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. 3: Inaugural MLS home match
Seventeen months. That’s how long the city of Seattle waited from the time it was awarded the 15th Major League Soccer franchise in November 2007 to its first match in March 2009.
The Sounders had decades-long history in the NASL and USL, but the club was ready to prove itself in MLS. And what a dream start it was.
The Sounders won their inaugural MLS match 3-0 over the New York Red Bulls at then-Qwest Field in Seattle on March 19, 2009. Colombian forward Fredy Montero recorded a brace and Brad Evans added another to pace the Sounders in front of more than 32,000 fans.
“The beauty in any game is in the final result and it was a beautiful final result,” said then-Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid. “The crowd was outstanding. The atmosphere was tremendous.”
Sounders owners Adrian Hanauer, Joe Roth and Drew Carey as well as then-Seattle mayor Greg Nickels participated in the March to the Match. In the pregame ceremony, then-Washington governor Christine Gregoire presented the Golden Scarf to MLS commissioner Don Garber at midfield.
“[The match] was everything you dreamed of,” said Schmid.
Added goalkeeper Kasey Keller: “You couldn’t have written it any better.”
That inaugural match helped set the stage for Seattle’s continued attendance record, which averaged more than 42,000 fans per match in 2016.
