Conference. Playing in its record sixth final, L.A. is going after its third MLS Cup victory and first since 2005. The Galaxy beat the Houston Dynamo, 2-0, after extra time to claim the West berth.

This is the first MLS Cup final for Real Salt Lake, which entered the league in 2005. RSL is the second No. 8 seed to reach the final in as many years. Real Salt Lake played the Galaxy twice this season, earning a home draw and a road win. RSL edged the Chicago Fire in penalties after the two teams were scoreless after 120 minutes of the East final.

MLS Cup Tickets on Sale

Tickets for MLS Cup 2009 are on sale to the public. Fans can purchase tickets www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. MLS Cup tickets are included in the Seattle Sounders FC 18-game season ticket package.

Last week, due to overwhelming demand, 6,000 additional seats were put on sale for the MLS Cup. The initial offering of 36,000 sold out.

MLS Cup-Related Events (All times Pacific)

Wednesday 12:05 p.m. MLS Cup Trophy Arrives in Seattle (Pier 52)

Thursday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. MLS WORKS/Home Depot Playground Build (Van Asselt Elem.)

Thursday 1:45 p.m. Volkswagen MVP Award Announcement (Qwest Field Concourse)

Friday 10 a.m. Real Salt Lake Training (Qwest Field; open to media at 11 a.m.)

Friday 12:15 p.m. L.A. Galaxy Training (Qwest Field; open to media at 1:45 p.m.)

Saturday 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. MLS WORKS Clean & Green Project (2401 Utah Ave. S.)

Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. MLS Supporters Summit (Qwest Field, West Club Lounge)

Saturday 10 a.m. Real Salt Lake Training (Qwest Field; open to media at 10:45 a.m.)

Saturday 12:30 p.m. L.A. Galaxy Training (Qwest Field; open to media at 1:30 p.m.)

Sunday 8:30-10:30 a.m. Media Cup hosted by MLS WORKS (Qwest Field)

Sunday 1:30-5 p.m. Soccer Celebration (Qwest Field North Lot)

Sunday 4 p.m. March to the Match (Occidental Park)

Sunday 5:30 p.m. MLS Cup 2009 (Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field)

Ljungberg Chosen to MLS Best XI

Sounders FC midfielder Freddie Ljungberg was named to the MLS Best XI this week. Ljungberg led Seattle and finished fourth in the league with nine assists. His five-game-winning assists led all of MLS.

The former Sweden international had earlier been named a finalist for MLS Newcomer of the Year. He was named to the MLS All-Star team last summer and was the October Player of the Month.

Ljungberg's Best XI was the second major award for a Sounders FC player. Forward Fredy Montero was named Newcomer of the Year.

Seattle Hosts Union, 2010 First Kick

The Sounders FC will again host Major League Soccer's opening game in 2010. The Sounders FC will face Philadelphia Union on March 25 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. The match will be nationally televised by ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. PT. Philadelphia will be making its debut as the 16th team in MLS.

Past Championship Games Played in Seattle

MLS Cup 2009 is the first North American soccer championship match to be played in Seattle since Soccer Bowl '76 in the Kindgome. An NASL championship game then-record crowd 25,765 attended the game played between Toronto and Minnesota.

Four A-League/USL-1 championship games were hosted by Seattle from 1995-2007. FC Seattle played the 1988 Western Soccer League title game at home. In addition, NCAA championship games for Division I (1984, 1985) and Division II (1975, 1976, 1984, 1986) have been played in Seattle.

1976 NASL Soccer Bowl Toronto Metros-Croatia 3, Minnesota Kicks 0 (Kingdome)

1988 Western Soccer League FC Seattle 5, San Jose 0 (Memorial Stadium)

1995 A-League Sounders 1, Atlanta 1 (Memorial; Seattle won on penalties)

1996 A-League Sounders 2, Rochester Rhinos 0 (Memorial Stadium)

2005 USL-1 Sounders 1, Richmond 1 (Qwest; Seattle won on penalties)

2007 USL-1 Seattle Sounders 4, Atlanta 0 (Starfire)

Records Watch

The crowd of 66,848 for the Sounders FC-FC Barcelona friendly on August 5 was the largest for a soccer match played in Seattle. The largest attendance for a competitive match played at Qwest Field is 35,807 for the Western Conference Semifinal first leg on October 29 between the Sounders FC and Houston.

The top 10 Seattle attendances are as follows:

66,848 August 5, 2009 Qwest Field Seattle v Barcelona (friendly)

66,830 August 9, 2006 Qwest Field Real Madrid v D.C. United (friendly)

66,722 July 22, 2003 Seahawks Stadium Manchester United v Celtic (friendly)

65,372 July 18, 2009 Qwest Field Sounders FC v Chelsea (friendly)

58,218 April 9, 1976 Kingdome Seattle v New York (friendly)

56,416 April 16, 2008 Qwest Field Mexico v China (friendly)

56,256 August 25, 1977 Kingdome Seattle v Los Angeles (NASL playoffs)

49,606 August 9, 1980 Kingdome New York at Seattle (NASL)

47,052 May 31, 2008 Qwest Field Brazil v Canada (friendly)

43,651 January 29, 1994 Kingdome U.S. v Russia (friendly)

The top 10 Qwest Field soccer attendances are as follows:

66,848 August 5, 2009 Seattle v Barcelona (friendly)

66,830 August 9, 2006 Real Madrid v D.C. United (friendly)

66,722 July 22, 2003 Manchester United v Celtic (friendly)

65,372 July 18, 2009 Sounders FC v Chelsea (friendly)

56,416 April 16, 2008 Mexico v China (friendly)

47,052 May 31, 2008 Brazil v Canada (friendly)

35,807 October 29, 2009 Seattle v Houston (MLS conference semifinal)

33,108 October 24, 2009 Seattle v Dallas (MLS)

32,776 August 20, 2009 Seattle v New England (MLS)

32,740 September 19, 2009 Seattle v Chivas USA (MLS)

The top 10 MLS Cup Playoffs attendances are as follows:

61,316 October 20, 2002 Gillette Stadium Los Angeles 1, New England 0 (Final)

57,431 October 26, 1997 RFK Stadium D.C. United 2, Colorado 1 (Final)

51,350 October 25, 1998 Rose Bowl Chicago 2, D.C. United 0 (Final)

44,910 November 21, 1999 Foxboro Stadium D.C. United 2, Los Angeles 0 (Final)

39,859 November 18, 2007 RFK Stadium Houston 2, New England 1 (Final) 39,159 October 15, 2000 RFK Stadium Kansas City 1, Chicago 0 (Final)

35,807 October 29, 2009 Xbox Pitch/Qwest Seattle 0, Houston 0 (Conference Semi)

34,643 October 20, 1996 Foxboro Stadium D.C. United 3, Los Angeles 2 (Final)

32,744 October 16, 1998 Soldier Field Chicago 2, Los Angeles 1 (Semifinal)

30,972 November 10, 2007 Robertson Stadium Houston 2, Kansas City 0 (Semifinal)

Attendance Records Broken

Seattle

set a new MLS season record for attendance with an average of 30,897. The previous mark of 28,916 was set by the L.A. Galaxy in 1996. Sounders FC is the first franchise in MLS history to have 28,000 or more fans at 15 games, with each regular season match on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field a sell-out.

The Becks Factor

David Beckham will be playing his first match in Seattle since joining the Galaxy in 2007. Beckham's only previous Qwest Field appearance was in 2006 as a member of Real Madrid for its friendly with D.C. United. That match attracted a capacity crowd of 66,830, which now ranks No. 2 for soccer attendance in Seattle. The third-largest crowd in Seattle was also Beckham-fueled, in part. All tickets for the 2003 friendly between Beckham's then-Manchester United and Celtic sold within hours of becoming available to the public. By the date of the match, Beckham had been signed by Real Madrid.

Expansion History: Seattle Best in 11

Seattle (12-7-11) posted the best regular season record for an MLS expansion franchise since the Chicago Fire (19-11-0) in 1998. Miami and Chicago are the only other expansion teams to reach the playoffs, with the Fire winning both the MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup in its first season.

The only other club to post a winning mark in its inaugural year was the Fire in 1998. Chivas USA finished above.500 and made the playoffs in its second year (2006). Miami (2001) and Real Salt Lake (2008) each needed four years to finish with winning records.

Previous Expansion Records

Team 30 Games 1st Season Notes

Chicago (1998): 19-11-0 Won MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup

Miami (1998): 14-16-0 1st round playoffs

Salt Lake (2005): 5-21-4 Finished 5th, West

Chivas USA (2005): 4-21-5 Finished 6th, West

Toronto (2007): 6-17-7 Finished 7th, East

San Jose (2008): 8-13-9 Finished 7th, West

Seattle (2009): 12-7-11 Won U.S. Open Cup; 1st round playoffs

Note: Real Salt Lake (5-22-5) and Chivas USA (4-22-6) each played 32 matches in their first season.

Draft Dates

Philadelphia Union, the newest member of MLS in 2010, will select 10 players in its expansion draft on November 25. The MLS SuperDraft is scheduled for January 14 in Philadelphia.

Throw-Ins

It was a Sounders FC comeback win (2-1) over FC Dallas on October 24 which enabled Real Salt Lake to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs. If Dallas had maintained its early one-goal lead, RSL would not have taken the eighth and final postseason berth. Seattle scored twice in the final 30 minutes to eliminate FC Dallas from playoff contention...Real Salt Lake is the nearest visiting MLS team to Seattle (701 miles), 10 miles closer than San Jose...Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena began his coaching career in 1976 at the University of Puget Sound, located 36 miles south of Qwest Field in Tacoma...Real Salt Lake rookie midfielder Raphael Cox, a Tacoma native, was drafted out of the University of Washington with the 54th selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. Cox has appeared in six regular season matches for RSL...Several members of the Sounders FC team staff have ties to the Galaxy. Head coach Sigi Schmid began his professional coaching career began with L.A. (1999-2004) and led the Galaxy to three major championships: 2000 Concacaf Champions Cup, 2001 U.S. Open Cup and MLS Cup 2002. Assistant coach Ezra Hendrickson played for the Galaxy (1997-2003). Midfielder Peter Vagenas played his first nine MLS seasons with L.A. before being selected by Seattle in last year's expansion draft. Central defender Tyrone Marshall played for the Galaxy from 2002-07. Nathan Sturgis (2006-07) and Nate Jaqua (2007) also spent time with the Galaxy...Sturgis also played for Real Salt Lake from 2007-08. He was chosen by Sounders FC in the expansion draft.

Check out the Seattle Sounders FC Statistics

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Major League Soccer Stories from November 17, 2009


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