SEATTLE — It has just been three months since an emotional Sigi Schmid thanked Sounders fans for their support while also apologizing for his team falling short in the playoffs once again.
“There’s nothing I want to do more than bring an MLS Cup to the city of Seattle, because the fans deserve it and their support as been phenomenal,” the Sounders coach said after his team was eliminated in the Western Conference finals by the Los Angeles Galaxy. “… I want to win a championship here, I want to win an MLS Cup.”
Thanks to one of the shortest offseasons in professional sports, the Sounders open their 2015 season Sunday against New England just a few months after another dose of playoff disappointment. And once again, the Sounders kick off a season chasing the one big accomplishment, an MLS Cup, that has eluded them in an otherwise very impressive six-year existence in Major League Soccer.
And make no mistake, this 2015 season is one of massive expectations for the Sounders, who since joining MLS in 2009 have all at once one of the most successful and frustrating teams in Major League Soccer.
Seattle’s success is easy to quantify, both off the field in the form of record attendance, year after year, and on the field in the form of four U.S. Open Cup titles in six seasons, playoff berths every year, and most significantly, last season’s Supporters’ Shield, the award given to the team that finishes with the best regular-season record in MLS.
In almost every other league in the world, regular-season record is what determines a league champion, meaning last year’s Supporters’ Shield-Open Cup double would have made the 2014 season an unambiguous success. But MLS isn’t most leagues, and as is the case in other American sports, being the last team standing in the postseason is what matters most.
Which brings us to the frustration part of the equation. For all the Sounders have accomplished, they have gone to the playoffs six times, and six times they have failed to reach the MLS Cup final, let alone win the big game. That doesn’t take away from all the Sounders have accomplished, but it does leave players, coaches and fans alike feeling like the team has one more hump to get over before Seattle can truly be considered the best team in Major League Soccer.
“A lot of guys felt a little bit unfulfilled at the end of last year, even though last year was the best year in our club’s history,” Schmid said. “… We haven’t gotten to an MLS Cup yet, so that’s what we need to achieve.”
Schmid called the MLS Cup the “ultimate goal,” while team captain Brad Evans referred to it as the “be-all, end-all” for his team.
“Everybody has that bitter taste in their mouth after accomplishing so much and being so close to doing something really, really special by winning three trophies,” said defender Zach Scott, who like Evans has been with Seattle since its inaugural MLS season. “Obviously the big one now, since we’ve been able to win an Open Cup and a Supporters’ Shield, is to get the big one, the MLS Cup.”
While few leagues have more unpredictable postseasons than MLS, thanks both to the parity in the league and the fact that there is no real home-field advantage until the final thanks to the home-and-home format, the Sounders are in as good of a position to win their first MLS Cup as they have ever been.
After putting together one of the better regular seasons in MLS history — Seattle was the first team to win 20 games since the league did away with shootouts as a tiebreaker in 2000 — the Sounders return every starter except for DeAndre Yedlin, who signed with Tottenham of the English Premier League. And that lack of turnover means this team should find its stride a lot sooner than last year’s team, which started 2-2-1 following a pretty significant offseason roster overhaul.
With no World Cup or big international competition, Clint Dempsey’s availability won’t be as affected by US national team duty, nor will Brad Evans’. And the defending champion Galaxy, Seattle’s playoffs nemesis, having eliminated the Sounders three times in the past five postseasons, could possibly take a small step back following the retirement of Landon Donovan.
The regular season, which begins against the New England Revolution Sunday and lasts until late October, is very much a marathon. But for the Sounders, what absolutely matters most is the postseason sprint they thus far have been unable to win. For the team with the biggest crowds, the best forward duo in the league, a deep roster and a trophy case that is missing one notable prize, the goal in 2015 is clear.
“We want to better than what we did last season, even though it was one of the most successful years this club has had,” Dempsey said. “Same as always, we’re pushing for MLS Cup.”
Herald Columnist John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com
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