Sigi Schmid arrives at the new Starfire fields, and some practice action from today.

I know there was a groundswelling of support for this guy to make the team from some of you out there, and he has done it. Here's a few minutes of audio with Roger from after today's practice. First he talks about playing at Qwest and being from Maine, then he goes into the contract and practicing at Starfire.

Roger Levesque March 16, 2009

Also, coach Sigi Schmid offered his thoughts on the signing of Levesque and Zach Scott, a pair of former USL Sounders, after today's practice. You can read today's news in my report here.

"It's obviously a tribute to them as individuals," Schmid said. "Their perseverance and being able to stick with things. They've toiled for a few years in USL-1 and have been very prominent players in that division. They want to be in Seattle. This is what they decided they wanted to do. They've worked very hard and put themselves in a position to make the team. So it's a tribute to what the Sounders have done, what USL has done, but it's really a tribute to those two individuals. The one thing about both them that's very consistent and common to both of them is that they're very hard working. They're very down to earth, bread and butter type of guys."

Read the press release:

The Seattle Sounders FC has signed defender Zach Scott and forward Roger Levesque to Major League Soccer contracts, the team announced today.

Drafted 23rd overall by San Jose in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, Levesque, 28, appeared in three games for the MLS Cup champions before being loaned to the USL-1 Sounders that same season.

Levesque became a mainstay with the Sounders from 2004 through 2008. He scored eight goals in 2004 and led the team with 10 goals in its championship season of 2005. In 2007, he was named All-USL second team, as the Sounders again won the title. He ranks fifth in franchise history with 27 goals, and seventh in assists (16) and games played (130).

Levesque, a graduate of Stanford University, is a two-time All-American (2001-02) and led the Cardinal to the NCAA semifinals as a junior and championship game as a senior. He played alongside Sounders FC defender Taylor Graham at Stanford and for the USL-1 Sounders.

"Roger is a player who has been committed to the Seattle area," said Coach Sigi Schmid. "He is very active and has a very good work rate."

Scott, 28, joins Sounders FC after playing the past seven seasons with the USL-1 Sounders, where he was a member of two championship teams in 2005 and 2007. He totaled 139 games, eight goals (two game-winners) and three assists in league play for Seattle. He finished sixth in total league appearances for the franchise (139) and fifth in minutes (11,171).

"Zach is a very hard-nosed consistent defender, who takes a lot of pride in his defensive play," said Schmid. "He helps solidify our defense and make us stronger."

Scott, a Hawaii native, graduated from Gonzaga University in 2002.

Both Levesque and Scott have been training with the club since the beginning of training camp in January.

Transactions: Seattle Sounders (MLS) - Signed F Roger Levesque and D Zach Scott

Roger Levesque

Position: Defender
Height: 5-11
Weight: 175
Birthdate: 7/2/1980
Hometown (Citizenship): Haiku, Hawaii (USA)
Previous Clubs: Seattle (USL-1, 2002-2008)
College: Gonzaga University (1998-2002)

What more can I say? Sounds like a good name for a song, a horse or a club. And it is also the new Tukwila home of Sounders FC, which practiced there today.

Man it was cold and wet. But the fields are nice. Sounders FC has the entire north side of the complex for practices and there are two modified FieldTurf fields, one regulation FieldTurf field and one natural grass regulation-size field.

Here's a photo:

Here are some players walking to practice. They come in through an iron gate, walk underneath two poles with Sounders FC banners attached to them and down an asphalt path to the fields. At bottom is Fredy Montero with Kasey Keller.