Heading into the 2016 MLS Cup Final on Saturday, SoundersFC.com is taking a look at the 10 best moments in the Seattle Sounders’ Major League Soccer history. No's. 10-8 were released on Monday, No's. 7-5 on Tuesday, No. 4 and 3 on Wednesday, No. 2 on Thursday and No. 1 on Friday.
No. 2: Supporters' Shield A Worthy Coronation
On Aug. 25, 2014, the Seattle Sounders wrapped up their most impressive season in franchise history in dramatic fashion.
Seattle went into the final match of the regular season tied at 61 points with the LA Galaxy, the very team the Sounders happened to be hosting at CenturyLink Field. The Sounders only needed a draw to claim the Supporters’ Shield because they owned the total wins tiebreaker over LA.
They would do more than that. Seattle won 2-0 behind a late brace from Marco Pappa in the 85th minute and the fifth minute of stoppage time to seal the club’s biggest accomplishment to date.
“At the end of the day, I think the Shield is another feather in the cap of our organization,” then-Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said. “I think people forget that we’re still a very young organization. We’re only six years in and now we’ve won four Open Cups and a Supporters’ Shield. That’s five trophies in six years. I think it’s a reflection of our consistency.”
The Sounders scored 65 goals in 2014, the second-highest in the league. They were led by Designated Players Obafemi Martins (17 goals, 13 assists) and Clint Dempsey (15 goals, 10 assists) in what is still the most productive offensive season in their MLS tenure.
Seattle won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup earlier that season for the domestic double, but came up short of the treble when they lost in the MLS Cup Playoffs to that same Galaxy team in the Western Conference Championship. Despite the postseason disappointment, Seattle's season-long success was one of the brightest moments in its young MLS history.
“It’s 34 weeks of training, it’s 34 weeks of games,” said Schmid. “It’s all that put together…It doesn’t matter if you get your points early or get your points later, all that matters is the amount of points that you have at the end of the day.”
