Homecoming: Tally Hall Returns to Take on the Sounders

Gig Harbor High School has turned out some impressive soccer talent over the last decade, perhaps none more impressive than Tally Hall.

Hall was a member of the 2003 Gig Harbor squad that made it to the state tournament semifinal round. Today, he is the starting goalkeeper of Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo team, which will be in town this Friday to take on the Seattle Sounders at Qwest Field.

Hall spoke with Patch on Tuesday and offered insights on his recent ascent to the starting lineup, his excitement about the Northwest's soccer prowess and his memories of playing at Gig Harbor.

You've recently earned the starting keeper spot (following two years on the reserve squad with Denmark's Esbjerg and two years backing up legendary MLS keeper Pat Onstad after an All-American college career at San Diego State.) What's that transition been like?

It's kind of hard to explain. I've always put pressure on myself, no matter where I was, so it's not like I'm putting any more pressure on myself than I was last year. But Because I've been moved into the number one spot, I get a whole lot more opportunity to learn from the pre-season and stuff like that. It's been awesome. It's felt good to have that responsibility on my shoulders and getting those opportunities to get into funny situations...you can't train for game situations sometimes, so it's fun being involved in that and actively trying to figure out how to be the hardest goalkeeper to beat.

What was the experience of playing in Denmark like? (Hall was drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2007 MLS draft, but elected to sign with Esbjerg.)

It's kind of a small fishing village that just in the last 50 years is becoming a bit of a bigger city. It's the fourth-biggest city in Denmark, and it had 50,000 or 75,000 people. It was pretty tiny. It's like a whole different world. It was a lot of fun, outside of soccer it was quite a learning experience, just to see a different culture. I kind of enjoyed the challenge and opportunity that presented itself, but I'm in the business of soccer, not in the business of getting a cultural experience. It was nice while it lasted, but I wanted to come back and see what I could do in the states. I'm happy that I went to Europe, but I'm very happy to be back.

Are you surprised at how much fan support the Sounders have?

It doesn't surprise me that Seattle is a big soccer town. But to the magnitude that the fan support has been for the team, I couldn't have imagined that. The office of the Sounders has obviously done something right, and it's always fun to play in a sold-out stadium. Not that I'm a Seattle fan or a Portland or Vancouver fan, but I'm excited for the Northwest in general to have those three teams in that rivalry. I won't be rooting for one team or another, because I want all three teams to lose, but I'll enjoy watching the games for sure.

When you look back on your high school experience, what stands out about the time you spent playing soccer at Gig Harbor?

It's got to be my senior year when we ended up losing in the semifinals of state. They say its not being at the top of a mountain, it's the climb up that's the adventure. Making it to state and playing those games, I couldn't really tell you the order of games we played or what it was, but I remember after each win, it was like the NCAA championship...That ride to that point was probably the best winning kind of performance in a tournament situation that I can remember in my career. It stays with you, it's high school, you're still kind of growing, growing into your body, but it was a lot fun.

The Sounders and Dynamo square off on Friday, March 25 at 7 p.m. at Qwest Field. If you can't make it to the game, follow the match on FSC or 97.3 KIRO FM.