Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas received about as good of an early birthday present as he could have imagined on Sunday. Thomas, who turned 27 on Monday, earned a clean sheet against Lionel Messi and the high-octane attack of Inter Miami to lift the Sounders to a historic 3-0 Leagues Cup Final win in front of nearly 70,000 fans at Lumen Field.
“I’m stoked about it,” said Thomas. “That’s something I’ll keep with me for a long time, but it doesn’t happen without the effort in front of me…The number of times that guys double-teamed, triple-teamed Messi to stop him from getting onto his strong foot.
“Of course, they had moments in the game where they were on top of us, but [we had] the grit, the effort, the determination defensively, the men behind the ball.”
Thomas entered the season as the backup and heir apparent to club legend Stefan Frei. When Frei went down with a scary concussion in early July, Thomas took over. Despite Frei being available for selection again — he had started several MLS matches over the last few weeks — Head Coach Brian Schmetzer had made it clear that the Leagues Cup was Thomas’ tournament.
Thomas repaid his manager’s faith by posting four clean sheets in six matches and saving two crucial penalties in a Quarterfinal shootout against Club Puebla. Thomas and the Sounders defense conceded just twice all tournament including three straight shutouts in the knockout rounds.
“It takes a village,” Thomas said. “That took the entire roster, the entire team, the entire club… It goes from the backroom staff to the front office. This success is a result of all of the hard work that everyone puts in.”
Thomas’ heroics earned him a Goalkeeper of the Tournament nod, and the first two people to celebrate the title with him on the field were fellow goalkeepers Frei and Jacob Castro. It’s a fitting honor, considering three years earlier when the Sounders became the first MLS team to win the modern version of the Concacaf Champions Cup, Frei was named both Goalkeeper of the Tournament and Player of the Tournament.
“Patience is key,” Thomas said in 2024. “Frei is fantastic, and is arguably the best goalkeeper in the league, week in and week out, and he’s someone who I learned so much from.”
The future is bright for Thomas and the Sounders’ goalkeeping union. He will, at some point, take the reins as Seattle’s No. 1, and when he does, his performances in this year’s Leagues Cup will go down as one of the most pivotal moments in his development.
“Of course, it helps getting consistent games, kind of feeling in the rhythm of things,” said Thomas. “Crosses and moments like that can be tricky when you don’t have a rhythm, and so getting to play some games consistently felt great. I enjoyed it, and I’m hoping there’s more to come.”
