The 2014 Seattle Sounders FC season was the club's sixth season in Major League Soccer, the United States' top-tier of professional soccer. Including previous Seattle Sounders franchises, this was the 34th season of a soccer team playing in the Seattle metro area.
The Sounders earned a double for the first time in club history—winning their fourth U.S. Open Cup title and first Supporters' Shield as the best team in the MLS regular season. The team were the first to win 20 matches in the post-shootout era after a slow start to the season. During the 2014 season, the Sounders earned the most points (64) and scored the most goals (65) in the club's MLS history. The team's attempt to complete the league's first domestic treble in the MLS Cup Playoffs was halted by a loss to the LA Galaxy—Shield runners-up and later MLS Cup champions—in the Western Conference Final.
The 2014 season is the best Sounders' regular season to date. This is the only Supporters' Shield won by the club; moreover, this is the only time the team has finished atop the MLS Western Conference. Despite this, Seattle would go on to play in four MLS Cups in a five-season span between 2016 and 2020, winning in 2016 and 2019, and win the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League.
Background and preseason
The 2013 season marked the second consecutive year that the Sounders had failed to win a trophy or title; the team had entered the playoffs with only one win in their final ten regular season matches and were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Portland Timbers. The team had a 17–17–8 record in all competitions and increased tension between players and coaching staff. Sigi Schmid, entering his sixth season as head coach, consulted with key players in a series of summits and worked with general manager Adrian Hanauer to overhaul the team during the winter offseason. Major players, including goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, midfielder Mauro Rosales, and forward Eddie Johnson, were traded to other teams or released. New signings—described by majority owner Joe Roth as "more plumbers and less dancers"—included goalkeeper Stefan Frei, defender Chad Marshall, and several MLS veterans. A majority of the 37 players who reported to the Sounders training camp in January 2014 were new to the club.
During the winter offseason, midfielder Clint Dempsey joined his former club, Fulham FC in England's Premier League, for a two-month loan spell. Because Major League Soccer's season begins in Spring, and the Premier League begins in Fall, Dempsey did not miss any of Sounders' competitive matches, though he was not with the team for pre-season training. During the loan period, Fulham's manager René Meulensteen was replaced by Felix Magath, prompting some concerns from Sounders supporters that Dempsey was not getting the competitive experience that was the purpose for the loan.
Seattle Sounders FC's 2013-2014 winter included bringing in several new faces to further supplement the returning core. Forward Kenny Cooper (trade with FC Dallas for Adam Moffat), midfielder Marco Pappa (acquired through league Allocation Ranking rules), defender Chad Marshall (trade with Columbus Crew for an undisclosed amount allocation money and a third-round draft pick), and goalkeeper Stefan Frei (trade with Toronto FC for a conditional first-round draft pick in the 2015 SuperDraft) are the most high-profile names. These four are expected to step into the first eleven, or at least see significant playing time.
Other players acquired include midfielder Tristan Bowen (trade with Chivas USA for Mauro Rosales), forward Chad Barrett (acquired with thirteenth pick in 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft), and defender Jalil Anibaba (trade with Chicago Fire for Patrick Ianni and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado).
Seattle also signed Stanford's Aaron Kovar and Wake Forest's Sean Okoli to Homegrown Player contracts. Both players played for Sounders FC's academy team before beginning their respective college careers.
Seattle selected Damion Lowe, Stefano Rijssel, Fabio Pereira, and Jimmy Ockford in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.
Roster Major League Soccer teams are limited to eight players without U.S. citizenship, a permanent resident (green card holder), or the holder of other special status (e.g., refugee or asylum status). These international roster slots can be traded.
Competitions
Preseason
Carolina Challenge Cup
MLS regular season
Standings
Western Conference
Overall table Note: the table below has no impact on playoff qualification and is used solely for determining host of the MLS Cup, certain CCL spots, and 2015 MLS draft. The conference tables are the sole determinant for teams qualifying to the playoffs
Results summary
Results by round
Match results
MLS Cup Playoffs
Conference Semifinals
Conference Finals
U.S. Open Cup
Friendlies
Statistics
Appearances
Numbers outside parentheses denote appearances as starter. Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute. Players with no appearances are not included in the list.
No.Pos.Nat.NameMLSU.S. Open CupTotalAppsAppsApps1 GK Marcus Hahnemann0222MFClint Dempsey8(1)08(1)3 MF Brad Evans8(3)210(3)4 DF Jalil Anibaba5(2)1(1)6(3)5 MF Andy Rose1(3)01(3)6 MF Osvaldo Alonso160168 MF Gonzalo Pineda14(1)115(1)9 FW Obafemi Martins1501510 MF Marco Pappa11(3)112(3)11 MF Aaron Kovar0(1)11(1)12 DF Leonardo Gonzalez8(3)210(3)13 FW Sean Okoli0(2)11(2)14 DF Chad Marshall1511615 DF Dylan Remick6(3)06(3)16 DF David Estrada0(1)11(1)17 DF DeAndre Yedlin1101118 DF Djimi Traore1001019 FW Chad Barrett4(7)0(2)4(9)20DFZach Scott4(2)26(2)21MFFabio Pereira00(1)0(1)23 FW Cam Weaver0(2)22(2)24 GK Stefan Frei1601627 MF Lamar Neagle14(1)1(1)15(2)33 FW Kenny Cooper8(7)210(7)42 MF Micheal Azira2(5)24(5)
Goals and assists
No. Pos. Name MLS U.S. Open Cup MLS Cup Playoffs TotalGoals Assists Goals Assists Goals Assists Goals Assists2MF Clint Dempsey 1510100016103MF Brad Evans 051100164DF Jalil Anibaba 010000015MF Andy Rose 312000516MF Osvaldo Alonso 021010228MF Gonzalo Pineda 370100389FW Obafemi Martins 17132200191510MF Marco Pappa 6512017811MF Aaron Kovar 0001000112MF Leonardo Gonzalez 0001000113FW Sean Okoli 0010001014DF Chad Marshall 1300001316DF David Estrada 0001000117DF DeAndre Yedlin 0301000419FW Chad Barrett 7121009220DF Zach Scott 0012001227MF Lamar Neagle 99010091033FW Kenny Cooper 34620096 10000010Total65641816118481
Disciplinary record
No. Pos. Name MLS U.S. Open Cup Total 2MF Clint Dempsey 3000303MF Brad Evans 4000404DF Jalil Anibaba 1000106MF Osvaldo Alonso 7020908MF Gonzalo Pineda 8010909FW Obafemi Martins 42004210MF Marco Pappa 30003012DF Leonardo Gonzalez 30003014DF Chad Marshall 10001017DF DeAndre Yedlin 40004018DF Djimi Traore 11001119FW Chad Barrett 20002024GK Stefan Frei 10001027MF Lamar Neagle 30104033FW Kenny Cooper 10001042MF Micheal Azira 20002020MF Zach Scott 501060Total53340573
Additional suspensions
Clint Dempsey was suspended for two matches by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for "violent conduct" during the home match against Toronto FC on March 15, 2014. He was eligible to return for the away match against Portland Timbers on April 5, 2014.
Transfers
For transfers in, dates listed are when Sounders FC officially signed the players to the roster. Transactions where only the rights to the players are acquired are not listed. For transfers out, dates listed are when Sounders FC officially removed the players from its roster, not when they signed with another club. If a player later signed with another club, his new club will be noted, but the date listed here remains the one when he was officially removed from Sounders FC roster.
In
No.Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource24 Toronto FCTraded for 2015 MLS SuperDraft conditional first round pick14 Columbus CrewTraded for allocation money and 2015 MLS SuperDraft third round pick Hønefoss BKFree transfer33 FC DallasTraded for Adam Moffat11 Stanford CardinalSigned a HGP contract13 Wake Forest Demon DeaconsSigned a HGP contract19 New England RevolutionSelected in Stage Two of MLS Re-Entry Process7 Chivas USATraded for Mauro Rosales4 Chicago FireTraded for Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, and the 13th overall selection of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft31 Hartford HawksSelected in the first round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft10 SC Heerenveenacquired through MLS Allocation Ranking rules Louisville CardinalsSelected in the second round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft8 C.D. GuadalajaraFree transfer21 Michigan WolverinesSelected in the third round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft42 Charleston BatteryFree transfer23 Houston DynamoFree transfer77 Riviere-PiloteFree transfer25 Portland TimbersFree transfer Stade Rennais F.C.Free transfer
Out
No.Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource PAOKClub declined contract option Blair Gavin Atlanta SilverbacksClub declined contract option Portland TimbersOut of contract; selected No. 2 in 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft Colorado RapidsClub declined contract option; selected in 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft Chivas USARights traded for the rights to Tristan Bowen and No. 2 in allocation ranking Adam Moffat FC DallasTraded for the rights to Kenny Cooper Columbus CrewTraded for 2015 MLS SuperDraft fourth round pick D.C. UnitedTraded for allocation money Chicago FireTraded for Jalil Anibaba Chicago FireTraded for Jalil Anibaba Sporting CPTransferred after a season long loanMF Philip Lund Oklahoma City Energy FCFW Will BatesWaivedMF Alex Caskey D.C. UnitedTraded for 2016 MLS SuperDraft third round pickMF Shalrie JosephClub bought out contractMF Fábio PerieraWaivedFW David Estrada D.C. UnitedTraded for 2017 MLS SuperDraft third round pick
There were many departures of contributing players during Seattle Sounders FC's 2013-2014 off-season. Most notably, on December 17, 2013, Sounders traded forward Eddie Johnson to D.C. United for allocation money. Other notable off-season departures included midfielders Mauro Rosales (traded to Chivas USA for Tristan Bowen and the second Allocation Ranking for the 2014 season), Steve Zakuani (selected in Re-Entry Draft by Portland Timbers FC), Adam Moffat (traded to FC Dallas in exchange for Kenny Cooper), defenders Marc Burch (selected in Re-Entry Draft by Colorado Rapids), Patrick Ianni and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (traded to Chicago Fire), and goalkeeper Michael Gspurning (declined contract option).
Less significant departures included Philip Lund and Blair Gavin.
Loan in
Loan out
No.Pos.PlayerLoaned toFee/notesSource2MF Clint Dempsey FulhamTwo-month loan (January 1 to March 1, 2014)DF New York CosmosSeason-long loan22FW/DF Eriq Zavaleta Chivas USASeason-long loan16MF/FW David Estrada Atlanta SilverbacksLoaned out (length unspecified) on April 3, 2014Recalled on April 27, 201429GK Josh Ford OC BluesLoaned out (length unspecified) on May 13, 2014
Recognition MLS Player of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink5 Clint DempseyPortland TimbersPlayer of the Week6 Clint DempseyFC DallasPlayer of the Week24 Obafemi MartinsPortland TimbersPlayer of the Week34 Marco PappaLos Angeles Galaxy
MLS Player of the Month MonthPlayerLinkApril Clint DempseyApril September Obafemi Martins
MLS Goal of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink6 Clint DempseyFC DallasGoal Week 67 Obafemi MartinsChivas USAGoal Week 78 Obafemi MartinsColorado RapidsGoal Week 811 Obafemi MartinsSan Jose EarthquakesGoal Week 1124 Obafemi MartinsPortland TimbersGoal Week 2425 Clint DempseyColorado RapidsGoal Week 2527 Lamar NeagleReal Salt Lake29 Obafemi MartinsChivas USA30 Marco PappaColorado Rapids
Kits
Type Shirt Shorts Socks First appearance / Info Home Rave Green Blue Rave Green Home Alt. Rave Green Rave Green Blue MLS, April 13 against Dallas Home Alt. 2 Rave Green Rave Green Rave Green MLS, May 11 against New England Away Shale Shale Shale Third Black Light green Light green
References