TORONTO — Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer sat in the back of the coach’s room with a cracked Stella Artois by his side, surrounded by his coaching staff and half-eaten boxes of pizza.
His blue eyes started watering when the 54-year-old was asked the inevitable question about his Sounders and their place in his hometown’s soccer history.
They now stand alone as the only Seattle team to win a top-flight league championship. And Schmetzer, the NASL Sounder, Nathan Hale graduate and former Lake City Hawk, was the coach who brought it home.
“I’m happy for everyone in this organization, from ’09 and the guys that were there: Ozzie (Alonso), Brad (Evans), Zach (Scott),” Schmetzer said, ticking off boxes on his fingers.