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 No. 10.
The Sounders will kick off the 2017 season on Saturday, March 4 against the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium.
No. 9: Andreas Ivanschitz's stunning free kick vs. Vancouver Whitecaps | March 19
The Seattle Sounders went winless in March, but that didn’t diminish how beautiful Andreas Ivanschitz’s free kick vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps was at CenturyLink Field.
After a foul by Pedro Morales on Clint Dempsey on the edge of the 18-yard-box, Dempsey and Ivanschitz stood over the ball. Ivanschitz ultimately stepped up and whipped in a curling left-footed effort over the wall that tucked into the top left corner past a helpless David Ousted.
The Whitecaps would escape Seattle with a 2-1 win, but Ivanschitz’s brilliant equalizer in the 52nd was the match’s lasting highlight.