The pomp and circumstance of the Philadelphia Union's first game was quickly lost as they got off to a rough start Thursday night as they opened the MLS season in rainy Seattle.
The Union went down 2-0 to the Sounders at a wet and wild Qwest Field.
Goalie Chris Seitz allowed two first-half goals and the Union struggled to answer. The first coming just 12 minutes in on a strike from Brad Evans and the second from Fredy Montero in the 43rd minute after the Union were forced to play a man down.
There were very few bright spots for the navy and gold as they got soaked and penalized while looking like an expansion team.
The Union set a physical tone from the start with defender Danny Califf picking up a yellow card just one minute into the match. The team would continue their physical play throughout the game as they racked up five yellow cards in all.
But, with cards come consequences. The game really took a turn for the worse when Union midfielder Toni Stahl picked up his second yellow card and subsequent red card for throwing a knee into the back of Montero.
The second half proved to be tough for the Union as they were forced to play a man down.
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"Once we went a man down, we obviously were not going to attack as much and counterattack," Seitz told Philly.com. "To our credit, we held them to few chances with a man down."
The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 36,241 people. The Union make their home debut April 10 at Lincoln Financial Field.
