The 2010 Seattle Sounders FC season was the club's second season in Major League Soccer, the top tier of professional soccer in the United States. It was the 30th season played by a team bearing the Sounders name.
The Sounders opened the regular season with a 2–0 victory over expansion side Philadelphia Union on March 25, 2010, at Qwest Field in Seattle. They closed out the regular season on October 23, 2010, with a 1–2 loss to the Houston Dynamo. Seattle qualified for the playoffs but lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Western Conference Semifinals.
In addition to MLS play, the Sounders defended their U.S. Open Cup title by defeating the Columbus Crew in the final played at Qwest Field. Seattle also participated in their first CONCACAF Champions League as a MLS club and defeated El Salvadoran club Isidro Metapán in the preliminary round to qualify for the group stage. The Sounders lost all but one of their group stage matches and finished at the bottom of Group C.
Background
The 2010 season is the second season for Seattle Sounders FC who began play in 2009 as the league's 15th team. Seattle is the defending champion of the U.S. Open Cup. In their inaugural season, Sounders FC became the second MLS expansion team in league history (Chicago was first) to win the U.S. Open Cup tournament in their first season. They did so by defeating D.C. United 2–1 on the road at RFK Stadium. In winning the U.S. Open Cup tournament, Sounders FC qualified for the preliminary round of the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League.
In 2009 Sounders FC became the second MLS expansion team in league history (Chicago again was first) to qualify for the playoffs in their first season. Seattle finished the regular season with a record of 12 wins, 7 losses, and 11 ties and set an all-time MLS record for average attendance of 30,943 fans per game. Sounders FC's inaugural season came to an end in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs when they lost in the conference semifinals to the Houston Dynamo with a 1–0 aggregate score in a two-legged series. During the 2009 season, all 15 Sounders FC MLS regular season home matches, their home playoff match, and their 4 home U.S. Open Cup matches (played at Starfire Sports Complex) were sold out. Ahead of the club's second MLS season, the total allotment of 32,000 season tickets were sold out—an increase of 10,000 from the 2009 season.
Review
Preseason On November 25, 2009, Sebastian Le Toux was drafted away from Seattle by the Philadelphia Union as part of the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft, and waived midfielder Michael Fucito and defenders Evan Brown and Lamar Neagle. Le Toux had been acquired the previous year as Sounders FC's first ever signing.
Seattle's preseason was broken up into two stages. The team went to Arizona for preseason fitness and then to Murcia in Spain for the La Manga Cup, a preseason tournament.
In the 2010 MLS SuperDraft the Sounders chose UCLA forward David Estrada in the first round, Villanova midfielder/forward Mike Seamon in the second round, and San Diego State midfielder Jamel Wallace. On March 4, the club announced the signing of Swiss International striker Blaise Nkufo. He will be joining the club after the FC Twente season is over and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On March 11, the inaugural Seattle Sounders FC Community Shield preseason match was played against the Portland Timbers continuing the Portland-Seattle rivalry. Seattle lost to Portland 1–0 in front of 18,606 supporters while rain poured down.
March
Seattle was chosen for the second consecutive season to host MLS First Kick, the first match of the MLS season, which was held on Thursday, March 25 and nationally televised on ESPN2. Joe Roth, Sounders FC Majority Owner stated, "Being selected to participate in the first match of the season is a testament to the passion and energy of our fans." Their opponent was the expansion franchise Philadelphia Union, the league's 16th team as they played in their inaugural match. Seattle won the match 2–0 with goals scored by Brad Evans in the 12th minute and Freddy Montero in the 43rd minute. The attendance of 36,241 set a team record for an MLS regular-season or postseason game.
April
On April 2, Sounders FC hosted the New York Red Bulls for their second league match. New York prevailed 1–0 with Macoumba Kandji scoring the lone goal off a corner kick. Seattle had several scoring chances later including a club record 12 corner kicks, but was unable to equalize.
On April 9, Seattle played their first road match of the season, facing the defending MLS Cup champion, Real Salt Lake, in Sandy, Utah. Sounders FC scored twice in the match, first on a Steve Zakuani counter-attack goal in the 11th minute and then again in the 73rd minute when Tyrone Marshall headed in a free kick from Freddie Ljungberg. Salt Lake was able to answer each with a goal of their own, the latter coming in the final moments of extra time. The match ended in a 2–2 draw.
The following week, on April 17, Seattle returned home to face the undefeated Kansas City Wizards. The game appeared to be ending a scoreless tie until late substitute Michael Fucito scored his first career goal in 92nd minute of the match off a throw in from Brad Evans. Sounders FC defeated Kansas City 1–0. The following week, Seattle had two road games in a 4-day period. First they traveled to Frisco, Texas to face FC Dallas on April 22. Steve Zakuani and Fredy Montero scored for Sounders FC while Jeff Cunningham scored two penalty kicks for Dallas, the second of which coming in extra time on a questionable call. The Dallas game ended in a 2–2 tie. During the second leg of the road trip on April 25, Sounders FC was defeated 2–0 by Toronto FC at BMO Field. Seattle conceded their first ever goal to Toronto when Dwayne De Rosario scored in the 58th minute. He later assisted O'Brian White on a second goal in the 76th minute.
May Sounders FC began May with a tie at home against the Columbus Crew. Steve Zakuani scored an early breakaway goal in the 8th minute to take the lead. However, Seattle's stoppage time problems continued as the Crew's Steven Lenhart scored off a header in the first minute of stoppage time before the half. The game ended 1–1.
The following week, on May 8, Sounders FC hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy. Seattle's continued inability to score and their recent trend of defensive breakdowns culminated in an embarrassing 4–0 loss to the Galaxy. This was Seattle's worst ever defeat at home and it was played in front of a team record attendance for a regular season match of 36,273 fans. Sounders FC newcomer Miguel Montaño made his debut with the club in the defeat to the Galaxy. The day after the lopsided defeat to Los Angeles, Sounders FC owner Adrian Hanauer announced a refund for all 32,000 season ticket holders for the embarrassment and indicated that changes were in the works for the club.
Sounders FC regrouped from the difficult loss to LA the next week when they visited the New York Red Bulls. Fredy Montero's absence from the starting lineup was a surprising change in the match. Montero, however, was subbed on late in the game and provided the winning goal in the 85th minute for a 1–0 victory. During the first game of the 2010 Heritage Cup on May 22, the team lost 1–0 to the San Jose Earthquakes at Qwest. Chris Wondolowski scored 11 minutes in the match, lengthening the "scoring drought" for the Sounders FC at home.
Three days later, May 26, the team participated in their first friendly match of the season, winning it 3–0 in a shutout against Boca Juniors. Roger Levesque, Pat Noonan and Mike Seamon each scored goals, the latter in his debut for the team. The team ended the month with another 1–0 loss on May 29, this one against the Colorado Rapids, on the road; Conor Casey scored the only goal of the match.
June
The Sounders FC began June with a 3–0 win against the New England Revolution at home, ending the scoreless pattern. Leo González scored in the fifth minute and started a 3-goal streak. Steve Zakuani volleyed in another goal in the 24th minute off of a kick by Brad Evans. The final goal of the match was scored by Fredy Montero in the 42nd minute, while the second half was more defensive. During the final MLS match before the World Cup break, D.C. United defeated the team 3–2 in a nationally televised game. Chris Pontius scored all three of D.C.'s goals, two in the first half and one in the second. In the 90th minute, James Riley scored a goal and was accompanied by Montero's goal one minute later.
After the World Cup break, the Sounders FC went to play the Philadelphia Union at the new PPL Park in front of a crowd of 18,755 during a humid day. Pat Noonan scored the first ever goal at the stadium shortly before halftime, putting the team ahead 1–0. Former Sounders FC player Sebastian Le Toux scored the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 55th minute and later assisted in the two following goals in the 79th and 84th minutes, making the team lose 3–1 to the Union.
The Sounders FC began their U.S. Open Cup defense in a rematch against rivals to the south Portland Timbers at a sold-out PGE Park. Nate Jaqua scored in the 13th minute, but Portland's Bright Dike scored the equalizer in the 37th minute. The game was tied 1–1 and went into the franchise's first penalty shootout. Defender Zach Scott scored the final penalty to give the team a 4–3 win on penalties.
July
The Sounders FC went down to Carson, California on July 4 to play the Los Angeles Galaxy, who they previously lost to 4–0 at home in May. The game was also the first game for Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle since the World Cup. LA took an early lead, with Buddle scoring off a corner by Donovan in the 18th minute, followed by a goal by Juninho in the 48th minute. Steve Zakuani scored the team's only goal of the match, in the 66th minute, before an own goal by James Riley in the 78th minute.
After the loss to LA, both teams traveled to the Starfire Sports Complex for a rematch, in the U.S. Open Cup. The game was scoreless until Nate Jaqua scored in the 50th minute, repeating in the 62nd minute. The game ended in a 2–0 victory for the Sounders FC, ensuring a semifinal spot against Chivas USA. The following Sunday, the team played their first post-World Cup home game against FC Dallas, drawing 1–1 in front of a crowd of 36,091. Montero headed in the ball in the 14th minute to lead 1–0. In the 56th minute, Miguel Montaño, playing in his first MLS start, was sent off the field and the Sounders FC played a man down for the rest of the match, eventually conceding a goal by David Ferreira in the 87th minute.
Following the tie to FC Dallas, the team traveled east to play D.C. United, who they previously lost to 3–2 at home in June. The game remained scoreless until the 89th minute, when Roger Levesque headed in the game winner, winning 1–0 and ending a 4-game MLS winless streak. During the second and final friendly of the season, the Sounders FC suffered a 2–1 loss to Celtic F.C. in front of a crowd of 45,631 at home. In the 30th minute, goalkeeper Terry Boss was sent off after tripping Georgios Samaras and Fredy Montero was taken out of the game to make way for the debut of third goalkeeper Jordan Jennings. Samaras converted a penalty kick and was joined by a goal by Paddy McCourt for a 2–0 lead for Celtic. David Estrada attempted to tie it up in the 64th minute, but the game ended at 2–1.