There is no number in soccer that makes one think of goalscoring as much as the 9 shirt. It is the number of the striker, the forward. With the Seattle Sounders it was a number made famous by Obafemi Martins. Now, it is the number of Ruidiaz.
Wearing the 9, Martins scored 40 MLS goals and 3 more in the US Open Cup. He is the only prolific MLS Sounder to wear the shirt. Martins won an Open Cup, Supporters’ Shield, Best XI, Goal of the Year and All Star recognition with Seattle.
Most recently Herculez Gomez wore the number while scoring his single all-competitions goal and winning the MLS Cup in 2016.