Wednesday night marked Zach Scott’s 300th career game as a Sounder. Since making his debut in 2002, he has left an indelible mark on soccer in Seattle. Here is a look at some of his milestone matches.
May 4, 2002 – In his first match for the Sounders after making Head Coach Brian Schmetzer’s squad out of an open tryout, Scott came on as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers at PGE Park. He would come back to Seattle the following day and help the Sounders to a 4-1 win over Portland in his second appearance. All told, he played 35 matches against Seattle’s biggest rivals, posting an 18-12-5 record.
May 26, 2002 – It’s only fitting that Scott’s first start would come against Seattle’s other Cascadia rivals, the Vancouver Whitecaps. After making four appearances off the bench, Schmetzer entrusted Scott to a starting role against Vancouver with excellent results in a 4-1 victory. Like Portland, Scott has 35 appearances against Vancouver with a 13-10-12 record.
June 8, 2002 – Scott’s first goal came in dramatic fashion, netting a game-winner in the 90th minute against the Calgary Storm. Of his 14 career goals across all competitions, seven have been game-winners.
October 1, 2005 – Scott helped hoist his first trophy after a shootout win over the Richmond Kickers in the USL championship match. However, it’s a date he will always remember for another reason. The previous day, his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child – son Kalei.
August 7, 2007 – Seattle had success against MLS clubs in the Open Cup throughout its time in the USL, but few compared to the 5-0 drubbing of the Colorado Rapids in the 2007 quarterfinal. Scott scored the second goal of the match in the 25th minute, helping Seattle reach the first of two consecutive semifinals with the USL club. His teams would go on to play in four straight finals at the MLS level, meaning he was in the semifinal in six straight seasons, and seven out of eight years after Sounders FC won a fourth title this year.
September 29, 2007 – With an uncertain future ahead after MLS announced expansion to Seattle for the 2009 season, Scott and the Sounders took the field for what they thought could be the last time as a team against the Atlanta Silverbacks in the USL championship match at Starfire. Riding that emotion, Seattle dominated in a 4-0 victory to lift the USL title for the second time in three seasons.
March 19, 2009 – Scott was among six holdovers from the USL club that made the jump to Sounders FC in MLS. He started in the club’s inaugural match against the New York Red Bulls, helping shutout the 2008 MLS Cup finalists in a 3-0 victory at CenturyLink Field.
June 30, 2010 – In an Open Cup battle with Portland, Scott had to be the one to take the winning penalty. After playing to a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes at PGE Park, Scott converted the game-winner in the shootout sending Seattle through to the next round on its way to a second consecutive Open Cup title.
June 28, 2011 – At Starfire, Scott and the Sounders faced the Kitsap Pumas in the U.S. Open Cup. This match wasn’t memorable for the local rivalry or the narrow 2-1 victory, but because it offered Scott a chance to face off with his younger brother Daniel. The two were both named captains in the match and their mother, Linda, watched nervously from the stands as they clashed throughout the contest. They would meet again in the 2013 Open Cup while Daniel played with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, this time the younger brother coming up with a 1-0 upset victory.
August 23, 2011 – Only one MLS team had ever gone into Mexico and beaten a Liga MX opponent—FC Dallas beating a much-reduced Pumas side the previous week. Seattle was facing a dominating Monterrey team, though. Using a lineup that didn’t feature many of its stars amidst a busy portion of the MLS schedule, Seattle went into Estadio Tecnologico and did the impossible, topping Monterrey 1-0. Seattle would earn a berth in the quarterfinal in the 2011-2012 tournament on the heels of that signature win for the club.
April 14, 2012 – Scott’s first MLS goal came in the 63rd minute of a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids, heading in a corner kick from Alex Caskey to give Seattle the victory. In 122 all competition matches with the MLS club, he has four goals, but that’s the only one in MLS regular season play.
September 16, 2014 – Seattle reclaimed the Open Cup title for a fourth time last week in Philadelphia with a warrior’s effort from Scott. He suffered a knee injury in the match, but played on through the final 40 minutes to preserve a 3-1 extra time victory. It was the 299th match in Scott’s Seattle career.
Zach Scott by the numbers
300 – Career appearances for the Sounders in the USL/A-League, MLS, Open Cup, Champions League and playoffs.
160-80-60 – The all-time record of the Sounders in matches Scott has appeared in.
115 – The number of shutouts recorded in Scott’s 300 matches.
4 – The number of Open Cup titles won during Scott’s tenure with the Sounders.
2 – The number of USL titles won from 2002-2008 when he played 178 of his career matches.
14 – Goals that Scott scored, seven of which were game-winners.
262 – The number of games played by Scott Jenkins, who ranks second in Sounders history.
215 – The number of games played by Osvaldo Alonso, the leader in the MLS era.
