Seattle Sounders FC U-23

This article is about the U-23 team. For the history of this name, see Seattle Sounders (disambiguation).

Seattle Sounders FC U-23

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Full name	Seattle Sounders FC U-23
Founded	2006 (as Tacoma FC)
Stadium	Sunset Chevrolet Stadium Sunmer, Washington
Ground Capacity	3,000
Owners	Lane Smith Cliff McElroy
Head Coach	Darren Sawatzky
League	Premier Development League
2015	3rd, Northwest Playoffs: Semifinals
Website	Club home page
Home colors Away colors Third colors

File:Tacomafc.jpg

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Seattle Sounders FC U-23 is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.

In 2011, Cliff McElroy and Lane Smith also acquired the Tacoma Tide Men's PDL Franchise which took on the name; Sounders FC U-23 PDL Team. The function of the Sounders FC U-23 PDL team will be to compete for a PDL title while helping to develop young future Sounders FC Players. The Sounders U-23's will play their home games in the Tacoma South Sound area and will wear the official kit of Sounders FC.

History

2006-2009: Playoffs

Tacoma were introduced into the league at very short notice in 2006 when it was announced that the now-defunct Spokane Shadow franchise were suspending operations for the season, and during their first season they were simply referred to as Tacoma F.C.. Under the leadership of Mike Jennings as head coach, Tacoma finished 5th in the Northwest table, 16 points off the leaders. Rory Agu was the top scorer with 5 goals, while Spencer Schomaker registered 3 assists.

2007 began with a new official name, the Tacoma Tide. By the end of the regular season Tacoma sat in second place in the Northwest division.Rory Agu was again one of Tide's top marksmen with 7 goals, while MLS-bound Ciaran O'Brien notched an impressive 7 goals and 5 assists.

Tacoma were looking to build on their impressive sophomore season in 2008. The Conference Final saw them face divisional rivals Vancouver Whitecaps Residency for a third time. Tacoma were on the receiving end of a 4-1 final score. Rory Agu and Spencer Schomaker ended the year as Tide's top marksmen, with 11 and 9 goals respectively, with Schomaker also contributing 5 assists.

2009-2010: Playoff-less seasons

O'Brien was replaced as Head Coach by former Rochester Rhinos and Seattle Sounders midfielder Greg Howes in 2009, and the change in leadership, combined with the excellence of the expansion teams in the Northwest, seemed to affect Tacoma on the field. A 4-3 loss to the Kitsap Pumas on the final day of the season left the Tide in seventh place, a full 20 points behind divisional champions Kitsap, and out of the playoffs for the first time in three years. Rory Agu was again Tacoma's top scorer, hitting the net 11 times, while Leighton O'Brien provided 4 assists.

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2010 began with a change in coaching with former Canadian national team player Gerry Gray replacing Greg Howes. 2010 also saw the team acquire several new players, as well as see some players return from other teams. Chris Sanders joined after a stint with FC Nuremberg and Mark Conrad joined from Kitsap Pumas. Raphael Cox rejoined the team after a year with Real Salt Lake and an MLS Championship. With the two playoff spots locked up by Kitsap and Portland the last game of the season against Kitsap was for pride only. The season was nonetheless an improvement from 2009 with the team finishing third and only narrowly missing out on a playoff spot.

2011

In August 2011, ownership of the team was reorganized as the club sought new investors.

2012-2013: Sounders U-23

On January 25, 2012, it was announced that the Tide will re-brand as Seattle Sounders FC U-23.

Players and staff

Current roster

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth. Squad correct as of April 20, 2016.

No.	Position	Player	Nation
8	Midfielder	Michael Bajza	United States
11	Forward	Guillermo Delgado	Spain
31	Goalkeeper	Paul Christensen	United States
32	Goalkeeper	Jeff Caldwell	United States

Head coach

Name	Nat	Tenure
Darren Sawatzky	United States	March 13, 2012–present

Staff

As of 2015

Executive
Major owner	Adrian Hanauer
Minor owner	Lane Smith, Cliff McElroy
General Manager	Darren Sawatzky
Coaching staff
Head coach	Darren Sawatzky
Assistant coach	Mike Jennings
Goalkeeper coach	Jason Prenovost
Head athletic trainer	Alejandro Charif

Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Regular Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
2006	4	USL PDL	5th, Northwest	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2007	4	USL PDL	2nd, Northwest	Conference Semi-finals	Did not qualify
2008	4	USL PDL	1st, Northwest	Conference Finals	Did not qualify
2009	4	USL PDL	7th, Northwest	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2010	4	USL PDL	3rd, Northwest	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2011	4	USL PDL	8th, Northwest	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2012	4	USL PDL	1st, Northwest	Semi-finals	Did not qualify
2013	4	USL PDL	4th, Northwest	Did not qualify	2nd round
2014	4	USL PDL	5th, Northwest	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2015	4	USL PDL	3rd, Northwest	Semi-finals	Did not qualify

Click on year for team's season wiki.

Honors

• USL PDL Northwest Division Champions 2008
• USL PDL Northwest Division Champions 2012

Head coaches

• Mike Jennings (2006)
• Fran O'Brien (2007–2008)
• Greg Howes (2009)
• Gerry Gray (2010–2011)
• Darren Sawatzky (2012–present)

Stadia

• Sunset Chevrolet Stadium; Sunmer, Washington
• Franklin Pierce High School; Tacoma, Washington
• Cheney Stadium; Tacoma, Washington
• Tumwater High School; Tumwater, Washington

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.

• 2006: 106
• 2007: 197
• 2008: 189
• 2009: 308
• 2010: 201
• 2011: 126
• 2012: 421
• 2013: 538

External links

• Official U23 Website
• Official PDL site