Seattle Sounders News Release - www.seattlesounders.net
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
SEATTLE, WA -- The four-time champion Seattle Sounders announced the re-signing of six players from the 2007 campaign. The Sounders have agreed to contracts with Danny Jackson, Taylor Graham, Roger Levesque, Leighton O’Brien, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, and Kenji Treschuk as they look to defend the United Soccer Leagues (USL) First Division championship this season.
Negotiations continue with Sounders 2007 goalkeeper Chris Eylander, and the club is hopeful to be able to announce securing his services at some point in the near future. Eylander, a local product from Auburn Riverside High School and the University of Washington, may have had his best year as a professional last year. He led the USL-1 with 109 saves and 14 wins. Eylander’s 13 shutouts was one away from the league lead; his 0.823 goals against average ranked third.
The Sounders have also picked up the option on eight other players from last year’s team: Ben Dragavon, Sebastien Le Toux, Noah Merl, Colin Rigby, Kevin Sakuda, Andre Schmid, Zach Scott and Adam West.
Le Toux, a forward from Rennes, France, led the Sounders in scoring with 22 points last season and was named the USL First Division MVP in his first year in the league. Le Toux also scored five goals in the U.S Open Cup, leading Seattle to the semifinals with two wins over MLS teams along the way.
Jackson, who will be in his sixth year with the Sounders, and Graham – who joined the club midway through the season from the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer (MLS) – were both stalwarts in Seattle backline. The Sounders defense posted five shutouts in the last month of the season.
Levesque, a 6-foot-2 forward, scored 21 points for the Sounders last season – the second most for the team. The Stanford graduate, who led the Sounders in points in 2005, was named to the USL First Division All-League Second Team last season.
O’Brien, a Tacoma-native and veteran midfielder, has played in MLS and professionally in Sweden. In 2002, O’Brien was named the A-League MVP, when he led the Sounders to the regular season title.
Alcaraz-Cuellar led the Sounders with eight assists last season, his first in Seattle. The outside midfielder from Guadalajara, Mexico, led the league in assists in 2005 and 2004.
In 2007, Treschuk was nominated for USL First Division Rookie of the Year as a holding midfielder.
The Sounders open the 2008 season in Charleston for an April 19 game with the Battery. Seattle’s home opener is May 10 against the Portland Timbers at Qwest Field.
