GNAC Sports

Dragavon Playing Important Role for Seattle Sounders

Aug. 28, 2007

He hasn't seen a ton of action, but former Western Washington University goalkeeper Ben Dragavon has played an important role in the success of the Seattle Sounders this season.

The Sounders lead USL Division 1, the second-highest level of soccer in the US, behind only MLS, as the regular season nears its conclusion.

“It's been an awesome experience,” said Dragavon, believed to be the first Western alum to play professional soccer. “I've loved it, I love going to training every day.”

Dragavon, who is a 2002 graduate of Monroe High School, joined the Sounders late in the 2006 season when the team was briefly without a backup goalkeeper, then fully won the backup spot behind Chris Eylander in preseason this spring.

Seattle started slowly, with just a win and three ties in their first eight games. In the ninth game, against Carolina on May 23, the Sounders held a 1-0 lead with 25 minutes left, when Eylander was redcarded.

Enter Dragavon. He made a sprawling save to preserve the victory, then was in goal for a pair of 2-1 victories on the road while Eylander served a two-game suspension for the red card.

“Getting to play made my transition into the team so much better,” Dragavon said. “It made me feel more a part of the team. Before, I was just a practice player, now I know the guys have confidence in me.”

Eylander returned to the lineup, and the Sounder charge continued.

Seattle has lost just once in the last three months, rocketing to the top of the USL-1 standings, and also reaching the semifinals of the US Open Cup, putting a 5-0 thrashing on the Colorado Rapids of MLS in the quarterfinals.

Save for playing the second half of an exhibition against storied English side Preston North End in mid-July, Dragavon hasn't seen action since his three-game stint. It has been an adjustment for a guy who started all but two games in his four years at Western, posting a school-record 18 shutouts, but he's handled it well.

“It's a different role than I had at Western, but it's good, I've learned to deal with it,” Dragavon said. “I have an incredible amount of respect for Chris Eylander. We push each other, and Tom Duta (Seattle's goalkeeping coach) works us hard in training. Even when the field players have a light practice, we're pushing it.”

And it's a level of effort that's certainly paying off.