Food & Culture

What to Expect for the 2016 Seattle Sounders Season

What you need to know ahead of this month’s Sounders season kickoff

By Seattle Mag February 9, 2016

181856425558f0c4605dco_0

This article originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Seattle Magazine.

The Seattle Sounders have the home field advantage when they take on Sporting Kansas City on March 6 in their first match of the 2016 Major League Soccer (MLS) season. They’ll be cheered on by their fervent fans (the team is top of the league for attendance, with averages of more than 44,000 tickets per game) who have high hopes for this season.

But how high should those hopes be? Let’s take a look:

2015 ended short
of the goal
The team finished with 15 wins, 13 losses and six draws, putting it fourth in the Western Conference and earning it a place in the playoffs. Though they defeated hot rival LA Galaxy, the Sounders lost in the conference semifinals to FC Dallas. 

2015 Ended Short of the Goal

The team finished with 15 wins, 13 losses and six draws, putting it fourth in the Western Conference and earning it a place in the playoffs. Though they defeated hot rival LA Galaxy, the Sounders lost in the conference semifinals to FC Dallas.

Off-Season Changes

In the off-season, the Sounders lost Chad Barrett, a 30-year-old forward who scored 12 goals in 44 regular season games, to the San Jose Earthquakes. Veteran defender Leo Gonzalez, one of four remaining players from the team’s inaugural 2009 season, also left, to play in his home country, Costa Rica. In an attempt to get younger legs, the Sounders added forward Andy Craven, 23, and goalkeeper Tyler Miller, 22, who had both previously played for third-tier team Seattle Sounders FC 2.

Players to Watch in 2016

The Sounders have a handful of shining stars, including forward Obafemi Martins [Editor’s note: On February 17, Obafemi Martins announced he was leaving the Seattle Sounders to join Chinese Super League team, Shanghai Greenland Shenhua], a Volkswagen MVP runner-up and team-leading goal scorer (15), and the world-famous Team USA starter Clint Dempsey, one of the best offensive players on the planet. Goalkeeper Stefan Frei is one of the team leaders and ranks as a top-five goalkeeper in MLS.



Clint Dempsey


Stefan Frei

Hometown Hero

After being wooed by the Sounders for several years, Jordan Morris, a 21-year-old Stanford student who led his team to the NCAA title in December, has finally signed with the team. The Seattle native received the wealthiest “homegrown player” contract in the history of the league.

 

Follow Us

Festive Seattle

Festive Seattle

Enjoy a sense of wonder and discovery this holiday season

For many arts organizations, holiday shows represent more than half of ticket sales for the entire season. And, as arts audiences come and go, so can the surrounding economy. Studies show that every dollar spent by patrons in the arts creates $3 of economic impact. The arts and entertainment options in and around Seattle are

The Sound of Giving

The Sound of Giving

Three nonprofit music organizations worthy of support

In the March/April issue of this magazine, I wrote an article about the problems with Seattle’s music scene and how we can fix them. There’s a lot to be desired in Seattle’s music scene — like more regular, paying gigs for musicians at local establishments and a more reasonable volume level at venues across the…

A Taste of Europe Comes to Seattle for Christmas

A Taste of Europe Comes to Seattle for Christmas

Monthlong celebration begins the day after Thanksgiving

A scene reminiscent of old Europe will be on full display at Seattle Center this holiday season when the city’s first-ever Seattle Christmas Market opens for a monthlong celebration. Inspired by historic German Christmas markets, the Seattle Christmas Market opened Nov. 24 and runs through Christmas Eve at Fisher Pavilion and South Fountain lawn at…

Editor's Note: An Experience That Lives  Forever

Editor’s Note: An Experience That Lives Forever

The world isn't always as it seems

It was Friday night after a long week. I had just arrived home. The red light was flashing on my answering machine (remember those?). I was ready for the weekend. The call crushed me. My first love, my high school sweetheart, my partner in mischief, had passed away due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis. Gwen…