Fans of the Sunderland AFC Black Cats are fiercely loyal and very vocal. Even for exhibitions.

Just 10 days into training for the 2005-06 season, one of the top English soccer clubs rolls into Seattle to face the Seattle Sounders tomorrow in an exhibition match at 7 p.m. at Qwest Field.

About 200 die-hard fans have joined the club on its trip from Northeast England, which includes a 3-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday in Burnaby, B.C., and a Saturday match in Portland.

"For a team like Sunderland, who has been in and out of the Premiership for the last four or five years, and one that's been up and down, they have amazing support," said Sounders injured defender Danny Jackson, who grew up an hour away from Sunderland in Leeds. "Even when they were in the second division, they had sellouts on a regular basis. It's a bit of a working-class town and their fans are very passionate."

Jackson, 25, was a ball boy as youngster for Leeds United when they played Sunderland in the English First Division. He remembers the days at Roker Park, which was replaced in 1997 by 48,000-seat The Stadium of Light. The new stadium rests near the banks of the River Wear and serves as a weekend getaway for the hard-working community.

"It's right on the North Sea," said Jackson. "It's a working-class industrial town. They have docks, fishing and coal mines. I had friends that I played with who came from Sunderland and they were just very passionate. It's a pretty intimidating place to play."

The club, which earned a promotion to the English Premier League for the upcoming season, has 70 branches of supporter groups worldwide. The Sounders' small, but punchy group of backers, the Emerald City Supporters, could use the Black Cats' supporters as a blueprint for dedication.

"They have a very vocal group and they'll follow their team anywhere," said former Sounder John Ryan, an English-born former English First Division player who runs Manchester United's youth development program at Tukwila's Starfire Sports Complex. "They are traditional working-class people who go support their team once a week. They'll be there through ice, snow or rain."

The die-hards will even endure a nine-hour flight just to follow the preseason progress of their beloved Black Cats.

"The main reason we came here was to get fit for the season," said Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy, who took over the Black Cats after 5 ½ years as manager of the Irish national team. "It's a chance to see a different part of the world and get some preseason training."

Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer anticipates the largest crowd of the team's season at Qwest Field.

Note

• The Seattle Sounders Women snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over the Fort Collins Force 2-1 last night at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.

Forwards Chalise Baysa and Nicole Garbin each scored in the first half against the Force.