19 March 2009 - The Sweet Sound Of Success

On 19 March 2009, the Seattle Sounders officially returned to the American top flight after an absence of over 25 years. Sort of.

The original Sounders played in the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1983. A quality side, with a roster that included England World Cup heroes Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst, they made it to two Soccer Bowls (1977 and 1982, losing to the New York Cosmos both times), before folding in 1983.

The name was resurrected in 1994 by a new Seattle club playing in the American Professional Soccer League. While the APSL operated as the top American league between 1990 and 1996, FIFA never officially recognized it as the American top flight, and, with the advent of MLS in 1996, the APSL was a lower-division league, eventually absorbed into the USL. The APSL/USL Sounders were even more successful than the NASL side, winning four league championships (1995, 1996, 2005, 2007).

In November 2007, MLS announced that Seattle would be the league's newest club, starting play in 2009. The owners opened an online poll for fans to select the name for the new team and the supporters overwhelmingly chose "Sounders" as a write-in option.

Their first match on 19 March 2009 continued the tradition of success associated with the Sounders name with a 3-0 win over the Red Bulls in front of a sold-out crowd at Seattle's Qwest Field. Two of the goals were provided by the team's young Colombian forward, Fredy Montero, who also provided an assist for the third goal - a performance that earned him MLS Player of the Week honors.

The team went on to outperform all expectations, claiming silverware in their first season by winning the 2009 US Open Cup, then repeating as champions in 2010 and 2011. 

4 October 2011 - Seattle Reigns In The US Open Cup

On 4 October 2011, the Seattle Sounders win their third straight US Open Cup, beating Chicago 2-0.

Since joining MLS in 2009 as an expansion team, Seattle had been impressive, reaching the MLS Cup conference semifinals in their first two seasons. But they had been even more successful in the US Open Cup, winning it in 2009 and 2010.

In 2011, they were on their way to a second-place finish in the league and another MLS Cup conference semifinal appearance. But before then, they had a chance to become only the second team ever to win three straight US Open Cups (the only other team to three-peat was Greek American AA, who won it in 1967, 1968, and 1969).

In order to do that, however, they had to beat the Chicago Fire, who were in the final for the sixth time and had won it in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006. Despite a much poorer league record, Chicago managed to hold the defending champions to a scoreless draw for most of the match. But Seattle finally took the lead with a goal from forward Fredy Montero in the 77th minute, then sealed the win with a strike from midfielder Osvaldo Alonso in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

19 March 2009 - The Sound Of Success

On 19 March 2009, the Seattle Sounders officially returned to the American top flight after an absence of over 25 years. Sort of.

The original Sounders played in the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1983. A quality side, with a roster that included England World Cup heroes Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst, they made it to two Soccer Bowls (1977 and 1982, losing to the New York Cosmos both times), before folding in 1983.

The name was resurrected in 1994 by a new Seattle club playing in the American Professional Soccer League. While the APSL operated as the top American league between 1990 and 1996, FIFA never officially recognized it as the American top flight, and, with the advent of MLS in 1996, the APSL was a lower-division league, eventually absorbed into the USL. The APSL/USL Sounders were even more successful than the NASL side, winning four league championships (1995, 1996, 2005, 2007).

In November 2007, MLS announced that Seattle would be the league's newest club, starting play in 2009. The owners opened an online poll for fans to select the name for the new team and the supporters overwhelmingly chose "Sounders" as a write-in option.

Their first match on 19 March 2009 continued the tradition of success associated with the Sounders name with a 3-0 win over the Red Bulls in front of a sold-out crowd at Seattle's Qwest Field. Two of the goals were provided by the team's young Colombian forward, Fredy Montero, who also provided an assist for the third goal - a performance that earned him MLS Player of the Week honors.

The team went on to outperform all expectations, claiming silverware in their first season by winning the 2009 US Open Cup.