Defender Chad Marshall snatched a point from the jaws of defeat against the Houston Dynamo on Sunday, grabbing a rare but crucial finish for the 18th career goal of his lengthy MLS career.
Though perhaps not always the score sheet, Marshall has been there for the Sounders through thick and thin since joining the club in 2014. He’s missed just eight matches over three seasons and started all seven of the team’s games in the playoffs, winning MLS Defender of the Year while helping the Sounders win the 2014 Supporters’ Shield.
“Definitely for center backs in our league, he’s been one of the more consistent center backs,” said head coach Sigi Schmid.
Schmid coached Marshall while with Columbus Crew SC from 2006-08, and the two won the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup together in 2008. Marshall was named the MLS Defender of the Year that season before winning the award again in 2009 and 2014, becoming the only player in league history to win the award three times.
As a rookie in 2004, he started 27 matches, helping the Crew on an 18-game unbeaten streak, and he was a close second for MLS Rookie of the Year behind Clint Dempsey.
“You want center backs to also be good with the ball and good with the ball at their feet,” said Schmid. “I always thought Chad was pretty decent with the ball. He didn’t really want it but he was pretty decent with it. Now he’s willing to want it and you see his passing is very good.”
As integral as he has been for the Sounders and beloved by the fans, his time in Rave Green only scrapes the tip of his illustrious career. With 318 appearances, Marshall is currently seventh all-time among active players in MLS, and third among active center backs behind D.C. United’s Bobby Boswell (331) and the Portland Timbers’ Nat Borchers (325).
He is also ranked sixth in minutes played among active players.
So where does Marshall fall on the spectrum of great American center backs? It’s apples and oranges, according to Schmid.
“He hasn’t had enough international opportunity, or for whatever reason didn’t test himself internationally by going overseas,” Schmid said. “So you can’ t maybe put him in the same category of some of the other center backs like Carlos Bocanegra or somebody like that, but in terms of center backs from our league over a period of time, he’s definitely in the top group.”
