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Lagerwey is Sounders FC?s Newest GM and President
SEATTLE –Former Duke men’s soccer goalkeeper Garth Lagerwey has been appointed by Major League Soccer’s Sounders FC as the General Manager and President of Soccer of the franchise. Lagerwey previously spent seven-plus seasons at Real Salt Lake.
"I always said that if the best General Manager was available, I would hire that person to replace me. I believe that Garth is that man,” said Sounders FC Owner Adrian Hanauer. "This decision will allow me to focus more time on strategy surrounding the long-term future of our club."
As General Manager and President of Soccer, Lagerwey will oversee all Sounders FC soccer operations, including technical staff management, player personnel and transactions, scouting and the oversight of S2 and the Sounders FC Academy system.
“I’m really excited to join Sounders FC. I understand in coming here I am inheriting a trust, and in many ways I’m now a steward of that trust. It’s not merely Sounders since 2009 — it’s Sounders since 1974,” said Lagerwey. “I am humbled by that responsibility and will do my best to live up to those communal expectations in managing Sounders FC as a generational entity that has been an integral part of people's lives for 40 years.”
Lagerwey was hired as General Manager of Real Salt Lake on September 19, 2007 and had an immediate effect on the club in guiding a team that finished last in the Western Conference in 2007 to seven straight MLS Cup Playoff appearances from 2008-14. Under his leadership, RSL accumulated a 101-68-63 record in just over seven seasons, winning the 2009 MLS Cup and earning another MLS Cup appearance in 2013, in addition to a berth in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final.
A 1992 All-South Region second team selection, Lagerwey was a four-year letterwinner for Duke from 1991-94. He recorded eight shutouts his senior season and helped lead Duke to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the NCAA semifinals in 1992.
The Duke product spent five seasons in MLS as a goalkeeper from 1996-2000 for the Kansas City Wizards, Dallas Burn and Miami Fusion. He made 51 career appearances and 46 starts, accumulating a 25-22-0 record.
Lagerwey is the latest Duke Blue Devil to land at a new MLS club. Hermann Trophy winner Ali Curtis recently was named the Sporting Director of the New York Red Bulls. Curtis previously spent seven seasons with MLS between Player Relations and Competition and as the Special Assistant to the Office of the Commissioner
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