Mar. 19—While Spokane's official nickname is "Hooptown USA," it's also home to extremely passionate soccer fans — as proven by the crowd that appeared on Wednesday for the first Major League Soccer game played in the city.
That passion was evidenced by the endless sea of green, black, blue and white adorned by the 5,126 spectators that sold out ONE Spokane Stadium on Wednesday night to watch the Seattle Sounders defeat the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 (5-1 aggregate) in the second leg of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football Champions Cup Round of 16, and advance to the quarterfinals.
Local Sounders fans are typically forced to trek roughly 279 miles to experience the exhilaration of watching their favorite Sounders players.
But Seattle's primary home, Lumen Field, is in the middle of renovations for the upcoming 2026 World Cup that begins in June. So, for one night, Seattle came to them. And Spokane responded, setting a record for the highest-attended CONCACAF Champions Cup match in the state played outside of Seattle.
Craig Waibel, Seattle's general manager and a Lewis and Clark High School alum, said prior to the game that the only thing the organization was looking for when it planned its trip to Spokane was "support." It was the "one thing we asked for ... and tonight we're getting it," he said.
Local Sounders fan Brandon Aldaco said that he has loved the club his whole life. It was his fifth time seeing them compete in person. He was excited to see that his favorite Major League Soccer team would be playing just 15 minutes away from his apartment.
"I got tickets right as soon as they came out," Aldaco said.
The stadium wasn't just filled with Sounders fanatics, though. While some spectators supported other teams outside the state, and country, others pridefully donned their Spokane Velocity and Spokane Zephyr gear. Some sported more than one team.
One fan, Avery Steer, said she felt like she was "right next" to the players.
"It's fun ... seeing the hotshot athletes right in front of you."
Another, Patrick Garabedian, was elated to see Whitecaps midfielder Thomas Müller up close.
"Dude, it's so crazy seeing Thomas Müller!" He exclaimed to his friends. "I didn't know he played for them ... then I saw his jersey, and I saw his face ... I was like, 'Dude, that's Thomas Müller!' "
Müller, 36, spent 17 seasons with German club FC Bayern Munich of Bundesliga — the country's highest tiered soccer league — and holds the record for the most league titles. He joined Vancouver in 2025.
The Sounders entered the CCC Round of 16's second leg with a 3-0 advantage over the Whitecaps, but Vancouver's Jeevan Badwal scored in the 24th minute pulling within two goals on the aggregate.
At halftime, Ben Hargreaves, whose dad has season tickets to the Velocity matches, felt the Sounders "played poorly" in the first 45 minutes. "Little concerned at half, but we keep it going," he said.
Seattle's defense allowed four on-target shots in the first period, and its attack couldn't find the back of the net. Vancouver controlled possession of the ball at a 55% rate, and had 16 touches in Seattle's box to the Sounders' meager eight in the Whitecaps'.
But in the second half, the Sounders back line only surrendered one accurate attempt, while its offense scored two goals in quick succession in the 79th and 83rd minutes to put the game, and series, away.
First, fans were treated to a close-ranged header from Danny Musovski — his first of the season — off a cross. Immediately after he scored, the crowd erupted.
They barely had enough time to sit back down before Paul Rothrock scored his team-leading fourth goal four minutes later. Both strikes were assisted by Kirkland, Washington, native Peter Kingston. Kingston, who plays for Seattle's MLS Next Pro club Tacoma Defiance, is on Short-Term Agreement with the Sounders.
Salvadoran center back Alex Roldan and Jackson Ragen led Seattle with six clearances apiece, which accounted for Seattle's 26 total. Kalani Rienzi had four tackles for the Sounders, and keeper Stefan Frei recorded four saves.
Wednesday's match was also a chance for a brighter light to be shined on the city's love for the sport.
Garabedian said that he hoped Wednesday's game "brings some awareness" to Spokane's USL League One and Super League teams.
"It's huge for Spokane because way too many people don't know that we have a soccer team here. I'll talk to some of my friends and they have no idea we have two teams here," he said.
Ben Hargreaves and his sister, Scarlett Hargreaves, hope the city can pack the stands for the local teams too.
Ben Hargreaves said "we should try and make every Velocity game like this one. If we can get 5,000 people into every Velocity game ..." then Scarlett Hargreaves interjected, "And Zephyr!" Her brother nodded in agreement.
Dan Soderquist, who has been a Sounders fan since Clint Dempsey signed with the team in 2013, called the game a "revival for Spokane" and a chance to "remind us that we have a pretty cool MLS team" in Washington.
Rothrock grew up in Seattle, but his dad is from Spokane. He said "it's really cool for me" to play in a Sounders uniform in his father's hometown. "I came here a lot as a kid. I grew up doing the drive to Spokane — that five-hour drive to grandma's house — a lot."
He said a number of his family members were in the stands and "seeing them all tonight in an intimate setting" was a "really cool experience."
Rothrock also said seeing the amount of support here "speaks a lot to where the team is at right now, and is a great sign for Washington soccer."
