The Kitsap Pumas have a player payroll of around $36,000 – or about $6,000 less than Sounders FC pays reserve goalkeeper Terry Boss.
Despite overwhelming disparities that make even David and Goliath a pale comparison, the Pumas and Sounders are paired tonight in a U.S. Open Cup third-round match at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila.
“The guys are excited about it,” said Pumas coach Pete Fewing. “I’m excited about it. We’re trying to keep it (to) it’s another game. But there’s a lot of factors. The fact that the Sounders are the Sounders, and we’re the Kitsap Pumas, and there’s a massive gap between us. On every level they’re beyond us, and all our guys would love to be wearing Sounders jerseys at some point in their life.”
Much of this tournament’s appeal is built on the mixing of clubs from all levels of U.S. Soccer. However, this pairing brings the concept close to its limit.
It is a team that plays at an NFL stadium in Seattle against one that plays at a high school stadium in Bremerton.
It is a team that averages home crowds of more than 36,000 against a team that draws around 600.
It is a playoff-quality team from Major League Soccer against a U-23 club consisting mostly of college players from around the region.
“We’ve got to keep the guys even, remind them that it’s just another game,” said Fewing, who formerly coached at Seattle University and who now serves as part of the Sounders broadcast team. “And we have to get off to a good start. The start is very critical for a team in our situation: not giving up an early goal, not getting too flustered.”
In the Premier Development League, Kitsap stands 8-0-1 and at the top of the Northwest Division. The Pumas are one of only four PDL teams that pays some players.
The Pumas started their Open Cup journey with a road win over Chivas El Paso Patriots that was decided on penalty kicks, and then a 3-1 home win over Real Colorado Foxes in the second round.
This will be the first 2011 Cup game for the Sounders and seven other MLS teams, who join the tournament in the third round.
The two-time defending champion Sounders are unbeaten in 11 Open Cup preliminary and tournament games.
“We take it very seriously,” general manager Adrian Hanauer said. “Any tournament, any game we play in, we want to win. … And so, we prioritize it as high as we can, being cognizant that we also have other tournaments going on.”
For all of Seattle’s advantages, overwhelming favorites sometimes lose, as veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller knows from his time playing in the FC Cup – the English tournament that similarly incorporates everything from the largest Premier League clubs to the smallest village teams.
“I had a lot of good wins when I was at Millwall – beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, beating Arsenal at Arsenal, beating Everton at Goodison – all these games when I was playing for Millwall. It’s always a lot of fun when you can do that. But at the same time, I also had my (butt) handed to me in a few of those games. … I see no reason why we won’t go out with a great attitude.”
If Seattle advances, it will host the winner of the Los Angeles Galaxy-Los Angeles Blues game in a quarterfinal match July 12 at Starfire.
And if Seattle doesn’t advance?
“Surely if you’re playing a lower-division team, theoretically you should win,” Hanauer said. “But … it’s one game. Anything can happen. We’ll be able to sleep at night over the next year, although we won’t be happy about it.”
Don Ruiz: 253-597-8808
don.ruiz@thenewstribune.com
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