At his introductory press conference in January 2015, Sounders FC General Manager & President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey identified a clear mission for the organization:
“You have to vertically integrate the clubs,” Lagerwey said. “You have your first team, and you have to push strategically to grow the Sounders, but you have to, below that, integrate S2 and the Academy.”
Essentially, Lagerwey wanted a pipeline. Before reaching the first team and playing in front of the biggest crowds in MLS, players would develop necessary skills and attributes that translate to the next level, all while representing the Sounders FC crest.
Last season, Sounders FC 2 strung together a successful inaugural campaign. This success lies deeper than qualifying for the postseason and reaching the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, though. In 2015, Sounders FC 2 produced three players who were signed to first team contracts: Andy Craven, Tyler Miller and Oalex Anderson.
In June, Craven became the first S2 player to make the leap. He started 12 of his 14 appearances in the USL regular season, scoring five goals and adding a team-high five assists. The University of North Carolina product went on to appear in three MLS matches before suffering an MLC sprain in training.
“"One of the reasons S2 was created was to develop talent and reward players for their hard work and standout play, and Andy is a true example of that concept,” Lagerwey said in June.
Miller became the second player to join the MLS side after signing with S2 last July, following a stint with SVN Zweibrücken of the German Fourth Division. He made one appearance for S2, a 4-0 shutout victory over Arizona United SC on July 12, before undergoing successful thumb surgery on his right hand on July 28. Miller was a second-round selection for Seattle in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft after a record-setting career at Northwestern University.
“Tyler has great potential as a goalkeeper and showed promise in the limited time we had to work with him last season,” said Head Coach Sigi Schmid. “We’re excited to continue that development in 2016 as he works further with our staff and the rest of the goalkeeper group.”
Earlier this month, Anderson became the most recent S2 player to be signed to a first team contract. Anderson started seven of 16 appearances for S2 during the 2015 USL season after signing on April 11. The speedy striker scored four goals in just 758 minutes. Internationally, Anderson has 20 caps for the St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Team since his debut in February 2014, scoring 10 international goals.
"It’s exciting to see our development system at work in signing one of our standout S2 players to the first team," said Lagerwey. "Oalex has a lot of potential, which he showed last season, and we’re happy to have him join the senior squad."
