The Seattle Sounders shut down a red-hot Houston Dynamo attack, and walked out of Houston with a win. Seattle brought the rain to Houston and walked away with all three points. The Dynamo had scored three goals a piece in their last two matches before the Sounders defense kept them out of the net. The Sounders will finish their five-game road trip with a record of three wins, one draw, and one loss. The only goals the club conceded were in the 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake.
Saturday’s match in Houston was delayed half an hour past the originally scheduled kick-off time due to inclement weather. While Seattle is no stranger to the rain, a strong Houston team looked fresh out of the gates as the Sounders looked soggy to start the match. A chance within the first 30 seconds for Houston’s Mateusz Bogusz was sent just wide of Andrew Thomas’ net.
Bogusz had another big chance in the 9th minute of the match. Lawrence Ennali’s cross was flicked on, forcing a goal-line save from Nouhou. The clearance only rolled a few feet away to the foot of Bogusz, but Nouhou’s quick reaction time meant he was able to block the shot.
An early chance for the Sounders materialized in the 20th minute. A lovely passing combination between Jesus Ferreira, Danny Musovski, and Snyder Brunell resulted in Ferreira slipping between the center backs. The shot was saved by the fingertips of Jonathan Bond, denying Ferreira a first goal of 2026. Ferreira leads the Sounders in assists, but is left still searching for a goal.
(Photo Credit / Sounders FC Communications)
Houston’s newest star striker Guilherme nearly created a moment of magic in the 28th minute. Dribbling through three Sounders defenders into the box, but a diving Andrew Thomas denied the chance. On the following corner, Guilherme’s cross into the box was flicked on by defender Felipe Andrade and whistled just past the far post.
The Dynamo maintained an intense pressure past the half-hour mark. A handful of half chances for Houston forced the Sounders into some mistakes. The Sounders were running around across the pitch, hoping to get a spell of possession to relieve some of the pressure.
A foul in the 38th minute committed by Houston’s Felipe Andrade drew the first yellow card of the match. His foul on Paul Rothrock gave the Sounders a chance to breathe. A chance was formed off the set-piece as Rothrock got in behind the defense. His cross was blocked by Houston’s Antonio Carlos and ricocheted back off Rothrock for a goal kick.
Both squads went into halftime with a feeling of “we can win this” as both sides had clear chances to score. Houston may have felt a little hard done by the referee, as they believed there should have been a penalty called late in the first half. Cristian Roldan clattered into Lawrence Ennali but the collision was deemed to not be enough for a foul. The first half ended scoreless.
Houston started the second half as fast as they started the first. A chance just 90 seconds after halftime for Guilherme was denied by Andrew Thomas. Guilherme got behind Antino Lopez, but Thomas was ready for the shot.
(Photo Credit / Sounders FC Communications)
A good response from the Sounders after the early warning sign from the Dynamo. Rothrock won a corner, which turned into a second corner. The Sounders were creating the space but had not attempted a shot since Jesus Ferreira’s attempt in the first half.
In the 58th minute, a fantastic ball over the top from Cristian Roldan found Paul Arriola in behind. Arriola attempted to pass the ball to Danny Musovski with the goal keeper crashing down. Musovski wasn’t able to get a clean touch on the ball and it rolled wide of the post in the clearest chance of the second half before the hour mark of the match.
Houston was finding success and space down the left wing just past the 66th minute. Both Ennali and Bogusz got space into the box to cross. On both attempts, Andrew Thomas reacted quickest, catching the cross before it could find a Dynamo attacker in front of goal.
In the 74th minute, a late tackle from Jackson Ragen on Ezequiel Ponce earned the defender a yellow card. VAR recommended the referee to take a second look for a possible red card, but center referee Ismail Elfath stuck with his decision of a yellow card.
It was a night of two very different occasions for the Sounders. Cristian Roldan made his 400th career appearance for the club. Then in the 81st minute, Peter Kingston made his first appearance as a first-team player.
(Photo Credit / Sounders FC Communications)
The ice was finally broken in the 83rd minute. A cross from Kalani Kossa-Rienzi was flicked on by Jordan Morris. Paul Rothrock was in his favorite spot on the field, unmarked by the far post. He smashed the ball past Jonathan Bond and gave the Sounders a late lead on the road. Rothrock has now scored half of all the Sounders goals so far this season.
Jordan Morris looked lively since coming into the match. His ability to hold-up play is always essential, but he can create plays out of very little. The Sounders looked instantly better on the attack when Morris came into the match.
In the first minute of six added, Andrew Thomas had to concede a corner after a cross from Ondrej Lingr nearly got over Thomas. The corner was ultimately cleared away cleanly. The Sounders have been strong while defending set pieces early in the season, something they seemed to struggle with last year.
In the 95th minute, Guilherme baited the referee into awarding a foul against Alex Roldan outside the box. Guilherme went down holding his face despite Roldan never actually touching above his chest. The free kick was forced out for a corner, which was knocked out for another corner by Jordan Morris after he failed to clear the ball properly.
Houston were unable to capitalize on their late pressure and the Sounders earned another road victory early on in MLS. The Sounders have held four straight shutouts in MLS play, and five in all competitions, all on the road.
The Sounders will remain in Houston to prepare for their Concacaf Champions Cup matchup with Tigres on Wednesday. It will be Leg One of the quarterfinals, played at Estadio Universitario.
(Cover Photo Credit / Sounders FC Communications)
Sounders Starting XI:
(4-2-3-1)
Thomas
Kossa-Rienzi
Lopez
Ragen
Nouhou
C. Roldan ©
Brunell
Arriola
Ferreira
Rothrock
Musovski
Substitutions:
(‘61)
ON: Rusnak – OFF: Ferreira
ON: Morris – OFF: Musovski
ON: Dotson – OFF: Arriola
(‘81)
ON: Kingston – OFF: Brunell
(‘88)
ON: A. Roldan – OFF: Rothrock
Scoring Summary:
SEA 1-0 HOU – ‘83 Paul Rothrock (Assists: Morris, Kossa-Rienzi)
