Emerald City Swagger Players Of The Month: October

Oct 25, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Marco Pappa (10) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy during the second half at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Los Angeles 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Emerald City Swagger Player Of The Month

Marco Pappa

In two starts and two appearances as a substitute (about 2 full games), Marco Pappa recorded 3 goals and an assist. And his impact was largest when the Sounders needed it most.

In the first match of the season-ending double header with the LA Galaxy, Seattle trailed 2-0 when Pappa entered in the 66th minute. The game was tied at 2 by the 72nd minute. He was the exactly the spark the Sounders needed.

In the winner-take-all season finale, neither team was able to muster up much offensively, especially Seattle, who had not put a shot on goal until the 85th minute.

Obafemi Martins played a final-third-free-kick quickly to Clint Dempsey, who touched it back to Martins then played a perfect through ball into Pappa, who slid the ball past LA keeper Jaime Penedo for the goal.

At that point, it was practically assured that the Sounders would not be letting the Supporters’ Shield leave CenturyLink field. But Pappa thought he’d add some style points.

In the 95th minute, Penedo felt compelled to try to dribble around outside the box. He evaded Pappa’s slide tackle with a quick juke to the right, but Pappa got up quickly and caught Penedo on the ball from behind. There was then only a defender between Pappa and the empty goal. He made it look easy with a chip over the center back that rolled slowly into the back of the net.

Seattle Sounders FC and the Emerald City Supporters have Marco Pappa to thank for their first Supporters’ Shield.