On July 19, 2017, the Seattle Sounders trailed D.C. United 3-0 at CenturyLink Field in the 50th minute. What would transpire over the next 27 minutes had never happened in Major League Soccer’s 22-year history.
On the one-year anniversary of Seattle’s epic 4-3 comeback, relive the moment through the voice of those who lived it.
Lloyd Sam scored in the 50th minute put the visitors up 3-0 on the evening and surely had wrapped up all three points.
Will Bruin: I remember thinking, this is not good. I think they only had three shots, and it was one of those games where they converted everything.
Cristian Roldan: We felt like we weren’t playing all that bad, but it seemed like their three only shots went in. At that point, you just kind of say, ‘Well, it’s not our day.’
Harry Shipp: I was excited because I got a chance to start the game. There were a couple other younger guys who were getting a chance to start, so everyone was amped up and ready to go. Then all of a sudden you give up three goals and the wind is let out of your sails, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, what just happened? What did we do?’
Stefan Frei: It was frustrating. We were at home. We were in a part of our season where we needed to get something going a little bit, and at home against D.C., they were somewhat struggling at the time and it seemed like that would maybe be a good time to get not just three points, but a solid performance. The way we went down was tough.
Kelvin Leerdam: When you go down three, it’s like, ‘OK, it’s a s--- game for us.’ That’s the first thing that goes through your mind. You’re 3-nil down at home. I know the fans were whistling at halftime, they were unhappy. We were like, ‘How can we turn this around?’
Frei: Nobody expected it. It can happen at any time against any team, but it was a bit shocking and very frustrating. Me and Ozzie [Alonso] were up there [in the press box] cursing to the Heavens, but not really able to do anything.
D.C. United celebrates their lead at CenturyLink Field | Jane Gershovich
Kelvin Leerdam, who began the match on the bench, had just signed from Vitesse in the Netherlands and was in his first Sounders match, one in which he didn’t even know if he could participate.
Leerdam: I didn’t even know until four or five hours before the game that I was able to play. I was already happy that I got my paperwork done in time so I could be ready to suit up at least. As a defender, you’re hoping to start the game. I didn’t know, the club didn’t know [if I could play yet.] I was with [Head of Team Security and Player Relocation] Gene [Ramirez] in Vancouver [British Columbia] that morning. I was already happy that I was available for the game, but the way the game was going was not a good way.
The Sounders entered the halftime locker room down 2-0 disappointed, but not in a panic.
Shipp: But the one good thing, and we had it a few times last year, is that no matter what the score was at halftime, it was always calm. There are going to be guys saying, ‘We need to do this, we need to do that,’ but under all that is a belief that you’re going to come back and at least get a point.
Bruin: We were saying that if we got one, we’d be back in it. But don’t give one up. A lot of time things don’t go according to plan, and we gave one up.
Roldan: I thought we were playing decent and then we go out in the second half and it felt like the first or second minute they score. Then you hang your head down.
Shipp: The first half we had played so poorly. We were down 2-0. We were upset with how we played, and for them to get another goal, we were like, ‘Oh my God.’
Bruin: That was a wake-up call. Last year, a lot of times, we would give up a goal to wake up. We had to fix that. Luckily, it worked out for us and lit a fire.
Seattle would take less than a minute to bring one back when Will Bruin’s glancing header put the Sounders on the board in the 51st minute.
Will Bruin scores to make the game 3-1 | Jane Gershovich
Bruin: We had that silent confidence that we knew we were capable of scoring. Sometimes it’s just breaking that ice, getting that first goal. I was able to put that first one in and we just started bombing numbers forward because at that point, what did we have to lose?
Shipp: Joevin [Jones] played a good ball in to Will right away. That made us forget about the goal we had just conceded out of halftime. It was huge and it was the type of stuff that Will’s good at it, getting on the end of crosses, and that was something we felt we could attack them with going forward the rest of that game…The first goal was the biggest one. Once you’re within two goals, no matter how much time is left, you have a chance to get a point.
Leerdam: I think we had the better of the game. They just scored the chances they had. Luckily, when Will scored we had a lot of time left. You know if you can get one little chance and you finish that one quickly after the goal from Will, you know you still have a chance to turn the game around.
Roldan: When Will scored, there was a sense of urgency, a sense of belief, like, ‘We’ve done it before, we can do it again.’
Eleven minutes later, the Sounders would pull within one when a Brad Evans diving header made the score 3-2 with just under half an hour remaining.
Brad Evans makes the score 3-2 | Jane Gershovich
Bruin: You could feel the stadium shaking, getting louder. That just makes you want to play even harder and push further even more.
Shipp: Once you get the second goal, you’re at home, you feel the crowd’s energy and finally they’re having something to cheer about, at that point I think we knew we were at least getting a third.
Roldan: We bombed everybody forward. We felt like D.C. were on their heels and it was just a matter of time to score the third and the fourth.
The Sounders had already come back from a 3-0 deficit to earn a point at home against the New England Revolution in April and felt like they could repeat that comeback.
Roldan: We came back in Montreal that year and came back against New England, so we definitely felt like we had a chance in the game.
Bruin: It was like a, ‘Here we go again’ sort of thing. Those games can be emotionally draining. We knew that we had shown we could do it and we wanted to one-up it.
Shipp: I think I got subbed on in the New England game when it was 3-1 maybe, so I was on the field for the last few goals of that. You have the energy of the crowd and once you get one goal anything can happen. That first one was key. One of our best attributes last year was not panicking both in the locker room and in the tunnel and on the field once we were down.
Frei: Throughout the year, I believe you need to have hardship to recall down the stretch. It’s really good when you have some of those moments in the beginning where it was difficult, but you were able to find a way. Whether that means grinding out a result man down in hostile territory, or a comeback, or whatever it may be, those are important because as the season progresses and bodies get tired, there is absolutely no room for error…The squad you have during the season is the one that needs to make that experience to believe that together you can climb out of those holes.
In the 74th minute, the Sounders found their equalizer when Gustav Svensson scored on a volley off a corner kick. Four minutes later, Cristian Roldan scored the go-ahead goal and game-winner.
Gustav Svensson celebrates his equalizer | Jane Gershovich
Roldan: Lot of pressure at that point coming back from a 3-0 deficit to 3-3 and trying to score that go-ahead goal 1-v-1 with the ‘keeper. A lot of pressure. I megged him, but I think I had Joevin [Jones] open too. I don’t get those opportunities very much, so I felt like I needed to take advantage of it.
Bruin: Guys were like, ‘Let’s go for a fifth! Let’s keep going!’ When Gustav is scoring, you know everybody is contributing.
Shipp: I remember being relieved and excited. We had played so poorly at the beginning of that game, I think it was honestly a sense of relief. You didn’t want a bad half of soccer to cost you three points, especially against a team that we went into the game believing that we were better than.
The Sounders became the first team in MLS history to win a game after being down 3-0.
Cristian Roldan puts the Sounders ahead 4-3 | Jane Gershovich
Leerdam: That was never done before in the league, so there were a lot of compliments going to our players and our team and to the fans who stayed until the end of the game. It’s something that doesn’t happen a lot, but when it happens, you see what it can do to our club and the team. After the game, we were unbeaten for a long time. I don’t know if it set us off, but it showed that everybody was on the same page to always go for the win and never give up.
Bruin: I didn’t know that until after. With how much parity there is in this league, you don’t see it that often. It’s pretty cool to be a part of that.
Shipp: I didn’t know that until after the game. I was actually kind of surprised. There are so many games over the course of one year, let along 22 years. You think it would have happened at some point.
Roldan: I hope it never happens with the Sounders again because I hope we’re never down 3-0. But if it comes to that point, it’d be great to come back and win a game 4-3.
The locker room after the match was one of mixed emotions.
The Sounders celebrate Cristian Roldan’s goal | Jane Gershovich
Bruin: We were very happy, obviously, but on the other end of it, why were we down 3-0 at home? It was a little bittersweet, but it was like, ‘Let’s turn this around.’ Against New England we had to fight back, now D.C. we had to fight back — no more.
Shipp: You go through a season where we felt like we were a talented team and a very good team, and those are games you expect to win. It wasn’t necessarily like a playoff game or an MLS Cup where you’re celebrating this epic comeback. It was more like, ‘What did we do in that first half, and why did we play so much better in the second half?’ You start reflecting on the reasons why we were able to come back and win the game and how we can play like that for 90 minutes instead of 30 or 40.
Roldan: We were down 3-0 at some point at home, which never happens. [Head Coach Brian] Schmetzer drilled us a little bit. The attitude we had in the second half was fantastic. I think we went on a couple win streaks after, so it definitely helped our season going forward. It’s one of those moments where you look back and wish it didn’t happen, but you’re really glad that it worked out.
