Sounders FC has been a part of Major League Soccer for six years. In those six years, the club has seen no bigger day than October 25, 2014.
That was when the Rave Green defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy and won its first ever Supporters’ Shield, the trophy given to the best club over the course of the regular season. A massive day for all.
Looking back on 2014, it was surely the Sounders finest moment.
“At the end of the day, I think the Shield is another feather in the cap of our organization,” Schmid said after the victory. “I think people forget that we’re still a very young organization. We’re only six years in, and now we’ve won four Open Cups and a Supporters’ Shield. That’s five trophies in six years. I think it’s a reflection of our consistency.”
READ: Social Timeline: Sounders take home Supporters' Shield with win over Galaxy
Heading into the final match of the season, the Sounders and the Galaxy were tied on points with 61. Seattle had the edge in total wins and only needed a draw to claim their first ever Supporters’ Shield.
With the result they needed getting closer, midfielder Marco Pappa sealed things for the home side in front of nearly 58,000 at CenturyLink Field with a pair of goals in the last 10 minutes to give the Sounders the 2-0 win…a win that officially crowned them as the season’s best team.
“We’ve played together for many games...We understand each other more,” Pappa said of the season the club had gone through. “I think we learned from the 34 games, and now we’re ready for the playoffs.”
Unfortunately, the postseason ended on away-goals at the hands of the very team Seattle defeated in this match, as the Galaxy prevailed in the Western Conference Championship and went on to win its fifth MLS Cup. Despite that disappointment, the winning of the Shield, which many feel is just as valuable, will remain an extremely proud accomplishment for Schmid and co.
From the start of the season back in March, Schmid had made it clear to his team that this year had the potential to be something special. After a fourth U.S. Open Cup title, Seattle marched on and won its first Supporters’ Shield, picking 20 wins in the process, a league record in the post-shoutout era.
2014 was arguable the most successful year in the club’s history. Winning the Shield at home in such dramatic fashion will certainly be imprinted into the memory of every supporter in attendance that day.
It’s was also a reflection of the hard work put in by every member of the team over the grueling season that spanned 231 days, 65 goals and 15 different cities.
“It’s 34 weeks of training, it’s 34 weeks of games. It’s all of that put together,” Schmid said following the 2-0 win. “It doesn’t matter if you get your points early or get your points late, all that matters is the amount of points that you have at the end of the day.”
