Editor's Note: With 2016 winding to a close, SoundersFC.com is taking a look back at the top 10 plays of the Seattle Sounders' 2016 season. We'll release the full list over the course of the week, with the final play being announced on Dec. 31. Take a look at the Honorable Mentions and the full list as it's released.
The Sounders will kick off the 2017 season on Saturday, March 4 against the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Roman Torres rightfully received a ton of credit for shoring up the Seattle Sounders’ defense down the stretch after he returned from a year-long ACL recovery, but the man behind him had just as much to do with that.
Goalkeeper Stefan Frei did not get the recognition he deserved for how instrumental he was in leading the Sounders to an improbable playoff berth, despite clutch plays like the one he made against the Houston Dynamo in mid-October.
With the match scoreless in the 30th minute, then-Dynamo forward and recent Sounders acquisition Will Bruin took a shot from the top of the 18-yard-box that seemed destined for goal. Frei lunged full-extension to his left and parried the shot off the post to keep it out.
Frei’s key stop led the Sounders to a shutout and ran their unbeaten streak to six games. He saved the Sounders a point during a postseason hunt in which they could not afford to drop any.
