The Seattle Sounders' debut season in MLS was a resounding success. After some uncertainty, the expansion Philadelphia Union now get to make their mark.
Matching the Sounders, however, could be a tall order.
The Union will take the field for the first time when they visit Seattle in the opener of the league's 15th season Thursday night.
Seattle burst onto the scene last year by beating New York 3-0 in its inaugural game. The Sounders battled for the Western Conference lead all season before finishing third with a 12-7-11 record.
That was made even more impressive with every game at Qwest Field being sold out, giving them a league-leading average attendance of 30,897.
Seattle also won its first trophy, besting D.C. United for the U.S. Open Cup. However, trying to match the Chicago's feat of a league and cup "double" from 1998 fell short with a 1-0 aggregate loss to the Dynamo in the opening round of the playoffs.
Peter Nowak was the captain of the Fire then, and he'll get a chance to take a run at that mark as coach of the aptly-named Union, who nearly saw their inaugural season delayed due to a strike before the players' union and league agreed to a labor deal last weekend.
Nowak is the only person in league history to win MLS Cup as a player and coach, leading D.C. to the title in 2004 before leaving in 2007 to become an assistant with the United States national team.
He's assembled a team in Philadelphia that's expected to compete for the playoffs, despite averaging just 23.6 years old.
"We feel like we've put together a good roster on paper," Nowak said. "Games aren't won on paper. We know that. We have to come ready to play every game. The guys from top to bottom have to be ready. I think they will be."
A resurgence from Fred could be key. The Brazilian midfielder, signed by Nowak at D.C. in 2007, was acquired in a trade after injuries limited him to four goals and eight assists in 46 games over two seasons with United.
Fred is expected to be the playmaker while 18-year-old forward Danny Mwanga might be needed to produce immediately. Selected first overall in January's SuperDraft, Mwanga is the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year after scoring a league-high 14 goals for Oregon State.
Philadelphia's young team also features 22-year-old goalkeeper Chris Seitz. A former standout with the U.S. Under-20 team, Seitz spent the last three seasons as a backup with Salt Lake, going 1-4-2 with a 1.86 goals-against average.
Danny Califf will be looked upon to add leadership and guile to the defense, as he returns to MLS after four years in Denmark where he captained Aalborg to a league title.
"I don't play to lose,'' said Califf, who is in the running to make the U.S. team for this summer's World Cup. "I don't think anybody on this team does. I don't see why we can't win. We'll go out Thursday, roll up our sleeves and try to get three points. To me, that's very realistic. Maybe I'm naive. That's what I feel like. I feel like we can win."
The Sounders don't plan on being hospitable hosts, and are looking to put offensive pressure on the Union, who they expect to lay back and counter-attack.
"Towards the end of last season, a lot of teams sat back against us at home, so we have to work on breaking down a team like that in game situations," coach Sigi Schmid told the league's official Web site. "We've worked on that in training and we think we have the pieces of the puzzle to do break that down. We certainly want to carry the game to them."
Seattle, 7-2-6 at home in 2009, will have Fredy Montero back at forward after he scored a team-high 12 goals while adding seven assists last season.
Kasey Keller, the 40-year-old captain, is also back after going 12-5-11 with a 0.92 GAA and 10 shutouts in his debut season in MLS.
These teams will meet June 27 again when the Union hosts Seattle in their inaugural game at 18,500-seat PPL Park.
