All posts by Frank MacDonald

Pedigree suggests I had no future in soccer. Our town had no youth program, let alone a high school team. So we started our own club. Then I had a mercifully brief tryout at the University of Washington. Apart from an intramural championship and several seasons in the state league, that's it. Nevertheless, the game intrigues me to this day. Some days it's tactics and player combinations. But mostly it how the game connects the people on this planet and marks time. Nothing has ever come easily for soccer in America. Failures abound. But if the mark of a champion is getting knocked down only to climb back to your feet, then it there's a real possibility fùtbol will not only persevere but flourish. I've tried to do my part, be it as a paying fan, a journalist, a publicist or historian based in the nation's soccer capital, Seattle. So this blog serves as an outlet to share what I've collected from 30-some years in around the sport in these parts, as well as the shared experience of going forward together.
NWSL

Reign vs Thorns: By the Numbers (2013- )

NWSL Era – Reign vs Thorns (2013- ) [as of 5/13/2024]

League

Home (form): 8-4-2 GD: 24-12 [LLWWDWWLWWWWDL]

Away: 5-6-3 GD: 13-17 [LLWLWDLDWLWWDL]

Neutral 0-0-0 GD: 0-0

Total: 13-10-5 GD: 37-29 [LLLLWWLWWDDLWDWLWWLWWWWWDDLL]

Playoffs

Home: 0-0-0 GD: 0-0

Away: 0-1-0 GD: 1-2 [L]

Total: 0-1-0 GD: 1-2 [L]

Challenge Cup (incl. Fall ’20)

Home:  0-1-2 GD: 2-3 [LDD]

Away:  2-2-0 GD: 3-6 [LLWW]

Neutral: 0-0-1 GD: 0-0 [D]

Total:  2-3-3 GD: 4-9 [DLDWWD]

Extremes

Record Win: 5-0, Memorial Stadium, 7/27/2014

Record Defeat: 1-4, Providence Park, 9/30/2020

Record Total Goals:  5, Seattle 5:0 Portland, 7/27/2014; Seattle 3:2 Portland, 5/5/2018; Portland 4:1 Seattle, 9/30/2020

Doubles (win home & away same season): 4/2

Top Attendance

Home: 42,054 (6/3/2023)

Away: 25,218 (9/16/2023)

Individual Leaders

Goals: 11–Christine Sinclair (P); 9-Megan Rapinoe (S); 5–Lindsay Horan (P), Beverly Yanez (S); 3–Jess Fishlock (S), Hina Sugita (P), Kim Little (S), Jodie Taylor (S), Bethany Balcer (S)

Hat Tricks: None

Multi-Goal Games: 3–Christine Sinclair (P); 2–Megan Rapinoe (S); 1–Lindsay Horan (P), Manon Melis (S), Hayley Raso (P), Beverly Yanez (S)

Assists: 4–Kim Little (S), Jess Fishlock; 3–Sophia Smith (P), Naho Kawasumi (S), Beverly Yanez (S), Lindsey Horan (P), Meghan Klingenberger (P); 2–Allie Long (P/S), Megan Rapinoe (S), Mana Shim (P), Christine Sinclair (P), Shirley Cruz (S)

3-Assist Game: Sophia Smith (P)

Multi-Assist Games: 2–Kim Little (S); 1–Theresa Nielsen (S), Lindsey Horan (P), Sophia Smith (P)

Shutouts:  4– Haley Kopmeyer (S) 4; 3–Casey Murphy (S), 3–Michelle Betos (P/S); 3–Bella Bixby (P), 2–Laurel Ivory (S), 2–Shelby Hogan (P), 2–Karina LeBlanc (P); 1–Nadine Angerer (P), Hope Solo (S), Lydia Williams (S), Adriana Franch (P), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (S)

Appearances: 34-Christine Sinclair (P); 33–Lauren Barnes (S); 26-Jess Fishlock (S); 26–Meghan Klingenberg (P); 25–Emily Menges (P), 23–Allie Long (P/S); 19-Beverly Yanez (S); 18–Bethany Balcer (S); 17-Lindsey Horan (P); 17-Megan Rapinoe (S), 15–Kelli Hubly (P); 14–Stephanie Cox (S); 13–Morgan Weaver (P), 13-Keelin Winters (S), 12-Kiersten Dallstream (S), 12–Mana Shim (P); 12–Sofia Huerta (S)

Coaching Records:  Cindy Cone (P) 4-0-0; Laura Harvey (S) 9-10-7; Paul Riley (P) 1-4-0; Vlatko Andonovski (S) 5-2-0; Mark Parsons (P) 7-9-5; Farid Benstiti (S) 1-3-1; Rhian Wilkinson (P) 0-1-2; Mike Norris (P) 2-1-1, Rob Gale (P) 1-0-0

Sent off: None

Notes

On Aug. 29, 2021, the Reign and Thorns played as part of a doubleheader with Sounders-Timbers at Lumen Field, with the Reign establishing a new NWSL single game attendance record of 27,278. That record fell in 2023 with 42,054 for another Reign-Sounders doubleheader.

Know Your History, Washington State Legends of Soccer

#KnowYourHistory Just got Easier

1 Comment

In American soccer, it ain’t easy to know your history. So many fits and starts; it’s been a sport interrupted, and often the second act forgets the first.

The WA Legends landing page, designed by Palador.

Locally, unless it’s St. Louis or the swath of pitches stretching from Philadelphia north and east to Boston, soccer’s past is likely buried in an attic, far from public consumption.

That goes for the great soccer state of Washington, as well. We could begin chipping away at our own Rushmore with hall of fame players like Akers, Higgins and Keller, yet most are unaware that five prior inductees were among those who poured the foundation of what was to come.

Nowadays, of course, the multitude of fans supporting Sounders FC are world-class and, consequently, have grabbed the world’s attention and made Washington impossible to ignore. Still, the footing for this fan base, this pipeline of top-class footballers and our undying love for the game has been left unexplored. Until now.

Washington State Legends of Soccer is bringing this history back to life. There’s enough to fill a few hundred pages in a book, but time marches on and more and more history is being made. So, instead WA Legends is telling tales through a legacy platform designed by Seattle’s DCGone. There, visitors from across the globe can dive headlong into a pool of knowledge about Washington, whose roots in the game extend back some 130 years, practically to our territorial days.

Continue reading #KnowYourHistory Just got Easier →
English Premier League, Seattle Sounders FC

Arlo Across America

For an Englishman, Arlo White sure gets around. America, that is.

White has been an Americanophile for over 30 years, beginning with a boyhood trip to Chicago to visit his great aunt. He kept coming back, and then in 2010 began broadening his travel as Sounders broadcaster and, beginning in 2012, as lead commentator for NBCSN coverage of MLS.

His work for the network’s Premier League coverage has since taken him back home to Leicester but a piece of his heart always seems to drum to the beat of a Yankee. He spends his summer holidays exploring the country with his wife and twin daughters. This year was no exception, and he’s already plotting a 2019 return to where this TV business all started.

Dedicated to his craft, White is always prepared for the worst and exuberant for the best. Now beginning his sixth season of EPL play-by-play, he says he’s altered his style, but only slightly, and believe he and NBC have found their groove.

 Almost 10 years into working on TV, do you find that you’ve changed your approach in any way?

In terms of preparation, it’s exactly the same, with a few tweaks. At the start there was possibly more statistics. Now that I’ve grown into the League and the role, it’s probably more about storylines. If I can add a nice quote that gets a conversation started or makes a point, it lets the players or the manager dictate the storyline rather than me shoehorning something into a game.

White’s detailed preparation is ready for the worst of times.

Continue reading Arlo Across America →

English Premier League

Are You Ready for Some Football? Arlo Is.

For those enduring Premier League withdrawal, the cure is right around the corner. Fixture 1 is Friday at Old Trafford and greeting us from the gantry will again be the ginger-topped, golden-toned Arlo White.

It’s been nearly seven years since White signed-off from his Sounders broadcasting post, and this is his sixth EPL season as EPL play-by-play voice for the NBC Sports Group. In this two-part Q&A, we first get his view of the English season ahead. The second part turns toward America, where he once again spent his summer holiday and plans to return again, next time to mark a significant anniversary.

Your summer was short, after adding on that World Cup stint. What was that like?

It was great to go back to BBC (Radio) 5 Live, which is where I originally came from to Seattle. A lot of my buddies were still there. In fact, some of my contemporaries then are now running the place. I didn’t get to Russia, unfortunately, but did some games off tube, which was a great experience. It was a new challenge and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Calling matches from a broadcast center or studio – such as FOX did for some of the World Cup – how does that affect what you do as a broadcaster, as opposed to being live on the gantry? Continue reading Are You Ready for Some Football? Arlo Is. →

Know Your History, NASL Sounders, Seattle Reign, Seattle Sounders FC

Sometimes You Gotta Get Away

Professional sports travel in North America can be arduous what with all the time zones and long distances between destinations.

But sometimes the road is where a team discovers itself, its character. Within the confines of airliners, buses, hotel rooms and shared meals can come a newfound camaraderie.  Constant interaction can act as an incubator, speeding the development of relationships, on and off the field. Of course, this all assumes the chemistry elements are correct in the first place.

The Reign just returned home after playing four consecutive road matches. They have seven more points than when they last played at Memorial.

The Sounders, meanwhile, are outbound to a pair of imposing away matches at Toronto and Portland. The Reds have apparently sorted things out and are coming off a 3-0 win over Philly. The Timbers have won three straight, scoring six goals in their last two home wins.

Continue reading Sometimes You Gotta Get Away →

MLS Sounders, NASL Sounders, Seattle Reign

Slow Starts Are Nothing New

It’s got to be the rain? During a long, dreary winter it results in rust that can’t be easily shaken off. That has to explain Seattle’s predisposition for poor starts, right? Because here we are. Again.

For the third successive spring, the Sounders are stumbling out of the gate. It’s not so much alarming as annoying. To the fans and certainly the players and coaches. There’s an underlying faith that the fortunes will turn, but it’s just so frickin’ frustrating.

One need not be a longtime fan to feel this is déjà vu all over again. Three league matches, three defeats. All this after starting 1-1-3 last year and 1-3-1 in 2016. Compounding matters is the 270 scoreless MLS minutes. You have to go back 41 years to find a longer goal draught to open a league season.

Laura Harvey and the Reign’s inaugural start rates as the rockiest, so far. (Courtesy Reign FC)

Since the beaches haven’t yet opened there is ample time to warm-up the wayback machine and check-out some of the more yawn-inducing starts in local history, then scratch around for some telling stats and comments.

Humble Beginnings Continue reading Slow Starts Are Nothing New →

Discipline, MLS, NASL

Suspensions Ain’t What They Used to Be

A long, long time ago, in a league now featuring not one but two headstones, you could see red and live to play again, and again.

The original North American Soccer League went to great lengths to make the game seemingly more palatable to the American public. More scoring, more stars and more pizzaz. But NASL nuances could also prove confusing, substituting shootouts for draws, painting an offside line 35 yards from goal and awarding six points for wins and up to three bonus points for goals.

Given all that, it should come as little surprise that the NASL brass also did its own things with regard to discipline. And given the muddled mess surrounding Clint Dempsey’s added suspension meted out 25 days after his sending off in Frisco, one could argue America’s top flight still hasn’t conformed to the rest of the world.

Ismail Elfath consults video review before sending Kelvin Leerdam to the showers vs. Montreal. (Courtesy Sounders FC)

Dempsey will serve out his suspension four weeks after Chris Penso consulted video review before showing a red card to the Sounders star. Of course, there’s a bye involved. But it’s still the most protracted suspension involving a Seattle player’s ejection, going back to 1974.

Skipper on Ice Continue reading Suspensions Ain’t What They Used to Be →

FC Seattle, Know Your History, NASL Sounders, Seattle Sounders FC, USL Sounders

Seattle Seeing Red

What’s been Rave and white and red all over? Ah, that would describe the inauspicious start to the Sounders’ MLS season so far.

Two games, two red cards; no goals, no points. Even for historically slow-starting Seattle, this is a bit unsavory for the faithful. But when referees are showing cards, might as well go all-in. In other words, let’s dive in to an anecdotal history of notable Sounders walks of shame.

First Impressions

In the beginning, there was Dave D’Errico. Seven games into the original Sounders’ existence and, personally, just his second appearance, top draft pick D’Errico decked Toronto’s Gene Strenicer. It did not go undetected. While D’Errico sat in the locker room, Davey Butler scored late to give 10-man Seattle the road victory.

Tommy Jenkins no sooner arrived in Seattle than he saw red flash before his eyes.

Newly-imported from England, Tommy Jenkins was billed as an elegant playmaker to support Geoff Hurst. Yet when the pair debuted in 1976 at St. Louis, Jenkins introduced himself to the NASL by getting stuck-in, way in. He saw red then, but never again in his four seasons. Three other openers were marked excessive force, most recently Tony Alfaro’s double yellow versus LAFC.

Early? You want an early shower? Leo Gonzalez had barely broken a sweat in Columbus before his seventh-minute sending off in 2013. You probably don’t remember that; instead that game is best known for Eddie Johnson’s winner, celebrated by his ‘show-me-the-money’ mime.

Continue reading Seattle Seeing Red →

Early Days, Know Your History, Washington Huskies, Washington Youth Soccer

Mike Ryan: Seattle Soccer Is His Legacy

Note: This originally ran in The Seattle Times shortly after Mike Ryan’s passing, on Nov. 28, 2012.

Today’s local soccer landscape is associated with Hope Solo, Sounders FC and, yes, large, loud crowds. Yet to reach the zenith and become the continent’s capital of the sport required a huge amount of underpinning.

Mike Ryan was the first coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Several unsung individuals have served as pillars, and none played a more prominent role than the late Mike Ryan. From his arrival in Seattle 50 years ago to his passing last week, Ryan went about building a foundation spanning virtually every area of the sport. Whether it’s youth, college, women’s or professional soccer across Puget Sound, you will find his handiwork.

“Mike did a world of good and Seattle soccer is his legacy,” says Jimmy McAlister, one of Ryan’s star pupils, a breakthrough professional and now Seattle United coaching director. ‘There are a lot of legendary players for the (original) Sounders, but we didn’t get this started. The cornerstones of this success were guys like Mike Ryan.”

Continue reading Mike Ryan: Seattle Soccer Is His Legacy →

Champions League, Know Your History, USL Sounders

View to a Kill

[Part One] Guatemala City’s Estadio Mateo Flores is a classic, midsize, nondescript bowl, with the playing field surrounded by a running track. The participants enter through a tunnel at one end.

In October 1996, Estadio Flores had drawn world attention for all the wrong reasons. Counterfeit tickets and breached entrances resulted in an estimated 60,000 fans jamming into the facility for a World Cup qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica. Mateo Flores capacity was listed at 45,800. The crowd surge began one hour before kickoff; eventually the stampede resulted in 83 dead and 180 seriously injured.

By the time the 1997 Champions’ Cup was held, further security and crowd control measures were in place, and pale blue plastic seats had replaced the concrete terraces, reducing capacity to 26,000.

Awaiting the Seattle Sounders at Estadio Flores on this hot, muggy, summer Sunday afternoon was Mexico’s star-studded Cruz Azul, seeking its fourth Concacaf Champions’ Cup title but the first in 25 years. La Maquina (The Machine) needed a victory versus Seattle to secure first place in the group and, thus, lift the trophy.

There may have only been an inch of copy in The Seattle Times, but in Mexico City there was no missing the score.

For anyone associated with the already eliminated Sounders, a sense of foreboding would be understandable. Yet as Preston Burpo and his teammates made their way through the tunnel entrance, their spirits were lifted.

“I’m a big believer that any game you walk into, you can get a result,” states Burpo. “When we’re walking out the tunnel, all the local fans were rooting for us because if we got a result against Cruz Azul, then (host Comunicaciones, playing Necaxa afterward) had a real chance to win.”

Positive Thoughts at First Continue reading View to a Kill →