SPOKANE, Wash. — Ever since the Seattle Sounders first entered MLS, they’ve firmly established themselves as having one of the most reliable fan bases in the league.
It’s not just the crowds that reliably fill Lumen Field’s lower bowl and have kept the Sounders’ average home attendance above 30,000 in each of their 17 non-Covid seasons. What I’ve always argued makes the Sounders different is the way team organically feels like part of the region’s larger sporting culture. Check out any Seattle-area playground on a sunny day and you’re almost sure to spot at least one kid decked out in a Sounders jersey. It’s hardly rare to see Sounders gear during random grocery store visits. Local TV stations are fixtures at Sounders training and it’s not even unheard of for local sports-talk radio hosts to discuss soccer even without a proverbial gun to their head.
Although I’ve always known that the Sounders’ core of support stretched well beyond the city limits and even into Eastern Washington, I still wasn’t quite sure what to expect when they were forced to travel 280 miles to play a “home” game here.
Whatever concerns I had quickly evaporated as soon as I got to Flatstick Pub in downtown Spokane, which was effectively the official pregame spot. Three hours before kickoff, the massive bar was already packed with fans, virtually every single one clad in some sort of Sounders regalia.
About an hour before gametime, Emerald City Supporters led a march of hundreds across the river and into ONE Spokane Stadium. Although only about 5,000 fans could fit, there was no doubt this would feel like Sounders game.
All that was left was for the Sounders to fulfill their side of the bargain and give those fans something to cheer about.
Photos courtesy of Sounders FC communications
In the very early going, it seemed like the Sounders were going to do just that. Already holding a 3-0 lead thanks to as impressive of a road performance as anyone has seen in Concacaf Champions Cup history, the Sounders had a golden opportunity to effectively put the series to bed when Paul Arriola’s cross through the box and found Albert Rusnák for an open look from about 10 yards out. The shot went just wide.
From that point forward, the Whitecaps simply looked like the team with more to play for. They dominated possession, dictated tempo and got the goal they needed to cause some genuine consternation for the Sounders when Jeevan Badwal smacked a shot in from about 20 yards out in the 24th minute.
To the Sounders’ credit, though, they did what they’ve been doing with remarkable regularity this year. They held.
At halftime, the Sounders tweaked how they were defending to counter some of the joy the Whitecaps were finding on the left wing. They weren’t able to quite control the game, but they were at least keeping the Whitecaps from creating too much danger.
That allowed the Sounders some time to make what turned out to be some game-altering substitutes in the 65th minute when head coach Brian Schmetzer summoned Paul Rothrock, Danny Musovski and, most surprisingly, Peter Kingston off the bench.
For the fourth time in six games, Schmetzer’s subs factored into goals. The first came when Kingston took a throw-in from Rothrock, wriggled his way around a couple of defenders and put in a cross that Musovski headed into the goal. A collective sigh of relief was almost audible, as the 79th minute strike effectively secured advancement.
Just four minutes later, the Sounders really felt the hometown love when Kalani Kossa-Rienzi played Kingston in behind the defense. Kingston let the ball run and then whipped in a cross, which was a little behind the crashing Musovski but fell nicely to Rothrock at the back post. Rothrock took a touch to settle and then slotted in the point-blank range shot.
That it was Kingston who provided both assists felt fitting for this moment. The Sounders are through to the CCC quarterfinals and off to a 3-1-0 start in league play despite missing several key starters and missing enough players that they’ve used short-term loans in 5 of 6 matches.
Kingston, one of those players who has been called in, had just two short first-team appearances in his career as recently as a week ago. He made his first MLS start on Sunday, holding his own in an 85-minute performance that helped the Sounders beat the Earthquakes and parlayed that into a Man of the Match-worthy performance against the Whitecaps.
“I think it says a lot that in a close game, that’s on the knife’s edge and we call on Peter to come in,” Rothrock said. “I think he should take a huge vote of confidence for himself and then he backed it up.”
Make no mistake, ONE Spokane Stadium is not Lumen Field. The roughly 5,000-person capacity stadium isn’t just smaller, it lacks many of the amenities. The field is a little smaller, the turf seemed to play a little faster. The wind can impact the flight of the ball in ways that don’t often happen at a fully-enclosed stadium.
There’s also an undeniable intimacy. The sidelines are practically within reach of the seats and players can feel fans’ presence in a more visceral way.
The Sounders seemed to feed off that energy.
“The fans tonight were happy and the players were thankful that so many people showed up,” Schmetzer said. “I think that was one of the things that kept them going.”
The Sounders have now won four straight, all without truly controlling any of those matches, even if they have generated their fair share of scoring chances. That’s probably not a sustainable way to go through the season. But they are also showing that they can win in a variety of ways, that they don’t need 60% of the ball, have a full complement of starters or even sleep in their own beds the night before a game.
“I’m just really enjoying it right now,” Rothrock said. “I think a lot of guys on the team would say the same. The group’s really close. The vibes are really high. Everyone’s enjoying each other’s company.
“People are putting their egos aside to play different roles. A number of people are stepping up in big ways.”
