A season after surprising many with a place in the USL Cup Playoffs, a retooled Seattle Sounders FC 2 took a while to find its feet, which saw the side’s rally in the second half of the season come up short of a second consecutive berth in the postseason.

Despite that, there was much to be happy about for the side, with the emergence of a number of young players alongside Darwin Jones re-establishing his goal-scoring credentials a definite plus as the side moves into its third season in the USL.

2016 USL SEASON IN REVIEW

Record: 9-13-8, 35pts
Place: 12th in the Western Conference
Goals For: 35
Goals Against: 50
USL Cup Playoffs: N/A

2016 leaders: Darwin Jones (7 goals), Myron Samuel & Zach Mathers (4 assists), Tyler Miller (45 saves)

WHAT WENT RIGHT

After a rocky start to the season, S2 put together some very strong runs of form thanks to a talented attacking group that was led by Darwin Jones, and also included USL 20 Under 20 No. 1 selection Victor Mansaray. The side went 8-6-4 over its final 18 games of the season, which over a full season would likely have put S2 in the top eight.

WHAT WENT WRONG

The revamped roster, which was a number of the veterans utilized in the club’s first season, took a while to jell, and it showed particularly at the defensive end. S2 won only once in its first 12 games, and finished the season with 50 goals conceded as it recorded only three shutouts in its 30 regular-season contests.

GOALS OF THE SEASON

Darwin Jones’ stoppage-time winner against Cascadia rival Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 was one of the best moments of the season for S2 as it pushed for a playoff place late.

Zach Mathers’ curling finish against Sacramento Republic FC was one of the best goals this season, as the intricate passing at the top of the penalty area set up the rookie for a glorious strike.

SAVES OF THE SEASON

Charlie Lyon made an outstanding stop in the same game as Mathers’ finish, with his palmed save on Sacramento’s Tommy Thompson an indicator of what the young ‘keeper is capable of.

Lyon also came up big in S2’s trip to St. Louis, as he first denied STLFC’s Irvin Herrera one-on-one, and then recovered in time to put pressure on Jamiel Hardware’s rebound effort.

HE SAID IT

“We’re hoping that as we move along, that as we become older and more mature as a second team that it’s a more consistent roster from year to year. Last year we went through 44 players, this year not as much, next year hopefully even less. All in all, the club is in a good position. We have some guys here at S2 that we see going to the next level, and definitely some guys in the academy coming up that we think are going to be the future of this club.” – Sounders FC 2 Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson