The Story of the 2004 Seattle Sounders

The 2004 Seattle Sounders took their supporters on a roller coaster ride of thrilling proportions in a season that went from US Open Cup qualification failure all the way to the A-League championship final, even as the club were celebrating 30 years since the original NASL Sounders debuted back in 1974.

            We always expect an interesting story out of our Sounders, but none of us could foresee the season we would experience as we gathered at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila on April 4, 2004 for the Sounders first pre-season match. As Seattle were dancing all over Liga Hispana All-Stars 4-0 before a sellout crowd of 2,000, supporters were busy taking in the sites of the new stadium, dreaming of a smaller venue of our own, and enjoying the terrace where we draped flags and stood for the match. The preseason would end with the Sounders going undefeated, including a win and draw against the rival Vancouver Whitecaps. Added in the off-season was Brazilian striker Welton, along with defender Billy Sleeth and midfielder Robbie Aristodemo. Going in to the 2004 A-League season Seattle appeared strong on defense and suspect on offense.

            So, naturally, it was the defense that struggled early on. How early on? Try about ONE MINUTE into the season. That’s when Portland’s soon-to-be-star Alan Gordon scored the first goal of the 2004 campaign, delighting the nearly 7,000 Timbers fans at PGE Park with a breakaway tally that had the Seattle defense reeling. The  Sounders would go on to lose that match 2-1, and when they also lost to Portland 0-1 in Seahawks Stadium two weeks later, they failed to qualify for the US Open Cup and a match against an MLS side, an annual tradition in these parts. Seattle ended the month of May by bouncing back with a 5-0 slapping of Calgary and a thrilling 2-1 win over Milwaukee, both at home. In the latter match Welton scored the winner in the 90^th minute. It would be a prelude to a season where Mr. Melo would score numerous match-winners and even a series winner to boot.

            As June began the Sounders seemed to be stabilizing on the field. Meanwhile off the field rumors of a Seattle MLS expansion franchise for 2005 were running rampant. Local news media were running stories of Sounders owner/GM Adrian Hanauer’s exploits in trying to gather together an MLS ownership investment group. The King County Journal even went so far as to run the headline that Seattle were on the “verge” of securing a team. Fans speculated about the affect these rumors might be having on the team. Seattle had a packed schedule in June, including 8 A-League matches and an exhibition in Spokane against the Shadow. The Sounders began the 8-match month in Alberta Canada, where they lost 2-1 at Calgary before winning the next night 0-1 in Edmonton. It would be one of FOUR times that the Sounders would play back-to-back road matches in 2004 and would gain second night victories. The Sounders split their two home matches in June, beating the Calgary Mustangs 2-1 on an overtime goal by Welton, and losing 0-1 to the Rochester Rhinos. The Sounders went 4-0-4 for the month, not including a 1-3 “friendly” win in Spokane before over 7,000 soccer jamboree fans.

            MLS announced LA (Chivas) and Salt Lake City as the expansion clubs for 2005. The Sounders had tried to put together a group of owners, but realistically felt 2006 was a better time frame. So they spun that they were not disappointed in the MLS choices. Seattle supporters put up a brave front, having been through this whole game too many times before. A subtext to the 2004 season had sort of been put to rest, but others were rising to the surface. One was home attendance, which was dipping to frighteningly low levels. The Sounders hit their lowest attendance mark for 2004 on May 28 when only 1,300 fans witnessed the win over the Milwaukee Wave United. It was almost surreal to be thinking MLS in one thread and then wondering where the fans were in the other.

            July’s first home match drew only 1,900 as the Sounders nipped the Edmonton Aviators on Kevin Sakuda’s goal in his first match of the season. Kevin would go on to become a very important part of Coach Schmetzer’s line-up. Seattle staggered through the month, going 2-3-2 and remaining a bit on the outside of the A-League Western Conference playoff hunt. The best match of the month was the 3-4 overtime thriller with the rival Portland Timbers. Seattle led 3-2 with mere minutes remaining before giving up a strange deflection goal and then succumbing in the last minute of overtime. Marco Velez had scored a cracker of a goal from 40 yards out earlier, giving Seattle a 2-0 lead. Seattle also battled Vancouver to a much-too-common 0-0 draw (The clubs have played four 0-0 draws in the last two seasons). The only signs of the club “getting hot” came late in the month when the Sounders invaded Portland and came home with a 2-0 victory. Both goals in the big road win were scored by forward Roger Levesque, who would later be named by fans as the "Offensive Player of the Year." Other year-end awards from fans went to Preston Burpo as "Most Valuable Player" and Danny Jackson as "Defender of the Year."

            Going in to the month of August supporters were wondering if 2004 might be the year that several streaks would end for the Seattle club. Would the Sounders end the campaign with their 11^th straight winning record? Would Seattle make the playoffs as it had done for 9 of the last 10 years? When the Sounders opened August with a dismal showing and a 3-0 loss in Calgary, the answers to those questions seemed tinted negatively. It was what would later be seen as a giant wake-up call for the players. They responded by winning their next five league matches, dispatching of, in order, Edmonton, Vancouver twice, Minnesota, and Puerto Rico. Biggest in the pack might have been the back-to-back wins over Vancouver. Seattle beat the Caps 0-1 in Burnaby BC on the day Vancouver supporters presented their club with the first ever Cascadia Cup championship. Seattle followed with an exciting 2-1 home win over the Whitecaps three nights later in the newly named “Qwest Field” on a crisp header from defender Chad Brown well into overtime. Earlier in that same match Preston Burpo had recorded his 500^th A-league save in the nets for the Sounders. The win over Puerto Rico ensured the Sounders of their 11^th straight winning season. It wasn’t until the night before the last match of the year that the Sounders learned their fate: they had qualified for the 2004 playoffs. The next night they went out and laid an egg before the biggest home crowd of the season (4,853) losing 1-3 to the Minnesota Thunder. Seattle’s 4^th place finish in the West meant an opening round playoff match-up with the archrival Portland Timbers.

            Which team were Sounders fans to expect would show up for the 2004 playoffs? The one that looked so listless the previous week against Minnesota? The one that sped to 5 straight wins to qualify for the playoffs? The Sounders were gelling at just the right time and as it turned out the home loss to end the 2004 regular season was an anomaly. The addition of midfielder Jonothan Bolanos (and thus the releasing of Robbie Aristodemo), the rising play of Ben Somoza and Kevin Sakuda, the renewed confidence of Danny Jackson after his torn ACL had completely healed, the continued scoring prowess of Welton…all of these positive forces would propel the Sounders through the playoffs.

            Seattle opened the playoffs in Portland. Even thought the Timbers had the best point total in the league they were forced to host the first leg of the two-match series due to conflict with the PGE schedule. The Timbers seemed confident of beating Seattle. Why not? They had taken 3 of 4 matches in the regular campaign. Timbers’ defender Gavin Wilkinson even boasted in the Portland Tribune that the Timbers would “beat Seattle easily.” His bravado made it to the desk of the Seattle front office, and before the series began the Sounders were already ready to make Mr. Wilkinson eat his words. The Timbers won the opening match, however, 2-1. In the return leg Mr. Welton Melo would have his finest hour as a Sounder, scoring after only 5 minutes to put Seattle even 2-2 on aggregate. When the Sounders held on for a 1-0 win the series went to a sudden-death mini game. It was Welton again who came through, stunning the large Portland traveling contingent with a full-pitch gallop that ended in a clinching goal, and the elimination of the Timbers from the playoffs. Seattle supporters reacted with great joy over the result. Wilkinson’s words, the behavior of Timbers supporters (some of whom had chanted Preston Burpo’s home phone number, then later sent him harassing calls) and the sheer magnitude of beating a league-leading rival had sent Seattle fans into hysteria.

            With little time to celebrate in the fast-moving playoffs, the Sounders hosted leg one of the Western Conference finals against another rival, the Vancouver Whitecaps. In 2003 the Sounders lost in the conference series 0-1, 1-0 to the Minnesota Thunder. It was also the season Seattle had eliminated Vancouver on penalty kicks, followed by a Seattle player display that caused Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer to issue an apology to the Whitecaps and their fans. This history served to enrich the series. When Jonothan Bolanos struck a spectacular bicycle kick to give the Sounders a 1-0 win in Qwest Field, Seattle supporters were starting to wonder if this might just be the year for the Sounders 5^th finals appearance since 1974. After a hard-fought 1-1 draw in BC, the answer was “yes.” Captain Jason Farrell’s tally just before the half held up and the Sounders advanced past another local rival 2-1 on aggregate and into the A-League Championship Final.    Near the end of the match the Sounders made a substitution error involving forward Welton. Trying to switch and leave the forward in after initially asking him out, the Sounders were yellow-carded (applied to Welton) and not allowed the switch. Review showed the actual error was likely on the part of the officials. It was Welton’s second yellow of the match, making it an automatic red card ejection. Seattle’s appeal to the league to overturn the card was denied and the Sounders would have to face the defensive juggernaut known as the Montreal Impact without their leading scorer.

            Sounders fans gathered in several local soccer pubs to view the final. Montreal had been awarded the match due to their attendance numbers and grass pitch. Over 14,000 Impact supporters, and a few Seattle travelers, showed up to see Montreal claim the crown 2-0. Seattle’s best scoring chance had been an off the post shot by substitute striker Craig Tomlinson mere seconds after he had been brought in.

            The Sounders players met for one last toast a few nights after the final. In October many of the guys would gather again in a fitting place----Starfire Sports Complex---where the season had begun months earlier. The October “friendly” vs. the African-American All Stars was a fundraiser for a local group. A few hundred fans showed up for the mostly-unadvertised match. To make the bookends match completely, just as they had done to start the pre-season, the Sounders won 4-0.

            The roller coaster ride that was 2004 had quietly ended. The disappointment of missing out on the US Open Cup, of finishing last in the newly formed Cascadia Cup behind rivals Portland and Vancouver, the on-going MLS expansion saga…all of it had somehow been washed clean by the amazing August and super September. Even though Seattle lost its third final in five tries, 2004 seemed more like an accomplishment than anything else. Oh yeah, and one heck of an amusement ride.