Sounder Strategy: A trio against the Dynamo

Rejoice, for the best part of the MLS year is here! It’s playoff time, and the Sounders are synonymous with playoff runs. Despite the Portland Timbers and shaky officiating combining to nearly break Seattle’s run of good form, the Sounders are still unbeaten in seven straight games.

But the Dynamo are in town to crash the party. Their brand of methodical possession soccer, not unlike the ball-dominant Sounders of yesteryear, is great for controlling matches but inefficient at producing goals. Let’s look at the matchup between the two stingy defensive teams, and who might have the edge in this best-of-three series.

Sussing out Seattle

Enough ink has been spilled on the referee situation against Portland that I will not belabor the point but suffice it to say that the Sounders were a couple of unshown yellow cards or even one prudent advantage call away from finishing this match up 3-0.

The brightest hope for Seattle in this match and the playoffs is still Pedro de la Vega. Pepo keeps improving week to week, eliminating the frustrating decisions and tunnel vision that plagued him after returning from injury. Instead, he is focusing on effective dribbling while his teammates are beginning to anticipate his passes. It took cynical (and shockingly unpunished) tactical fouling from Portland to keep Pedro and the rest of the Sounders’ midfield from more dangerous opportunities on goal:

In an alternate universe, a couple of those missed advantage calls ended with Pedro assisting Jordan Morris. Perhaps Pepo was just keeping his breakout game for the playoffs. 

Scouting Houston

The Houston Dynamo are remarkably similar to the 2023 Sounders. They have dominated possession all season, only falling below 50% in two MLS matches. They rely on intricate passing sequences among stretches of methodical side-to-side passing in order to create opportunities from open play. They lack a transcendent goal-scorer and struggle to create high-value opportunities from their shots. But their defense is elite. While Seattle allowed a league-best 35 goals against this season, Houston was right behind at 39 goals conceded. The core of this defensive team is their spine: two quality centerbacks, ball-dominant midfielders like Hector Herrera and Artur, and a big-money summer signing in forward Ezequiel Ponce.

Houston’s 3-2-5 possession shape should be very familiar to Sounders fans who watch something similar every week:

This possession tends to flow down their left wing with central attacker Amine Bassi facilitating. There is often more open space on their right wing, where fullback Griffin Dorsey does an impressive amount of running to attack and defend up and down the sideline.