page_title: Seattle Sounders FC
section_title: Comeback seasons and MLS Cup (2016–2018)
hierarchical_section_title: Seattle Sounders FC / History / Comeback seasons and MLS Cup (2016–2018)
caption_attribution_description: English: Seattle Sounders fans in Downtown Seattle, participating in a victory rally following the team's MLS Cup 2016 victory.
context_page_description: Seattle Sounders FC are an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began play in 2009 as an MLS expansion team. The Sounders are a phoenix club, carrying the same name as the original franchise that competed in the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1983.
  The club's majority owner is Adrian Hanauer, and its minority owners are the estate of Paul Allen, Drew Carey, and 11 families from the Seattle area. Former USL Sounders coach and assistant coach Brian Schmetzer took over as head coach in July 2016 after the departure of Sigi Schmid. The Sounders play their home league matches at CenturyLink Field, with a reduced capacity of 37,722 seats for most matches. Along with several organized groups, a 53-member marching band called 'Sound Wave' supports the club at each home match. Seattle has long-standing rivalries with nearby clubs Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, with whom it competes for the Cascadia Cup.
  The Sounders played their inaugural match on March 19, 2009, winning 3–0 over the New York Red Bulls.
context_section_description: Prior to the 2016 season, Obafemi Martins abruptly left the club to sign with Shanghai Greenland Shenhua F.C. in the Chinese Super League, a move that would hamper the Sounders' offense during the season. The move was mitigated somewhat by the signing of homegrown product Jordan Morris. GM Lagerwey also traded Marco Pappa and Lamar Neagle to other clubs in the offseason.
  During the first half of the 2016 season, the Sounders failed to meet expectations, placing near the bottom of the league with 6 wins, 12 losses, and 2 draws. Following a 3–0 loss on July 24 to Sporting Kansas City, in which the Sounders had only one shot, Schmid left the club on mutual terms and was replaced by long-time assistant coach Brian Schmetzer. The same day, the club announced their signing of Uruguayan midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro on a designated player contract, as well as the return of former designated player Álvaro Fernández. Despite the sluggish start as well as the loss of midfielder Clint Dempsey, who was forced in August to stop playing after evaluations for an irregular heartbeat, the Sounders rose from ninth place to fourth place in the Western Conference and qualified for the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs, with eight wins, two losses, and four draws. Schmetzer was named as permanent head coach as a result.
  At the end of the regular season, Jordan Morris was named the MLS Rookie of the Year after scoring the most goals of any American rookie in MLS (12), and Nicolás Lodeiro was named MLS Newcomer of the Year for his 4 goals and 8 assists in 13 appearances. The Sounders advanced from the Knockout Round of the playoffs through a 1–0 win over Sporting Kansas City, and beat FC Dallas 4–2 on aggregate to return to the Conference Final. The Sounders then defeated the Colorado Rapids 3–1 on aggregate in the final, clinching a spot in their first-ever MLS Cup. On December 10, 2016, the Sounders defeated Toronto FC 5–4 in a penalty shootout, to win MLS Cup 2016, their first MLS championship in franchise history, going the whole match without a shot on goal. The team's performance was called a "cinderella season" and hailed as one of the most dramatic MLS seasons to date.
  The Sounders began their title defense with the signings of two academy graduates and several veteran players from MLS and abroad. Dempsey also returned from his hiatus and scored in his first match before being called up to the U.S. national team for World Cup qualification. The season began with only five wins in the first 17 matches, but was followed by a 13-match unbeaten streak and additional wins to clinch a second-place spot in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, the Sounders beat the Vancouver Whitecaps and Houston Dynamo to win the Western Conference and return to the MLS Cup, once again facing Toronto at BMO Field. Seattle lost 2–0 to Toronto, who clinched the first domestic treble in MLS history.
  Seattle began the 2018 season with a run to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to eventual champions C.D. Guadalajara. During the Round of 16, Jordan Morris injured his ACL and was deemed unfit to play for the rest of the season. Without Morris and several injured starting players, the Sounders lost nine of their first 15 matches and were placed bottom of the Western Conference by June. The club signed a new Designated Player, Peruvian forward Raúl Ruidíaz, that month and began a long unbeaten streak that resulted in a playoff position in late August.
  On September 1, the club broke the MLS record for most consecutive wins in the post-shootout era, having won eight consecutive matches. They then extended that win streak to nine games as they beat Vancouver 2–1 on September 15, before eventually losing to the Philadelphia Union on September 19. The Sounders finished second in the Western Conference with 18 wins, 11 losses, and 5 draws. With 14 wins in the final 16 matches of the season, the Sounders completed the best half season in league history. Minority owner Paul Allen died from complications related to non-Hodgkin lymphoma o
caption: The victory parade for the Sounders after MLS Cup 2016
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