The 2014 edition of Sounders FC provided its fans with an entertaining, attacking brand of soccer just about every time it took the pitch. Led by the duo of All-Star forwards Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins, Seattle scored a club-record 65 goals during the regular season en route to its first Supporters’ Shield. On seven different occasions, the Rave Green tallied four or more goals.
If the opening friendly of the 2015 preseason was any indication, fans can expect more of the same in the coming campaign.
Sounders FC won 5-0 over collegiate side UCLA on Wednesday at Mt. San Antonio College. Of the five players who scored at least nine goals across all competitions last year – Dempsey, Martins, Lamar Neagle, Chad Barrett and Kenny Cooper – four were on the field against the Bruins on Wednesday. All four of them found the back of the net.
“We picked up where we left off,” Barrett said after the match. “Lamar and Oba are still hot like they were last year, and everyone else had some well-taken goals.”
Head Coach Sigi Schmid used separate 11-man lineups for the two halves on Wednesday, and both groups created lots of scoring opportunities against a UCLA squad that reached the NCAA title match last year.
The first goal came in the 39th minute, when Martins chipped the UCLA goalkeeper upon receiving a through ball from Andy Rose. Martins then performed his signature backflip for the small group of fans watching the game. Five minutes later, Neagle gave Seattle a 2-0 lead by heading in a cross from Marco Pappa.
Neagle, who scored a career-high nine goals in 2014, was typically used by Schmid as an outside midfielder last season. He enjoys playing forward, though, and since Dempsey is away at U.S. National Team camp, Schmid decided to pair Martins with Neagle on Wednesday.
“It was a little different, but I’ve been there before, so I was just getting back into the swing of things,” Neagle said. “I thought it went well.”
READ: Preseason Match One: Sounders FC 5 – UCLA 0
Cooper and Barrett occupied the two forward spots for the second half. Just like the starting duo, it took them some time to find the back of the net, but both eventually finished one of their chances. Barrett scored in the 77th minute on a tap-in after a cross from Aaron Kovar, and then Cooper took advantage of a defensive mistake by UCLA nine minutes later. Seattle's fifth goal was scored by Micheal Azira in the 90th minute.
Not many teams in MLS have the luxury of bringing proven veterans like Cooper and Barrett off the bench. Schmid was glad to see that all of his club’s strikers are in form to start the preseason.
“It wasn’t just the goals – it was the quality of the goals,” Schmid said. “I think the goals were good goals, and that’s important.”
Sounders FC is set to look very similar at the forward position to last year’s group that broke many club records. Wednesday’s match was just a friendly with a college team, but judging by Schmid’s early impressions, the club looks poised to repeat that stellar production in the coming season.
