Sounders will face Quakes February 13 in California

Seattle Sounders FC will face the San Jose Earthquakes in a pre-season match Friday February 13 in San Luis Obispo, CA, it was reported by SLO Tribune.

The newer Earthquakes will also take on the expansion Seattle Sounders FC, a team with the same name as the one Cal-Poly head coach Paul Holocher, a Seattle native, followed from 1974 to 1983.

Partially owned by “Price is Right” host Drew Carey, the Sounders FC are managed by Sigi Schmid, who led the Columbus Crew to the MLS title last season.

“The Columbus Crew last year came here and played,” Holocher said. “Sigi Schmid was the coach of the Crew and they went on to win the MLS championship. We probably couldn’t have predicted that. When we called Sigi this year, asked him if he wouldn’t mind coming again for preseason, he said, ‘it worked last year so we’re excited to come down again.’ ”

The Feb. 13 game between San Jose and Seattle, the first time the Sounders FC will be playing on American soil as an MLS team, is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Sunday match between the Earthquakes and the Dynamo is set for 1 p.m.

Prices range from $12 single-game to $30 weekend packages for adults and $6 single-game to $30 weekend packages for youth and students.

On the Cal-Poly University soccer website head coach Paul Holocher seemed genuinely moved that the Sounders would be making their USA debut on his home pitch. Then again, he's a long-time follower. “As a kid, I remember driving with my dad to go watch the Seattle Sounders, then of the North American Soccer League,” Holocher said. “The match they will play at Alex G. Spanos Stadium is their first on American soil as a member of the MLS. It really means a lot to me, as a fan of the game and of the Sounders, to witness the team’s return to the highest level of domestic soccer.”

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Seattle Sounders FC is a franchise with plenty of history despite entering the league as an expansion team. The Sounders were originally a member of the North American Soccer League from 1974-1983 before folding prior to the 1984 season. Holocher, a Seattle native, has fond memories of watching the original Sounders and being part of their return to the highest level of soccer.