2014 Seattle Sounders FC season
The 2014 Seattle Sounders FC season was the club's fortieth year of existence, and their sixth consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of United States soccer. Including previous Seattle Sounders franchises, this was the 34th season of a soccer team playing in the Seattle metro area.
Background
The Sounders came into the 2014 season following a disappointing 2013, winning no silverware for the second consecutive season. The off season saw higher than usual turnover and transfers amid reports of locker room tension.Review
Roster
Major League Soccer teams are limited to eight players without U.S. citizenship, a permanent resident, or the holder of other special status. These international roster slots can be traded.Competitions
Preseason
Carolina Challenge Cup">2014 Carolina Challenge Cup">Carolina Challenge Cup
MLS Regular Season
Standings
Western Conference
Overall table
Note: the table below has no impact on playoff qualification and is used solely for determining host of the MLS Cup, certain CCL spots, and 2015 MLS draft. The conference tables are the sole determinant for teams qualifying to the playoffsResults summary
Results by round
Match results
MLS Cup Playoffs
Conference semifinals
Conference finals
U.S. Open Cup
Friendlies
Statistics
Appearances
Goals and assists
Disciplinary record
Additional suspensions
was suspended for two matches by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for "violent conduct" during the home match against Toronto FC on March 15, 2014. He was eligible to return for the away match against Portland Timbers on April 5, 2014.Transfers
The 2013-2014 offseason was a very active one for Sounders FC, especially compared to years past and to other teams in MLS. For transfers in, dates listed are when Sounders FC officially signed the players to the roster. Transactions where only the rights to the players are acquired are not listed. For transfers out, dates listed are when Sounders FC officially removed the players from its roster, not when they signed with another club. If a player later signed with another club, his new club will be noted, but the date listed here remains the one when he was officially removed from Sounders FC roster.In
| No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred From | Fee/Notes | Date | Source |
| 24 |  Toronto FC | Traded for 2015 MLS SuperDraft conditional first round pick | ||||
| 14 |  Columbus Crew | Traded for allocation money and 2015 MLS SuperDraft third round pick | ||||
 Hønefoss BK | Free transfer | |||||
| 33 | FC Dallas | Traded for Adam Moffat | ||||
| 11 | Stanford Cardinal | Signed a HGP contract | ||||
| 13 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | Signed a HGP contract | ||||
| 19 | New England Revolution | Selected in Stage Two of MLS Re-Entry Process | ||||
| 7 | Chivas USA | Traded for Mauro Rosales | ||||
| 4 | Chicago Fire | Traded for Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, and the 13th overall selection of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft | ||||
| 31 | Hartford Hawks | Selected in the first round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft | ||||
| 10 |  SC Heerenveen | acquired through MLS Allocation Ranking rules | ||||
| Louisville Cardinals | Selected in the second round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft | |||||
| 8 |  C.D. Guadalajara | Free transfer | ||||
| 21 | Michigan Wolverines | Selected in the third round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft | ||||
| 42 | Charleston Battery | Free transfer | ||||
| 23 | Houston Dynamo | Free transfer | ||||
| 77 |  Riviere-Pilote | Free transfer | ||||
| 25 | Portland Timbers | Free transfer | ||||
 Stade Rennais F.C. | Free transfer |
Seattle Sounders FC's 2013-2014 winter included bringing in several new faces to further supplement the returning core. Forward Kenny Cooper, midfielder Marco Pappa, defender Chad Marshall, and goalkeeper Stefan Frei are the most high-profile names. These four are expected to step into the first eleven, or at least see significant playing time.
Other players acquired include midfielder Tristan Bowen, forward Chad Barrett, and defender Jalil Anibaba.
Seattle also signed Stanford's Aaron Kovar and Wake Forest's Sean Okoli to Homegrown Player contracts. Both players played for Sounders FC's academy team before beginning their respective college careers.
Seattle selected Damion Lowe, Stefano Rijssel, Fabio Pereira, and Jimmy Ockford in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.
Out
| No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred To | Fee/Notes | Date | Source |
 PAOK | Club declined contract option | |||||
| Blair Gavin | Atlanta Silverbacks | Club declined contract option | ||||
| Portland Timbers | Out of contract; selected No. 2 in 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft | |||||
| Colorado Rapids | Club declined contract option; selected in 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft | |||||
| Chivas USA | Rights traded for the rights to Tristan Bowen and No. 2 in allocation ranking | |||||
 Adam Moffat | FC Dallas | Traded for the rights to Kenny Cooper | ||||
| Columbus Crew | Traded for 2015 MLS SuperDraft fourth round pick | |||||
| D.C. United | Traded for allocation money | |||||
| Chicago Fire | Traded for Jalil Anibaba | |||||
| Chicago Fire | Traded for Jalil Anibaba | |||||
 Sporting CP | Transferred after a season long loan | |||||
| MF |  Philip Lund | Oklahoma City Energy FC | ||||
| FW | Will Bates | Waived | ||||
| MF | Alex Caskey | D.C. United | Traded for 2016 MLS SuperDraft third round pick | |||
| MF |  Shalrie Joseph | Club bought out contract | ||||
| MF |  Fábio Periera | Waived | ||||
| FW | David Estrada | D.C. United | Traded for 2017 MLS SuperDraft third round pick |
There were many departures of contributing players during Seattle Sounders FC's 2013-2014 off-season. Most notably, on December 17, 2013, Sounders traded forward Eddie Johnson to D.C. United for allocation money. Other notable off-season departures included midfielders Mauro Rosales, Steve Zakuani, Adam Moffat, defenders Marc Burch, Patrick Ianni and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, and goalkeeper Michael Gspurning.
Less significant departures included Philip Lund and Blair Gavin.
Loan in
Loan out
| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned To | Fee/Notes | Source |
| 2 | MF | Clint Dempsey |  Fulham | Two-month loan | |
| DF | New York Cosmos | Season-long loan | |||
| 22 | FW/DF | Eriq Zavaleta | Chivas USA | Season-long loan | |
| 16 | MF/FW | David Estrada | Atlanta Silverbacks | Loaned out on April 3, 2014 Recalled on April 27, 2014 | |
| 29 | GK | Josh Ford | OC Blues | Loaned out on May 13, 2014 |
During the Winter between the 2013 and 2014 seasons, midfielder Clint Dempsey joined his former club, Fulham FC in England's Premier League, for a two-month loan spell. Because Major League Soccer's season begins in Spring, and the Premier League begins in Fall, Dempsey did not miss any of Sounders' competitive matches, though he was not with the team for pre-season training. During the loan period, Fulham's manager René Meulensteen was replaced by Felix Magath, prompting some concerns from Sounders supporters that Dempsey was not getting the competitive experience that was the purpose for the loan.
Recognition
MLS Player of the Week| Week | Player | Opponent | Link |
| 5 | Clint Dempsey | Portland Timbers | |
| 6 | Clint Dempsey | FC Dallas | |
| 24 |  Obafemi Martins | Portland Timbers | |
| 34 |  Marco Pappa | Los Angeles Galaxy |
MLS Player of the Month
| Month | Player | Link |
| April | Clint Dempsey | |
| September | Obafemi Martins |
MLS Goal of the Week
| Week | Player | Opponent | Link |
| 6 | Clint Dempsey | FC Dallas | |
| 7 | Obafemi Martins | Chivas USA | |
| 8 | Obafemi Martins | Colorado Rapids | |
| 11 | Obafemi Martins | San Jose Earthquakes | |
| 24 | Obafemi Martins | Portland Timbers | |
| 25 | Clint Dempsey | Colorado Rapids | |
| 27 | Lamar Neagle | Real Salt Lake | |
| 29 | Obafemi Martins | Chivas USA | |
| 30 | Marco Pappa | Colorado Rapids |
Kits
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance / Info |
| Home | Rave Green | Blue | Rave Green | |
| Home Alt. | Rave Green | Rave Green | Blue | MLS, April 13 against Dallas |
| Home Alt. 2 | Rave Green | Rave Green | Rave Green | MLS, May 11 against New England |
| Away | Shale | Shale | Shale | |
| Third | Black | Light green | Light green |