Season Begins Today in Soccer-Mad Pacific Northwest

Expect colorful Seattle Sounders FC scarves on the streets today as the Sounders begin their third season as a member of Major League Soccer. It looks to be a fiercely competitive season as two other Pacific Northwest teams – the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC – begin their inaugural season as MLS teams.

The Sounders, along with their two new regional rivals, make up what many soccer commentators nationwide call the hot spot of American pro soccer: the Pacific Northwest.

Portland, playing in renovated PGE Park (now called Jeld-Wen Field after a partnership with a Klamath Falls, Ore., windows and doors manufacturer), capped season tickets sales at 12,000 and will certainly sell out all home games. The stadium holds about 20,000 fans. The Timbers have three away games before debuting in the new park April 14 against the Chicago Fire. The first Timbers-Sounders game is May 14 in Seattle.

Vancouver will play at BC Place, which also holds about 20,000 spectators. The team’s first game, March 19, is also its home opener, against Toronto FC. The first Whitecaps-Sounders game is June 11 in Seattle.

There’s another soccer rivalry up I-5 that’s just as heated as MLS’ new terrific trio.

An hour after the Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy kick off at Qwest Field in Seattle today at 6:30 p.m. in a game nationally televised by ESPN, the and Meadowdale Mavericks begin their respective seasons at Edmonds Stadium. EW vs. Meadowdale is always something special, no matter the sport, and tonight’s 7:30 game is expected to be fiercely competitive.

EW finished last season 10-7-1, falling to Snohomish in the 4A District 1 playoffs. The team was led by Jeremy Wentzel, now playing for the Sounders Academy U-18 team, a developmental league stocked with elite talent.

Sixty-six boys tried out for EW soccer this year, with 17 making it to the varsity squad. No freshmen are on the team, and there are only two sophomores. EW Coach Tony Gilman says he likes having a small team. “I don’t want a lot of kids sitting on the bench,” he says.

Twenty-one boys are on the junior varsity team. It's coached by former EW soccer star Doug Whitney, now playing for Northwest University in Kirkland.

E-W has three captains, all seniors (the team is stocked with 11 overall) who have been forces in local select teams and on EW varsity since their freshman years: goalkeeper Erik Whitney, midfielder Fareed Zerafat and defensive back Zach Sakoi.

“Erik is very good; I’m sure he’ll play college ball somewhere,” said Gilman. “He has excellent leadership qualities. Zach is also an excellent leader. He’s also vocal, because he has to be out on the field. Fareed is the quiet man, but he leads by example.”

Whitney, as goalie, say one of his duties is to see the action unfold in front of him. “I like to take charge of the game,” he said. “I see the whole field and am very vocal, keeping the players in the right spots.”

Zerafat’s duties as a midfielder keeps him just as busy on defense as on offense. “In three years I’ve only had one goal,” he said. “But I’ve had about 20 assists.” The senior, who hopes to play soccer for the University of Washington or Western Washington University, says he plans to be more aggressive this year and look to shoot more often.

The rest of EW’s 2011 soccer team consists of Alex Sakoi, Jason Major, Danny Dubois, Gus Carstens, Johnnie Smith, Beza Yihun, Michael Haan, Tarik Husovic, Connor Davis, Eduardo Espinoza, Vicente Ochoa, Taren Gorman, Sean Haldeman and Cameron Berlin-Day.

While there will be plenty of action at Edmonds Stadium tonight against Meadowdale, coached by Wade Foley, Gilman says he’ll be sure to check the Sounders score later. Gilman, a longtime select-team coach, was among the first 500 fans to buy Sounders season tickets when they went on sale for the inaugural 2009 season. He bought two, one for him and one for his wife.

“It’s like old-timers' week,” Gilman said. “You keep bumping into other coaches.”