Football Season Review

Seeking to defend their 2016 MLS crown, the Seattle Sounders came into the 2017 campaign as one of the strongest sides in the league, with the ambitious goal of winning back to back MLS Cup titles. The Sounders would come agonisingly close to achieving that feat. Making it all the way to the MLS Cup Playoff Final for the second consecutive year, the Sounders would suffer a 2-0 defeat to Toronto FC, putting an end to their dream. Despite that loss, the rave green can most definitely be extremely proud of their performance in 2017, and will hope to produce something similar going into the new season. Brian Schmeltzer’s men would finish the regular season in second position in the Western Conference table, missing out on the conference title due to an inferior head to head record with the Portland Timbers. Conceding just 39 goals all season, the side from Washington State would finish the campaign with the second best defensive record in the entire division. The defensive pairing of Chad Marshall and Roman Torres are mainly to thank for this record. In their last 7 games of the season the Sounders would keep 6 clean sheets, setting a record for the lowest number of goals conceded during a playoff campaign. Over the course of the entire season, the Sounders would additionally record a total of 17 shutouts. The departure of Joevin Jones is most definitely a blow for the rave green, with the speedy wide man set to join Darmstadt on a free transfer. Brian Schmeltzer has however already recruited the services of Columbus defender Wylon Francis, who should serve as a sufficient replacement. Perhaps the most disappointing part of the 2017 season for Seattle was the slightly underwhelming year for both Jordan Morris and Nicolas Lodeiro. While Morris’ season would be plagued by injury, the young striker would only manage to find the back of the net 3 times in 23 games, with Lodeiro only scoring 7 of his own. If they return to form next year, then Seattle will most definitely be challenging for the title once again.

Player of the Season: Clint Dempsey