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The Story of the 2006 Seattle Sounders
No Sequel
The story of the 2006 Seattle Sounders begins without a starting goalkeeper and ends with a rookie of the year and co-scoring champion transferring to a club in Norway. It begins with newspaper reports of the team looking into a move to Kitsap County and ends with a re-signed lease at Qwest Field in Seattle. In between are the other moments, high and low, of a season that failed to match the accomplishments of 2005. The cry of "No Equal" still echoes in the hearts and ears of supporters, but 2006 could better be described with the motto "No Sequel." The Sounders would not repeat their Championship run of 2005.
Leighton O'brien held his second annual Special Olympics charity match in January of 2006 at Starfire Sports Complex. The event provided a chance for supporters and players to get a bit of footy in during the long off season. It also provided photographer Jenni Conner a chance to snap some pretty cool foggy images. Jenni would go on to supply SounderCentral.com and Sounders fans with thousands of photos over the 2006 campaign. Lurking in the shadows that night in January was some kid from Seattle University named Cam Weaver.
Danny Jackson in the fog. Jackson recovered from surgery and played almost all of the 2006 season as the starting centerback. Jenni Conner photo.
In March Sounders fans found out that 2005 Finals MVP Preston Burpo had signed with Chivas USA of MLS along with speedy winger Brent Whitfield. The news left Seattle without a starting goalkeeper and a young star on offense. Further news was equally daunting. The loss of 2005 Defensive Player of the Year Taylor Graham to Red Bull New York was compounded with the retirement of defensive stalwarts Scott Jenkins, Billy Sleeth and Ryan Edwards. The Sounders would enter training in April with none of these vacancies filled.
The club opened their pre-season slate with a 4-0 win over local amateur side Dashen at Starfire. The regular USL-1 schedule had provided a challenge to Seattle. The first match came right in the middle of training. As the date for the April league opener in Minnesota approached the Sounders showed some signs of being an improved offensive club. Supporters enjoyed a double header against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Tukwila. New forward signee Jamal Sutton (MLS Columbus Crew) scored two goals that day in his Seattle debut. Still, the club did not bring in a seasoned goalkeeper until the week of the opener. They paid a dear price for this mistake.
Rumors flew around in 2006 that the Sounders might move to Kitsap County. David Falk photo.
Kitsap County had become part of the story of 2006 after newspapers in both Bremerton and Seattle reported that the Sounders had begun looking at the Olympic Peninsula community as a possible home. Thunderbird Stadium would need much renovation said Robin Waite, a member of the ownership group who was behind the idea.
David Mahoney was loaned from the Chicago Fire to 'replace' Preston Burpo in the Sounders nets. Rookie Chris Eylander from the University of Washington would be his back-up or co-starting partner. It was clear to supporters from the moment he set foot in town that Mahoney did not want to be in the Emerald City. It was even more clear after Seattle's disastrous 4-0 loss to open the season in Minnesota that Seattle fans found the feelings mutual. Mahoney would go on to display an incredible lack of skill in collecting crosses (he was dubbed "The Vampire Keeper" by supporters) as well as a penchant to surrender late goals with poor clearances. Mahoney was finally released in late June when the club granted his request to return to the Chicago Fire.
Mahoney grabs one in 4-0 opening loss at Minnesota. Brian Quarstad photo.
After the embarrassing opening match loss in Minnesota the Sounders returned to "pre-season" play. The home league opener was scheduled for May 13, allowing the club to regroup. On May 7th Seattle hosted MLS side Chivas USA at Qwest Field as part compensation for the transfers of Burpo and Whitfield. The match ended with a 1-0 loss as Whitfield scored the winner. The 2006 season received its second blow to the head that day. Preston Burpo came out with knees high in an attempt to clear a cross headed for Seattle star forward Maykel Galindo. Burpo slammed into the Cuban defector, who stayed on the ground for minutes until being stretchered off. Galindo would suffer nasal damage and cheekbone fractures which would require several surgeries. He didn't return to the field until late July.
It wasn't all gloom and doom for Sounders supporters. The club had several young immerging talents. Chris Eylander had won the starting goalkeeping duties and was showing much progress. Noah Merl had settled into the back line and was learning fast (Player of the Month, July). Then there was Cam Weaver. The rookie forward scored the only goal in Seattle's 1-1 home opening draw against Minnesota. By the end of May Weaver would have four goals and an assist, and be voted "Player of the Month" by supporters. Weaver would also win the vote in June .
Cam Weaver celebrates his June 28th match-winner against the Islanders. Jenni Conner photo.
After a brutal stretch of away matches in June the defending USL-1 Champions found themselves with 4 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses and below a playoff spot in the standings. Life seemed to return to the club when they returned to Qwest Field and beat Puerto Rico 2-1 on June 28th. Weaver scored the match-winner in the late stages. In July the Sounders hosted two big international friendlies, losing 0-2 to Club America and drawing 1-1 with Cardiff City. The club also got back into playoff contention with 3 league wins. 2 of those came in a back-to-back weekend sweep of the arch rival Portland Timbers. A 1-2 Sounders win in PDX was followed by a card-filled 3-1 triumph at Qwest Field the following night. While the Sounders remained stragglers in the league, they had taken the lead in the Cascadia Cup derby race.
Maykel Galindo streaks down the sideline at Starfire. His cross would lead to a Cam Weaver tap-in only 2 minutes into the match. Seattle would end up winning 5-1 in a match moved out of Qwest so the Sounders could host Real Madrid against DC United at the giant stadium that same week. Jenni Conner photo.
The Sounders had a great August. Maykel Galindo continued to progress on the pitch and midfielder Andrew Gregor stepped up as Seattle went undefeated with a 5-1 win over Virginia Beach, a 2-0 win over Vancouver, and a 1-0 win over Minnesota. The victories put Seattle in playoff contention. Supporters celebrated the 2-0 win over Vancouver at Qwest Field on August 19th. Not only did Andrew Gregor score the goal of his career (video link) with an over-the-body flick-on to himself that lead to a net-bending strike, but that win saw Seattle claim the Cascadia Cup trophy over rivals Portland and Vancouver. It would be the Sounders' first Cascadia Cup in the three year history of the competition.
Andrew Gregor celebrates his Cascadia Cup-clinching goal. Roger Levesque (left) joins in. Jenni Conner photo.
August also saw the Sounders, through owner Adrian Hanauer's investment, host Real Madrid in a friendly against MLS side DC United. The overwhelming success of the event, which drew 66,000 fans, spurred on talk of Seattle joining the top USA league. It also very well may have saved the club in Seattle. Talk of Kitsap waned and as the Sounders counted their portion of ticket sales they began to see a way the club could use the tough Seattle market to their advantage.
September was a dud for the Sounders, and NO SEQUEL would become a reality on the last day of the regular season. Cam Weaver was having a hard time with a sore foot, and at just the wrong time Leighton O'brien, Andrew Gregor and Weaver were forced to miss matches with yellow card point accumulations. The Sounders' roster was not deep enough to keep the August roll going. Seattle lost 1-2 at home to Charleston, 3-2 away to Vancouver, and faced a must-win home match to end the season at Qwest against the Atlanta Silverbacks. Andrew Gregor's 90th minute penalty kick gave Seattle a 2-1 win in their finale before almost 9,000 fans. The next day when Puerto Rico drew 1-1 with Miami both of those clubs made the post season and the Sounders ended 7th in the table, 1 standings point out of the playoffs.
It is quite possible that 2006 will be remembered as the year of "Cam Weaver." The striker scored 18 goals, tied with Brazilian Romario for the USL-1 scoring title, and was an easy choice for USL-1 Rookie of the Year. He provided Seattle supporters with many reasons to cheer in an otherwise up and down season. In December of 2006 Weaver began the road to fulfilling his pro dreams when he was transferred from the Sounders to Norwegian side FK Haugesund. Weaver and Andrew Gregor were voted to the all-league first team.
Emerald City Supporters serenade the Sounders bus in Vancouver. The club lost 3-2 on the night but supporters brought the Cascadia Cup to the bus for the guys to see, and then back to the Emerald City. Jenni Conner photo. The Emerald City Supporters looked for solace from the season in the winning of the derby cup. The Cascadia Cup has grown in lore and stature for both the club and supporters thanks to the 2006 season. There was indeed NO SEQUEL to 2005's Championship glory, but there was silverware none the less. Memories aplenty, too. From the foggy night in January, to the bus trip to Vancouver to claim the Cascadia Cup, to the clutch penalty kick that kept the Sounders alive until the final moments of the season in September, memories to file away until the next title comes along.
See also: 2006 Seattle Sounders Museum Page 2006 SounderCentral.com News Archive Seattle Pitch 2006 Match Reports Seattle Pitch 2006 Roster & Statistics
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