After five seasons as the Sounders FC, the club has brought us a number of special memories.
With five years in the books for Sounders , it’s time to look back at the club by the numbers.
What we find is that even after a down year in 2013, Seattle is still among the top teams in Major League Soccer since joining the league in 2009. Moreover, we find that 2013 wasn’t quite as down as it felt after the season ended.
Wins
Sounders FC finished fourth in MLS with 15 victories in 2013, putting Seattle in a tie for second in wins since 2009. With 74 wins since the club’s inaugural season, Seattle is bested only by the 80 wins of the LA Galaxy and sits even with Real Salt Lake. The top season for Sounders FC was 2011, when its 18 wins ranked second in MLS.
Overall record
Seattle has never finished lower than seventh in the race for the Supporters’ Shield and finished sixth in 2013, just seven points behind the winners, the New York Red Bulls. The closest it ever came to winning the Supporters’ Shield was in 2009, when it was just two points behind the Columbus Crew for the best regular season record. In five seasons, Seattle is 74-44-44 for 266 points. The Galaxy is the only team with a higher total, at 80-41-41 for 281 points. RSL is third at 262 points (74-48-40), then there is a big dropoff to fourth-place Kansas City at 244 points (67-52-43).
Goals
It was a down scoring year for Seattle in 2013, as the club’s 42 goals ranked 12th in the league. However, Sounders FC remains in fourth in the league’s scoring ledger with 226 goals since 2009. The Galaxy is first with 240 goals, followed by Real Salt Lake (235) and the New York Red Bulls (230). In 2011, Seattle led the league with 56 goals. On the other side of the field, Seattle is also ranked fourth since 2009 in goals against, allowing 176 goals. RSL is first at 167, followed by the Galaxy (170) and Kansas City (174). Sounders FC was tops in the league with the stingiest defense in 2009 and was second in 2012.
Championships
There are four championships on the line every year for US-based MLS clubs – the Supporters’ Shield for the best regular season record, MLS Cup, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League. No MLS team has won Champions League yet, so in the last five years, there have been 15 championships awarded to MLS clubs. Seattle has won three of those with its three consecutive US Open Cup crowns from 2009-2011, ranking second behind the four trophies won by the LA Galaxy. With its MLS Cup title this year, Sporting Kansas City now has two titles, while six other clubs have one championship each.
