SEATTLE — There have been some epic matches played by the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field. There have been some very important matches, as well.
In terms of pure spectacle and enjoyment, I’m not sure any of them can match the Sounders’ 3-0 win over Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup final on Sunday.
This match had a bit of everything. There was the glorious buildup, with Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer dropping the amazing and gauntlet-throwing line “They’ve got Leo Messi … but we’ve got Paul Rothrock.” There was the amazing crowd, with a Sounders record of 69,314 somehow packing inside Lumen Field on just three days’ notice.
But most importantly, there was a thoroughly entertaining match that featured the Sounders absolutely shutting down a team of global superstars with a bunch of homegrown talent and castoffs from other teams, while missing some of their own biggest stars. Despite the seemingly obvious talent gap, the Sounders never looked remotely intimidated. From the opening whistle they played their game, gave Miami everything they could handle and came up big when they needed it most.
That it was all capped off by Rothrock scoring the final goal to put the ninth trophy in the Sounders’ cabinet was almost too perfect.
“This is a special club,” Rothrock, soaked in celebratory beer, told the media in the mixed zone. “I know you guys wanted some summer signings, but we signed Osaze (De Rosario) and Snyder Brunell. Osaze scored against Miami tonight. Another (Tacoma) Defiance player Georgi (Minoungou) drew the PK. I’m from Defiance. This is a group of good human beings who work hard and play for each other and I’m really proud our method won out tonight. That’s a special, special game for the Sounders.”
In the short buildup to this game, Rothrock had become a sort avatar for the Sounders’ whole ethos. The local kid who had reconnected with the Sounders as a last-ditch effort to salvage his professional career has grown into a regular starter for Schmetzer, even as arguably more talented players have joined the roster.
It’s not hard to understand why. Rothrock is everything Schmetzer wants in a player. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, never shies away from a challenge, always puts in full effort, and even has a flair for the dramatic.
When Schmetzer name-checked Rothrock alongside Messi and then the Sounders turned that moment into a whole promotion in which they invited fans to trade a Messi jersey for a Rothrock one, it was because they believed the 26-year-old Capitol Hill native wouldn’t be fazed.
“I like pressure,” Rothrock said. “It’s why we play for big moments like this. I was really grateful that Schmetz put that pressure on me. He looks like a smart guy right now.”
Rothrock’s agent probably appreciated it, too. This is the final year of Rothrock’s initial MLS contract and he’s been locked in negotiations since at least last year. But after everything that happened this week — which included a curtain call that literally shook Lumen Field — it’s going to be near impossible not to bring him back.
All game, Rothrock was doing exactly what you’d expect Rothrock to do. He was stretching the Miami backline, getting into passing lanes, harassing ball carriers. In the 73rd minute with the Sounders leading 1-0 and Miami starting to get control of the game, it looked like Rothrock was going to have his big moment. Reed Baker-Whiting played a perfectly weighted ball over the top that put Rothrock in on goal for a 1v1 chance. He carried the ball forward, cut into the middle of the field, but couldn’t slot his shot past goalkeeper Oscar Ustari.
That missed opportunity was rendered effectively moot about 10 minutes later when Minoungou came rushing down the left sideline, made a couple of dribbles and was then taken down by Yannick Bright as he tried to cut back. Alex Roldan emphatically converted the penalty for a 2-0 lead.
At that point, the game effectively seemed to be over. But it had room for one more moment, one that probably turned this game into something of legends.
Just as the PA announcer was telling the crowd they had not just set a new Leagues Cup attendance record but a new Sounders one, Rothrock ran onto an Alex Roldan pass into the box. His first touch set him up perfectly, and his second touch slammed the ball inside the far post. The crowd exploded in a way that I’m not entirely sure I’ve ever experienced.
This was not the most important goal, not by a mile. It was not especially impressive. I think it’s that it represented something bigger, something about culture, about hard work, about togetherness. Make no mistake, there is plenty of talent on this roster. But what makes them special is how each piece fits together and make a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
After Rothrock scored, goalkeeper Andrew Thomas couldn’t help but race the length of the field to get in on the celebration. He said he had watched some of the Sounders’ earlier goals in the tournament and got a little jealous seeing everyone else celebrate in the corner without him. With the game effectively decided at that point, he wasn’t about to miss another chance.
“It takes a village,” Thomas said after being named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament. “It goes up to the backroom staff, to the front office, this success is the result of all the work that everyone puts in.
“You can see the effort that every person on the field put in today and that was because of the group that they have around them.”
The reality is that the Leagues Cup still has only questionable sporting merit. We can bemoan the fact that all the games are played in MLS stadiums, that it has no history, that the Liga MX teams don’t seem to take it entirely seriously.
No one is going to try to convince you that winning this tournament is more impressive than either of the Sounders’ MLS Cups or their Concacaf Champions League title.
I think you can probably even argue those teams were more talented than this one and that they faced tougher paths to the title. But this day, this team and this opponent were different. I don’t know if I’ve ever sensed this kind of collective joy that flowed out of Lumen Field, in large part because I think people understood how unique of an achievement it was for this group of players to outperform that group of players so thoroughly.
The win felt like the culmination of something that has been building here for a very long time and has the potential to herald a new era of homegrown success. Eight of the Sounders’ starters and three of the four subs were drafted and/or came through their developmental teams. Contending MLS teams simply do not usually build this way.
During his postgame press conference, Schmetzer nearly broke down when trying to articulate the importance of beating Messi and his star-studded team in the way they did. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed majority owner Adrian Hanauer had just sat down. Hanauer took over the USL Sounders in 2001 and one of the first things he did was hire Schmetzer to be the head coach (over coffee in Capitol Hill). They won two USL titles together — with a healthy core of local products — and then made the move to MLS in 2009, where Schmetzer was an assistant until he replaced Sigi Schmid in 2016.
A lot has changed since then, but the foundation of the club has remained remarkably similar even as the aspirations have grown exponentially.
“The success that he and I built shouldn’t be be discounted,” Schmetzer said. “The organization, top to bottom, coaches, everybody deserve this. The fans deserve this win.”
Right now, it feels like this might just be the beginning of the next stage.
