Three takeaways as the Sounders claim the MLS championship

Seattle Sounders FC is the MLS Champion.

The Sounders claimed the MLS Cup by defeating Toronto FC on penalty kicks Saturday at BMO Field in Toronto. The game was scoreless through the 90 minutes of regulation, then 30 minutes of overtime. Seattle won the penalty kicks 5-4 in six rounds to lift the cup. This is the Sounders’ first championship since arriving in MLS in 2009.

Here’s three takeaways from the game:

1) The Sounders won in an appropriate way, given the team’s season.

This season was on the brink of disaster for the Sounders. In late July Seattle was 6-12-2 and in ninth place in the 10-team Western Conference, resulting in coach Sigi Schmid’s dismissal. However, the Sounders executed a remarkable turnaround behind Schmid’s successor, Brian Schmetzer, finishing out the season 8-2-4 to claw themselves back into the playoffs.

Saturday’s game had a similar flavor. Seattle was outplayed by Toronto from the start. Toronto’s star international, Italy’s Sebastian Giovinco, had far more influence on the game than Seattle’s star international, Uruguay’s Nicolas Lodeiro. Toronto’s target man Jozy Altidore was a constant menace in and around the Sounders’ penalty box, while Seattle’s goal threat Jordan Morris was invisible throughout. Seattle was outshot 19-3 and became the first team in MLS Cup history to go an entire final without managing a single shot on target.

But this was a season when the Sounders persevered after things went sour. That was the case again Saturday. Goalkeeper Stefan Frei, playing against his former team, came up with the moment of the match when, in the 109th minute, he made an incredible flying save, reaching behind himself with his left arm to keep out Altidore’s looping header. Those are the type of efforts that helped Seattle overcome adversity all season long.

2) Roman Torres was an overlooked factor in Seattle’s turnaround.

Among players, Lodeiro received the lion’s share of the credit for Seattle’s turnaround, and he deserved it because of his offensive contributions after arriving just as Schmid was being fired. But don’t underestimate the value of Torres’ return in the Sounders putting themselves in position to earn their first MLS title.

The Panamanian international defender spent much of this season on the sidelines as he recovered from a torn ACL in his knee suffered last September. He returned to the squad in late August and immediately became a rock at the center of Seattle’s defense. It’s no coincidence that the Sounders went 5-1-2 in games started by Torres at the end of the regular season.

And no field player was more important to the Sounders on Saturday against Toronto. With Toronto having the majority of the ball, Seattle’s defense was under regular pressure. But Torres sent a couple physical messages to Giovinco in the first half, then the muscly Torres went toe-to-toe with the physical Altidore in the second half. Though Toronto had far more scoring chances, Torres helped keep most of those to the outside, and he was an appropriate person to thump in the deciding penalty kick.

3) The Sounders are finally a member of the MLS elite.

Seattle has wanted to be part of the MLS elite ever since joining the league in 2009. The Sounders have the fan base, with their MLS-record crowds at CenturyLink Field singing and chanting their way through every home game. They’ve had the players, having spared no expense to bring top-notch talents to Seattle like Lodeiro, Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. They had the silverware, having claimed four U.S. Open Cups and a Supporter’s Shield.

However, the Sounders were never going to be considered a true member of the MLS elite by anyone outside of Seattle until they won a championship. Indeed, the Sounders were MLS’s nearly men. They had a winning record every season, they made the playoffs every season, but they never threatened to claim a title — the closest they came previously was reaching the conference finals in 2012 and 2014.

Now the Sounders have that championship, and now they truly can consider themselves one of the elite franchises in MLS.