SEATTLE – The last time – and the only time – Marcus Hahnemann stepped into goal for the Seattle Sounders, he hadn't played a competitive game in almost two years.
On Tuesday night at CenturyLink Field, a little more than five months will have elapsed between games for the former Seattle Pacific University star.
Hahnemann is expected to get the starting call for the Sounders when they play the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal against Mexico's Santos Laguna. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The game is regarded is one of the biggest in the five-year history of the Seattle franchise. No U.S. team has ever won the CCL.
“It's about winning trophies. No matter what, that's what it's about,” Hahnemann said in a story published on soundersfc.com. “We want to win trophies. And to do that, we've got to get a good result on Tuesday."
These same two teams met in the 2012 CCL quarterfinals. The Sounders won the first leg in Seattle, 2-1, but Santos Laguna roared back in the second leg at home in Torreon, Mexico, winning 6-1 to take the series on total goals, 7-3.
The door to seeing action on Tuesday opened for Hahnemann on March 12 when regular Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning picked up a yellow card in the second leg of the quarterfinal series against Tigres UANL of Mexico. It was his second of the tournament, resulting in a one-game suspension.
The 40-year-old Hahnemann starred four years at SPU, graduating in 1994. He helped the Falcons win the 1993 NCAA Division II championship, then began his professional career with the A-League version of the Sounders, winning back-to-back titles in 1995 and 1996.
Hahnemann went on to a stellar career in English Premier League, considered the top soccer league in the world. He retired in 2011, but when the opportunity to finish his career with the Sounders presented itself, he ended that retirement last fall.
Hahnemann was in the net for Seattle's final CCL group stage game last Oct. 24, a 3-1 victory against CD Marathon of Honduras. He came up with four saves that night.
But this time, the stakes will be much higher.
The Sounders and Hahnemann want a good result not only in terms of the tournament, but also in terms of getting themselves on track for Major League Soccer play. Seattle is off to a franchise-worst 0-3-1 start in MLS, and is coming off a 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake last Saturday.
“We haven't been doing very well, and there's no hiding that fact,” Hahnemann said. “We're all disappointed, just as our fans are. But we have this other positive thing to look at. A good result here can really kind of kick us on in the league.”
Tickets for tonight's game will be available at CenturyLink, or by phone at (800) 745-3000, or by going online to
www.SoundersFC.com.
Santos Laguna will host the second leg of the series is next Tuesday, April 9, at 5 p.m. PDT.
Hahnemann's comments are used with permission of the Sounders.
