The Seattle Sounders return from a brief ten-day break to take on the Houston Dynamo this Wednesday, October 12th at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, WA. It’s simple for the Sounders heading into this game, win and they are in the playoffs for the eighth straight season. Houston has no chance to make the playoffs after their 3-2 defeat to the Colorado Rapids this past weekend but will hope to spoil the Sounders chances on Wednesday night.
Last time out
As mentioned above, the Dynamo are coming off a 3-2 defeat at home. Colorado jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in just the 12th minute of the game after Dominique Badji got the visitors on the board first. Houston leveled the scored in the 45th minute on Mauro Manotas’ fifth goal of the season. Colorado put the game away in the 54th and 79th minute after Badji second goal of the game and Shkelzen Gashi’s goal in the final 15 minutes of the game. Manotas’ second goal of the game came just two minutes later in the 81st minute but that would be all of the scoring in the game.
The Sounders last played on October 2nd and defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 on the road. Pedro Morales got the Whitecaps on the board first in the 25th minute after Oniel Fisher fouled Alphonso Davies in the box. The Sounders leveled the score in the 39th minute on Osvaldo Alonso’s third goal of the season. Second half substitute and Sounders Captain Brad Evans gave the Sounders the lead for good in the 81st minute after converting a penalty.
Last meeting
The last time these two played was on Wednesday, August 24th. Houston would grab the lead in the 75th minute after a goal from Andrew Wenger. When it appeared that Seattle was about to lose their first game under the guidance of interim head coach Brian Schmetzer, Nicolás Lodeiro leveled the score in the 94th minute. It was the second straight game that the Sounders scored in the 94th minute against the Dynamo this year to secure a vital road point.
Key players
The Sounders will have both Jordan Morris and Lodeiro for this game after both have been released from their respective national teams. Lodeiro was sent back to Seattle after picking up a yellow card in Uruguay’s 3-0 win over Venezuela. Morris was released by the United States after playing 30 minutes in the United States’ 2-0 victory over Cuba in a friendly.
The Sounders showed that they can win without either of their stars in the game against Vancouver. With both players back, look for the Sounders to do some serious damage against a Houston team with no reason to play except to be the spoiler.
Prediction
The Sounders are looking for their fifth straight win and their eighth consecutive playoff appearance. This will be one of the most important games of the season for the Sounders outside of the playoffs. With only three games remaining (Houston, at FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake), the Sounders can’t risk a loss at home against a tenth place team.
Morris and Lodeiro will put on a show and send all of the Rave Green faithful home happy with yet another win on the season.