A major tossup fixture in the Western Conference Playoffs’ first round took place early Monday evening, where the Sounders topped Houston in the best-of-three series’ first game on penalties. Alex Roldan scored the winning penalty kick, giving the Sounders the series advantage. Joao Paulo returned to the starting lineup after a lengthy interval of games out due to injury. Houston finished the game a player down, where Coco Carrasquilla was sent off in the second half. The score at the end of regulation was a scoreless draw, which would have been a game to regret for Seattle if the victory was not captured at the penalty shootout.
"It doesn't matter how we played, really, we're in control and we won," said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer following the penalty shootout victory.
A couple of notorious faces returned to Seattle, hated by the majority of Sounders fans—Houston’s goalkeeper Steve Clark, who used to play for Portland; and as well as Referee Ted Unkel, who, due to his officiating decisions, etched his name into the hate bone of Sounders supporters after last season’s Western Conference Semifinal against LAFC.
Schmetzer referenced Stefan Frei's close distance to tying for a significant milestone in the league: "Stefan Frei is now number two in playoff clean sheets, but instead of being a long ways away from the other guy, he's only one away from Hartman, who's got 15 clean sheets. So Stef has an opportunity in Houston to tie for number one, so that's a goal he can reach."
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Stefan Frei commented on the advantage Seattle earned from the game one victory, and how such results should be taken: "I'm a firm believer that when things are going well or you find results, that's the time where you can be excited about the result, but also maybe a bit critical and hopefully people are more receptive of criticism. And today's (game), when you look at it that way. I think it's the perfect game for us."
In the first five minutes of the game, Cristian Roldan forced Steve Clark to a top-corner save, almost opening the scoring very early on in the series. Paul Rothrock initiated the opportunity by forcing a deflected shot into the box for Cristian Roldan.
Around the 49th minute, as a Sounders corner was being taken, Jordan Morris went down as the ball entered the Houston box after apparent content with a defender. Although there was a potential call for VAR intervention, no additional review took place. Morris was unable to continue, despite his attempts to walk it off. Raul Ruidiaz replaced Morris at that point, marking a full return that excited the supporters, as this was his first appearance in a long time where he would have played over 30 minutes.
The Sounders continued momentum in Houston territory, and particularly Georgi Minoungou made an impact on the right wing after he substituted onto the pitch. Finishing from the Sounders was not entirely there by the 60th minute, which has not been an uncommon struggle for the Seattle offense. However, the Sounders kept asserting their pressure on the Dynamo wing.
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A yellow card for Joao Paulo sparked a conflict while the Dynamo were resetting. Jackson Ragen was brought down during the transition, which incited a fight between the Sounders and Dynamo players. However, during the arguments and pushing, Dynamo midfielder Coco Carrasquilla swung at the neck of Albert Rusnak. It was a very out-of-pocket and unnecessary decision by the Panamanian midfielder, who clearly acted on impulse out of the heat of the moment.
Referee Ted Unkel was sent to the VAR monitor to review the incident after a lengthy delay in determining the validity of an on-field review. Coco Carrasquilla was promptly sent off after Ted Unkel deemed Carrasquilla’s strike on Rusnak to be an obvious act of violent conduct. The Dynamo, who were dealing with deep pressure from the Sounders all game, had to finish the game down a man.
The Sounders, at this point in the game, went all-out attack. Additionally, twelve minutes of stoppage time was given at the ninety, leaving plenty of room for the Sounders to find a winning goal.
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Eight minutes into stoppage time, following a Rusnak cross, Ted Unkel called a penalty for the Sounders after an apparent handball, ensuing celebration among the Sounders supporters. In response to this significant decision, VAR intervened and sent Ted Unkel to the monitor. After another lengthy review, Unkel decided not to give the penalty, stating in the stadium PA that the player’s arm was in a “natural position.” As one could imagine, the Sounders supporters did not like Unkel’s decision one bit.
Despite the constant push from Seattle before and after the no-call, the match ended scoreless in regulation. The Sounders were disappointed in themselves, as they could have easily sealed the deal in regulation. The Dynamo players, particularly Steve Clark, were delighted over holding onto the scoreless clean sheet. Due to the rules of ties in Round One, the winner was determined by penalties.
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The Sounders responded to all five penalties, with Erik Sviatchenko's missed target serving as the decisive moment. The two Roldan brothers then converted their own penalties. Alex Roldan stepped up for the fifth penalty and secured the game-one victory, letting off a lot of pressure from the Lumen Field atmosphere after the scoreless draw against the ten-man Houston Dyanmo.
The 2023 playoffs in Round One had the Sounders beating Dallas in game one, but forced to a game three after a defeat in game two. One year later, also against a Texas team, the Sounders will have the opportunity to earn a bye-week given a second game victory in Houston.
"We approach every game to win, so, you know, we're going to do the best we can, and we'll assess Jordan, and then if Raul's a starter, we'll make adjustments, ... we'll go down to Houston where we've had some good results," commented Schmetzer on the traveling mindset for the away fixture.
Game two will take place on Sunday afternoon, November 3rd, where the Sounders will travel to Houston with the prospect of moving on to the Western Conference Semifinals given the road victory. Conversely, a result in Houston's favor will send the best-of-three series back to Seattle on November 10.
Cover Photo: Earving Marquez / Area Sports Network
