Seattle Sounders MLS Cup 2016: Where are they now?
By Matt Coles
Tyler Miller – Los Angeles FC (MLS)
Substitute goalkeeper Tyler Miller was on hand if needed for the Sounders throughout their 2016 MLS Cup-winning campaign. The shot-stopper played just once over the course of the campaign.
After spending the entirety of his college career at Northwestern University playing for the Wildcats, where he kept a school record 36 shutouts, Miller was drafted by the Seattle Sounders in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.
However, he chose to sign for SVN Zweibrucken in Germany. After ten starts, Miller came back to Seattle for the 2016 term, where the side won the league title. Miller was selected by LAFC in the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft with their first pick, and he has gone on to nail down the starting spot in California. He has gone on to appear more than 50 times for the club in his first 18 months there.
Brad Evans – Retired
American midfielder Brad Evans featured 28 times for the Sounders in their 2016 glory season, having been with the club since their inception to the league in 2009. He scored the first penalty in the shoot-out win against Toronto in the MLS Cup final.
His professional career started before that, back in 2006, when he was drafted by the Columbus Crew with the 15th overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft. Evans spent three seasons in Ohio before making the move to Seattle for their inaugural season in the top flight of American soccer. He spent nine years with the Sounders, playing 250 times and scoring 28 goals.
After leaving the Sounders at the end of the 2017 campaign, Evans made the move to Sporting Kansas City, He also played for Swope Park Rangers on loan in the 2018 campaign, before announcing his retirement at the end of the term.
Zach Scott – Retired
Defensive midfielder Zach Scott spent the entirety of his playing career with the Seattle Sounders, playing for the club in both USL and MLS action. He made the jump to professional football in 2002, signing for the Sounders. He went on to play over 150 times for the USL team, scoring eight goals. During that time, the side lifted the A-League Western Conference Championship, the Commissioner’s Cup twice and the USL First Division Championship twice as well.
Evans then made the jump to MLS with the new expansion side in Seattle in 2009. He went on to help the club win four U.S. Open Cups in their first six seasons of existence, before then helping the team to go on and win the MLS Cup in 2016. Evans retired after the season.
Oniel Fisher – D.C. United (MLS)
Jamaican defender Oniel Fisher was on the bench for the Sounders the day they lifted the MLS Cup for the first time in their history. His professional journey started with Jersey Express, before spending a couple of seasons with the New York Red Bulls U-23 side.
Fisher signed for Seattle in 2015, having been drafted with the 40th overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft. He played for the club for three seasons, including playing during the post-season run to the title. The Jamaican signed for D.C. United at the start of the 2018 campaign, and has gone on to become a useful part of their squad.
Álvaro Fernández – Rampla Juniors (Primera División, URU)
Uruguayan midfielder Álvaro Fernández spent five seasons with Seattle, with his second spell seeing him become part of the squad that took MLS Cup victory in 2016. His career started with Uruguay Montevideo, before spells with Atenas, Montevideo Wanderers, Puebla and Nacional, before moving rot Seattle in 2010.
Fernández played over 60 times for the club in his first three years there, before then spending a further two seasons in MLS with Chicago Fire. After loan spells withAl Rayyan, Nacional and Gimnasia (LP), he then made a permanent move to the latter, before returning to Seattle for the 2016 season.
The midfielder played in the northwest for two more years, including winning the title in his first, before moving back to his native Uruguay, where he now plays for Rampla Juniors.
Andreas Ivanschitz – Retired
Austrian winger Andreas Ivanschitz played over 40 times for the Sounders in his two seasons Sith the club, with the second seeing him win the MLS Cup with the team, as he scored the second penalty in the shoot-out.
His professional career started in 1999, with Rapid Wien. The winger spent six seasons with the club, in which he lifted the Austrian Bundesliga title, and was named Austrian Footballer of the Year in 2003. He also made his international debut that same year, going on to make 69 appearances for his country, scoring 12 times.
After a short spell with Red Bull Salzburg, the Austrian signed for Panathanaikos, before then making the move to Mainz in Germany. Ivanschitz spent four seasons with the Bundesliga club before moving to Levante in Spain. After two seasons there, he signed for Seattle in MLS and went on to lift the MLS Cup in his second seasons with the club.
The Austrian then made the move to Viktoria Plzen, and played with the club for two seasons, before leaving them, and retiring from professional football at the end of 2018.
Herculez Gomez – Retired
The final man on the bench for Seattle was forward Herculez Gomez, who had a lengthy career in the North American region. He lifted the MLS Cup in his last match as a professional footballer. Gomez’s career started with LA Galaxy, and he helped the side to the double of MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup double in 2005. He then spent time with both the Colorado Rapids and the Kansas City Wizards before moving to Mexico.
He played for six different clubs whilst south of the border, in Puebla, Pachuca, Estudiantes Tecos, Santos Laguna, Tijuana and UANL Tigres, winning the Liga MX Clausura in 2012 with Santos Laguna, and then the Copa MX Clausura with Puebla in 2015.
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Gomez moved back to MLS in 2015, this time north of the border with Toronto FC. After half a season with the club, he made the move to Seattle, where he spent the entirety of the 2016 term. His last act was to lift the MLS Cup with the club before announcing his retirement from the game.