When early 2009 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year favorite Kasey Keller earned a very rare red card in the 29th minute of Seattle's match vs. the Kansas City Wizards, and with backup keeper Chris Eylander out with an injury, it was left to "extreme hardship" (yes, that's an official league term) call-up Ben Dragavon to take his turn in the nets and try to keep the Sounders undefeated on the season.
The 25-year-old Dragavon wouldn't have even been with Seattle had he not turned down a starting spot with the USL-1's Austin Aztex in order to sign a contract with MLS and become part of a pool of goalkeepers available to teams in emergency situations. But in that moment, he was the team's only option, stepping out nervously to play in front of a sellout crowd (28,746) that happened to outnumber the entire population of his nearby hometown of Monroe, Wash. (est. 17,000).
With the Sounders playing a man down for more than hour, Dragavon made a pair of saves and helped keep K.C. at bay until the 80th minute, when Davy Arnaud curled a long-range shot just out of reach of his fingertips. With his first game behind him, he seems ready for anything, knowing he "could be shipped anywhere," but being in Seattle challenging a now-healthy Eyelander to replace the suspended Keller this weekend "is obviously where I want to be."